What Ever Happened to the Standard Dachshund?

When was the last time you saw a standard Dachshund? I’m serious. Here in the Seattle area, we see lots of different dogs. There are Great Danes, Mastiffs, Leonbergers and even Swedish Valhunds, but one breed we rarely see is the Dachshund, and even rarer, the standard sized Dachshund. I can name two times in the entire 11 years we’ve lived in the Seattle are that I have seen a standard sized Dachshund.
One was an adorable wirehaired man in a basket and Bed Bath & Beyond, shopping with his person. The second was this weekend at the dog park. And Yogi wasn’t even born in the US; he came from Russia.
Up here in the Northwest, if you want to buy a Dachshund from a breeder, your only options are for the minis. I’m not saying the miniature Dachshunds aren’t cute or great dogs, but they’re, well, miniature. They are under 11lbs. How are they supposed to fight badgers?
I know, I know, we rarely use any breed to do what it was bred for anymore, and apparently we seem to think smaller dogs make better house pets. But since when is 30lbs a big dog? Maybe it’s big for a dog with a terrier personality.

What “common” breeds of dogs seem uncommon in your area? Is there any breed you wish you saw more of?

Taryn says:

January 8, 2013 at 10:49 am

A recent AKC list of the top 10 breeds:

Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, Beagle, Golden Retriever; Yorkshire Terrier; Bulldog; Boxer; Poodle; Dachshund and Rottweiler.

I can't take a walk w/o tripping over a dozen or more Labs and Goldens. Plenty of Beagles, German Shepherds are sprinkled here and there, but not really common as their #2 spot would warrant, lots of Yorkies, more and more English Bulldogs, tons of Boxers, a lot more Doodles than real Poodles, Mini-Dachshunds galor but NO Standard (I think they are AKC registered as one in the same), and an occasional Rottweiler.

I do agility with my younger dog, so I see just about every breed, popular or otherwise, at one point or another at the trials. Not much cuter than a mini-doxie running an agility course, ears a-flying!

My breed of choice is a Cardigan Welsh Corgi, but I am extremely grateful they are NOT popular as it helps to keep them out of the puppy mills.

Hannah says:

February 16, 2013 at 8:51 pm

I was just googling “wirehaired dachshunds seattle” and the search led me to your site. I am a Puget Sound native and have two standard wirehaired dachshund ladies. They came to me from Texas! Before that, I had a standard wire boy and he came from a breeder over on Key Peninsula. I wish they weren’t so hard to find because I want another one. To answer your question though, aside from seeing my dogs every day, I can’t remember the last time I saw a standard dachshund somewhere in public. But it is definitely something I wonder about from time to time.

Miss J says:

May 28, 2013 at 4:21 pm

Hi Hannah I know of a standard wire hair litter born recently in northern CA. She does field trials and shows her dogs very nice woman. reply if you want more info

Miss J says:

May 28, 2013 at 4:17 pm

I breed and show and do field trials with REAL Standard Dachshunds there are quite a few standard dachshund breeders in the northwest. I honestly think alot of people do not know they exist. All you see in the media is mini. The standards are the original dachshund. Yes Standards need more noteriety. Though they were very popular in the 50's and 60's.

Tiffany says:

August 22, 2013 at 9:03 pm

Every time my family got a Doxie, it was always advertised as a mini but was more standard size.