CHAPTER XXVII 

 THE DACHSHUND 



PERSONS unfamiliar with the sporting properties of this long- 

 bodied breed are apt to refer smilingly to the Dachshund as 

 " the dog that is sold by the yard," and few even of those who 

 know him give credit to the debonair little fellow for the grim 

 work which he is intended to perform in doing battle with the 

 vicious badger in its lair. Dachshund means " badger dog," 

 and it is a title fairly and squarely earned in his native 

 Germany. 



Given proper training, he will perform the duties of several 

 sporting breeds rolled into one. Possessing a wonderful nose, 

 combined with remarkable steadiness, his kind will work 

 out the coldest scent, and once fairly on the line they will give 

 plenty of music and get over the ground at a pace almost 

 incredible. Dachshunds hunt well in a pack, and, though it is 

 not their recognised vocation, they can be successfully used on 

 hare, on fox, and any form of vermin that wears a furry coat. 

 But his legitimate work is directed against the badger, in 

 locating the brock under ground, worrying and driving him 

 into his innermost earth, and there holding him until dug out. 

 It is no part of his calling to come to close grips, though that 

 often happens in the confined space in which he has to work. 

 In this position a badger with his powerful claws digs with such 

 energy and skill as rapidly to bury himself, and the Dachshund 

 needs to be provided with such apparatus as will permit him to 

 clear his way and keep in touch with his formidable quarry. 

 The badger is also hunted by Dachshunds above ground, 

 usually in the mountainous parts of Germany, and in the 



