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Posts tagged "Dachshund"


Flickr/TimScott

Name: Dachshund

Personality: Originally bred to hunt badgers and other small animals out of tight burrows, the Dachshund loves nothing more than to chase things (from birds to tennis balls) with fierce determination. This single-mindedness also results in a very stubborn breed of dog, a trait that can be at times charming or infuriating. Anything but shy, a Dachshund is thought to have no sense of its relatively small size compared to many other breeds and may challenge a larger dog -- or a foreign dog, as Dachshunds prefer the company of their owners -- with utmost bravery.

Grooming: Grooming needs vary depending on whether you have a short-haired, wire-haired or long-haired Dachshund. Shorthairs require only an occasional brushing with a soft-bristled brush. Wirehairs should be brushed regularly throughout the week with a wire-bristled brush, and will shed more in the spring and fall. Longhairs need to be both brushed and combed; the former helps with shedding, while the latter will prevent tangling and matting. Bathing frequently is not necessary, as doing so might remove a fatty substance produced by the dog's coat that helps insulate it against the elements. The coat of a long-haired Dachshund will need to be blow-dried rather than air-dried after bathing.

Common Health Issues
: The elongated back, short rib cage and stout legs of a Dachshund may all combine to cause spinal problems due to strain on the vertebrae. (Which is why you sometimes see Dachshund walking with a set of wheels affixed to its hindquarters, although medication can sometimes clear up the problem, too.)
    

Henry takes it one step at a time. Photo: Geoff Robinson Photography

Hot dog! A paralyzed miniature Dachshund in Birmingham, England, has started walking again after taking part in an experimental study at Cambridge Veterinary School.

As first reported by Ananova, six-year-old Henry lost the use of his legs last November, after rupturing discs in his spine. Henry had surgery to ease the pressure on his backbone, but the operation didn't restore his ability to walk. His owner, Sarah Beech, heard about a new therapy for spinal cord injuries being tested at Cambridge, and signed him up. A month later, Henry took his first small step, reports the Telegraph.

Clearly, curing paralysis would be a very big deal indeed, but it's definitely too early to start wagging tails, says Nick Jeffery, a professor of veterinary clinical studies at Cambridge Veterinary School and a co-leader of the study Henry is enrolled in. "We've just started a clinical trial, and there are no results yet," he tells Paw Nation.

The therapy being tested involves removing cells from the junction between the nose and the brain, Jeffery explains. Those cells support the growth of new nerves. "The idea is, you transplant those cells into the spinal cord, and [they will] help the damaged nerve fibers to grow," Jeffrey tells Paw Nation.

Read more about Henry and the study he participated in on the next page.
    

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New York's Oldest dog

New York's oldest dog Paco recently celebrated his 20th birthday. Photo: Bernadine Santistevan

A new pooch has been crowned New York's oldest dog!

Paco Sosa, a brown-haired dachshund living in New York City, celebrated his 20th birthday on September 5. With the passing of Chanel, a 21-year-old dachshund-mix living in Port Jefferson Station, New York -- known as the World's Oldest Dog -- last month, Paco now takes NYC's crown for most elderly canine.

Paco lives in Manhattan with his owner and human companion Bernadine Santistevan, a filmmaker and venture capitalist. Originally from New Mexico, Santistevan has had Paco since she first spotted him as an eight-month old pup looking scared and lonely in an Albuquerque pet store.

"He was in a cage and he just looked so sad," Santistevan tells Paw Nation. "He had his head up on his paws and he was blinking his big eyes. I went to play with him, but he was so terrified that he wouldn't even move. All he would do was crawl on his stomach and cry. It just broke my heart and I wanted to take him away and take care of him."

The little dachshund has thrived under Santistevan's care, developing a taste for organic chicken, fish and fruit. When Santistevan moved to New York City, she made sure to get a first floor apartment with a backyard -- no easy feat in Manhattan -- so Paco would have a place to play. Except for patches of white around his muzzle and chest, the dachshund, who is 140 years old in human years, has still retained most of his youthful, brown coloring.

So what is Paco's secret?

Source

    

Click the dachshund to flip through our short-legged pups gallery. Photo: flygraphix/Flickr

Who are you calling shorty?

Dogs like dachshunds, basset hounds and corgis are famous for their stumpy little legs. Now researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute in Maryland have figured out where the low-slung dogs get their stubby stems from, reports National Geographic News.

The researchers discovered that 19 short-legged dog breeds all share a single genetic mutation, which suggests that most short-legged dogs descended from a single stunted ancestor. It's possible that the gene could have arisen as many as 30,000 years ago, long before humans started breeding dogs for physical traits.

The researchers say the study, published in the journal Science, is proof that one little change to a gene can have a big impact. "There may just be a small number of major genetic changes that create all the different shapes and sizes of dogs," study co-author Heidi Parker said.

The short-legged gene is found in breeds from Shih Tzus and Scottish Terriers to Basset Hounds and Pekingese. For a (short) look at these squat pups, check out our gallery of stubby-legged dogs. Just remember, they're not short -- they're vertically challenged!
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The Short and Stout Gene
Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Short and stubby doesn't get any cuter than this.
Photodisc

Dogs with Short Legs

    Pembroke Welsh Corgi
    Short and stubby doesn't get any cuter than this.

    Photodisc

    Shih-tzu
    "I'm ready for my close-up."

    AP

    Scottish Terrier
    The grass is always greener...when you're only 11 inches off the ground.

    Paul J.Richards, AFP/Getty

    West Highland Terrier
    "Whee, I can fly!"

    Timothy A. Clary, AFP/Getty Images

    Havanese
    Cousin Itt called. He wants his hairdo back.

    Morgan Riehl, AOL

    Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen
    "Hellooo, anybody up there? I'm down here!"

    Getty Images/Stringer

    Pekingese
    Ewok, floor mop, or ancient imperial pooch?

    David Rogowski, AOL

    Cardigan Welsh Corgi
    "Tell me everything! I'm all ears."

    Morgan Riehl, AOL

    Dachshund
    You'd be perplexed, too, if you people referred to you as, "hot dog".

    Getty Images

    Basset Hound
    Get this guy a biscuit! Somebody clearly knows how to work the sad puppy-dog eyes.

    jupiterimages

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Our furry, feathered and scaly friends come in all shapes and sizes, and so do their sniffers. From squashed and wrinkled to big and bulbous, these snouts are sure to garner a double take. Sure it's impolite to stare, but with schnozzes like these, who can blame you?

Animal Noses

    The star-nosed mole is native to eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States. If you've never seen one, don't be surprised; these critters spend most of their time digging underground tunnels. They use their wacky tentacled noses as feelers to find tasty worms and insects in the darkness.

    Kenneth Catania, Vanderbilt University / AP

    The proboscis monkey swings through the trees of Borneo. Only males have the huge honker, which can reach up to 7 inches in length. The exaggerated sniffer actually attracts females, 'cause you know what they say about big noses... good scents!

    Gerry Ellis, Minden Pictures / Getty Images

    The planet is home to more than 2 billion domestic pigs, not to mention a variety of ugly wild hogs and boars. Not very discriminating in their tastes, pigs use their superior senses of smell to scavenge for foods ranging from acorns to insects to rotting garbage.

    Getty Images

    The African aardvark gets its name from a word meaning "earth pig." The nosy, nocturnal mammals are all about hunting termites with their keen senses of smell. Aardvarks tear apart termite mounds with their claws before sticking in their snouts -- nostrils conveniently sealed -- to hoover up the bugs.

    Getty Images

    Dog breeds like pugs and bulldogs are famous for their short, scrunched-up noses -- and for the epic snores that bellow from their nostrils. These flattened faces can cause breathing problems that sometimes need to be corrected by surgery.

    jupiterimages

    We've all seen elephants, but how often do you stop to think about how ridiculous the pachyderm's nose really is? The tubular trunk is part nose, part upper lip, and part extra hand. The gigantic Asian and African mammals use their trunks to maneuver small objects, itch their backs, wipe their eyes, knock down trees and take long, cold drinks from the watering hole. Talk about multitasking!

    Getty Images

    Elephant seals -- and their unmistakable schnozzes -- are found in oceans the world over. Only adult males sport the bulbous noses, which help them produce ear piercingly loud roars. The big noses also help trap water, effectively preventing moisture loss during mating season when the males rarely leave the beach for food or water.

    jupiterimages

    The impressive horn of the rhinoceros is formed from keratin, the stuff of hair and fingernails. The brutish beasts are native to Africa and Asia. In China, rhinos are hunted for their horns, which are ground up and prescribed in traditional Chinese medicine.

    Getty Images

    Why the long face? Long-nosed dogs like dachshunds exist on the opposite end of the spectrum from pugs and bulldogs. Bred for hunting badgers and rabbits, their long noses impart them with a stupendous sense of smell.

    Getty Images

    The elephant shrew isn't really a shrew. After years of classification confusion, scientists now say the petite African mammals aren't closely related to any living animals. They're actually very distant relatives of aardvarks, hyraxes, manatees and, yes, elephants. They use their stretched-out snouts to probe the forest floor for bugs and spiders to eat.

    Jessie Cohen, National Zoo / AP

    

World's oldest dog

The world's oldest dog. Photo: Meredith Daniels, Newsday / MCT

She can't hear very well, wears special doggy glasses and sports a sweater on chilly days, but Chanel, a 20-year-old dachshund who lives with her owner in Port Jefferson Station, NY, looks pretty good for her age -- she is, after all, the world's oldest dog. Chanel will set a new record when she turns 21-years-old tomorrow (that's 147 in human years!).

Technically, her title will be official in September – when the Guinness Book of World Records makes it legit. Jay Leno is already banging on her door.

"She's independent. If she didn't want to do something, she had a look she would give, and she usually got her way," Chanel's owner Denice Shaughnessy told the New York Post. The pooch is in the center of a media frenzy, appearing on NBC's TODAY Show this morning. Co-hosts Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer couldn't stop smiling at the darling dachshund, who's brown hair turned white years ago.

Now that Chanel is turning 21, "She can drink whiskey out of a toilet," joked Vieira.

Playing off Chanel's "wiener dog" breed, Lauer said the dachshund was "the oldest hot dog I've seen since that barbecue at your [Vieira's] place."

Be nice fellas...

Chanel wears glasses because of cataracts, and only eats boiled chicken with whole-wheat pasta because her teeth are so brittle.

But Chanel doesn't let those obstacles keep her at home. "She still enjoys a walk, but now she's carried for a lot of it," said Shaughnessy.

Source

    


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