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The dachshund is a short-legged, elongated dog breed, of the hound family. The standard size was developed to scent, chase, and flush badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature was developed to hunt smaller prey, like rabbits. In the American West, they have also been used to hunt Prarie Dogs.

The name “dachshund” is of German origin and literally means “badger dog”, from Dachs (“badger”) and Hund (“dog”). The pronunciation varies widely in English: variations of the first syllable include /ˈdɑːks/, /ˈdæks/ and /ˈdæʃ/, and of the second syllable /hʊnt/, /hʊnd/ and /ənd/. In German it is pronounced [ˈdakshʊnt]. Because of their long, narrow build, they are sometimes nicknamed hot dog dog, wiener dog or sausage dog. Although “dachshund” is a German word, in modern German they are also commonly known by the name Dackel; in the case of the formally certified hunting and tracking rank, the name Teckel is used.^[1]

While classified in the hound group or scent hound group in the United States and Great Britain, there are some who consider this classification to be arguable,^[2] speculating that it arose from the fact that the word Hund is similar to the English word hound – and the word “Dachshund” has even been both pronounced and translated, albeit incorrectly, as “Dash Hound”.^[3] Many dachshunds, especially the wire-haired subtype, may exhibit behavior and appearance that are similar to that of the terrier group of dogs.^[4] An argument can be made for the scent (or hound) group classification because the breed was developed to utilize scent to trail and hunt animals, and probably descended from scent hounds, such as bloodhounds, pointers, Basset Hounds, or even Bruno Jura Hounds; but with the dogged and persistent personality and love for digging that probably developed from the terrier, it can also be argued that they could belong in the terrier, or “earth dog”, group.^[4] In the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (World Canine Federation), or FCI, the dachshund is actually in its own group, Group 4, which is the dachshund group.^[5] Part of the controversy is due to the fact that the dachshund is the only certifiable breed of dog to hunt both above and below ground.

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