How the sausage dog became a hot dog
EVERY dog has its day... and now it’s the turn of the diminutive dachshund, which is fast becoming Britain’s latest hot dog.
The short-legged, long-bodied breed, nicknamed the sausage dog, is enjoying a revival following a TV advertising campaign for insurance company Vitality.
Official Kennel Club registrations have risen 40 per cent since the ads, which star “Stanley”, a cute talking black and tan dachshund with ex-Olympic athlete Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, began in 2015 – 9,000 were registered last year alone.
However, its current popularity is leading to worries that unscrupulous breeders could be cashing in.
Thousands more unregistered dachshunds are thought to have been bred on puppy farms, which have a reputation for forcing bitches to have litter after litter in squalid conditions.
The pups are often poorly socialised and many have congenital defects, warn experts. They are also concerned the dogs are being bought as fashion accessories and then discarded when they prove too much trouble to care for.
Sara Wilde, a spokeswoman for the Kennel Club, said the Vitality adverts had a “major” impact on dachshund ownership but urged people not to buy from unregistered breeders.
She added their rise in popularity was also due to them being seen as an ideal pet for a small home.
“They take up less room and in London, you can just scoop them up and sit them on your lap on the Tube,” she said.
Dachshunds, which were originally bred in Germany for flushing out badgers and rabbits, are prone to back problems because of their long spines.
The problem affects about 25 per cent of the breed and the risk is increased by poor breeding, rough handling and obesity. The dogs are intensely loyal to their owners and can become destructive and noisy if left alone for long periods of time.
The breed’s popularity has waxed and waned over the years, which is largely due to the Anglo-German relations at the time.
Queen Victoria was a fan, importing a dog called Deckel from Coburg in Bavaria in the 1840s. Princess Margaret had a dachshund called Pipkin, which bred with one of her sister, the Queen’s, corgis to produce a litter of dorgis.
However, during the two world wars they were seen as an unpatriotic pet. Cartoonists drew images of them to ridicule Germany – both Kaiser Wilhelm II and German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel kept them.
Celebrity owners include singer Adele and actors Clint Eastwood and Christian Slater. Hollywood stars Doris Day and Audrey Hepburn were also fans as well as the late music legend David Bowie.
In America, dachshunds compete in the popular annual “wiener races”. They are named after the US nickname for a hotdog sausage. A similar event, “running of the wieners”, is also held in Melbourne, Australia.
Last week the world record for the largest gathering of dachshunds was smashed in Perranporth, Cornwall. There were 601 at the event – up from the previous record of 500 set by a group in Wales.
STARS HAVE THEIR PAWFECT PETS
SAUSAGE dogs are not the only pooches to enjoy the limelight thanks to celebrity owners.
Singer Lady Gaga, 32, has her own pampered pets, three French bulldogs – Miss Asia, Koji and Gustavo – who even have their own Instagram page. Former Spice Girl Geri Horner, 45, has two boisterous Airedale terriers, Margo and Hugo.
And mother-of-four Coleen Rooney, 31, wife of Everton footballer Wayne, is often snapped with her Bichon Frise, Daisy.