“The Temperament”
Download this page in PDF formatThis paragraph about temperament is perhaps one of the best pieces of advice that the Standard can make about your dogs. I have included what the Standard says (in bold) and then have written my comments afterwards.
Temperament – The Dachshund is clever, lively and courageous to the point of rashness, persevering in above and below ground work, with all the senses well developed. Any display of shyness is a serious fault.
This statement about the temperament in the Dachshund Standard is about as plain and serious as anything can get as nothing is more important than what it says about the temperament and this could hardly be more obvious than it is here. The Dachshund is clever and that means always aware of what is going on around it and always curious about its surroundings. It is lively and that entails a happy temperament and a wagging tail and an interest in its own little area. Courageous, to the point of rashness, is something we always wanted in our Dachshund string as it just meant they were eager to see anyone, in the ring or outside the ring. The absolute ‘no’ to Dachshund shyness is something that none of us should be arguing about as that is a serious fault and truly something we need to walk away from. These statements make it very clear that only good temperaments should ever be shown by breeders and exhibitors at the shows and to please stay away from shyness and what comes down from that very basic temperament flaw .
In the past, several issues of bad temperament have occurred in the Breed, often coming down from the best looking and best bred dogs, where the dogs would be fine in the kennel, but usually they would freak out soon after their first season and some males and females are always uneasy about their ring appearances, their kennel situation or just living anywhere other dogs are. It is very sad to say, and we have all heard the excuses from the owners about what other dogs did to them, but we, as true Dachshund people, should know never to breed them or show them, but we should absolutely place them in a nice loving home situation so that they can be happy and we can go on with out own great temperaments in the dogs in our own kennel.
Often, newer dogs would be hyper and out-of-sorts and very ill at ease with different dogs and different people all around them and the owners will always say that some dog or person scared the dog and ruined the temperament. We have all heard these excuses and, maybe, it is true once in a while, but, normally, the dog just had a bad temperament and the other dogs were taking the credit for that dog’s breakdown and nastiness. One thing I do recommend is just never get involved in bad temperaments, because that opens the door to have those returning, sooner or later, to the line of dog’s you are breeding and who wants to fight something you could be done with as soon as it appears. I have tried showing bad tempered dogs and have spent a lot of time trying to finish them and it is not anything I would do again. It is absolutely not worth it and makes miserable dogs and really miserable dog owners.
Please, in this instance, this Standard is telling you the absolute truth: breed and show good temperaments. Getting rid of bad temperaments is the best thing you can do for your line and will save you lots of time trying to show and finish dogs who would rather be anywhere else than in your show string.
Dan Harrison
March 2021