Weiner dogs

[Night goat]

Girlfriend wants a weiner dog, she is insisting she can train it to hunt and retrieve birds, she wants to get one from Germany.....

Im skeptical.

Thoughts?

[Sandberm]

She sounds like a reasonable gal, better marry her. 

[WapitiTalk1]

I just read that they can be trained as shed hunters; they must have a great nose on them.  I think regular wiener dogs were bred in Germany to dig things out of dens; I'm not sure if they'd be good for birds being so low in stature?  There is a new mixed breed of dachshund called a Golden Dox (Dachshund/Golden Retriever mix).... I wonder if that new breed is perhaps a bit taller in stature and something to look at for birds?  I honestly don't know but happy shopping and good luck with what you and the GF decide!   

https://www.totallygoldens.com/golden-retriever-dachshund-mix/

[Dhoey07]

I have been bit by two dogs in my life.....they were both weiner dogs.......

[Curly]

Dachshunds can be upland bird hunters.

I talked to a guy about 20 years ago that was hunting with 4 dachshunds by Potholes reservoir.  I watched them hunting pheasants and they were hunting pretty hard. 

[Night goat]

Yeah I'm on the fence about it.... Seems they can be decent but they can also be snappy mean little sobs.... Definitely something to be said about a dog you can pick up though.... My vizsla is great but a total handful... Unless I find a smaller vizsla there isnt much thats gonna change her mind.... She is under the impression that there is such thing as an "ultralight bird dog"

[Curly]

For good, smaller, bird dog breeds, how about Boykins or English Cockers? Probably around 30 pounds.   

[Dhoey07]

Yeah I'm on the fence about it.... Seems they can be decent but they can also be snappy mean little sobs.... Definitely something to be said about a dog you can pick up though.... My vizsla is great but a total handful... Unless I find a smaller vizsla there isnt much thats gonna change her mind.... She is under the impression that there is such thing as an "ultralight bird dog"

Brits and english cockers are the smallest I can think of.

[diegomx3]

Correct me if I’m wrong but I swear I read somewhere they where bred and meant to be used as hunting dogs in England or somewhere or other as bear hunters I could be wrong and or the article wasnt a factual article but I swear I had read some sort of article about that.

[Night goat]

Yeah I'm on the fence about it.... Seems they can be decent but they can also be snappy mean little sobs.... Definitely something to be said about a dog you can pick up though.... My vizsla is great but a total handful... Unless I find a smaller vizsla there isnt much thats gonna change her mind.... She is under the impression that there is such thing as an "ultralight bird dog"

Brits and english cockers are the smallest I can think of.

Maybe.... Ive always liked brittany spaniels but against the long hair dog variety

[RockCreek]

Met a hunter years ago hunting the Toppenish area for quail. He was running 2 pointers and he had a little terrier that would follow along. When his dogs went on point outside the Olive tree thickets he would send in the little guy to bust them out. His pointers were trained to be steady to the shot so he said he needed someone or something to go in the thick stuff and move the birds out.

[Fozzie Bear]

We had a full size dachshund when I was a little kid. Great family dog. My dad always said it was the best pheasant dog he ever hunted with.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Slenk]

Dachshunds were originally breed in Germany to hunt badgers. They can be excellent hunters . We had to put ours down last spring at the age of 14 years. She was hell on mice and cats, and rabbits. And always had her nose to the ground trailing something.

[ian_padron]

If you want an ultralight bird dog, get a Brittany. You can get those lil monsters around 30 pounds! Plus they are actually bred to hunt birds.

Dachshund is German for Badger Hound, they were bred to slither into tunnels and dens and be pulled to safety by their tails lol.

Get a Brittany, they're not *censored*s like Dachsunds either.

Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk

[AL WORRELLS KID]

We had a full size dachshund when I was a little kid. Great family dog. My dad always said it was the best pheasant dog he ever hunted with.

Here's my worth........

Looking at him standing there all 8 inches tall, we had our doubts when my Dad's Old Army Sargent (who had turned into a Farmer) told us we were looking at the "Best Pheasant Dog that he'd ever seen working Afield!" 
At 10 years old I looked sideways at my Dad and each of us did a double-take sizing up "Little Squirt" one more time.
One thing for sure, just watching him shake with excitement,  we knew the word "Hunting" meant something to him and he was ready to go.
 It was the 1960's and the farm we were hunting on was situated just below Fairfield Washington.
 Located in the middle of Lentil, Corn and Wheat Fields it produced some of the best Pheasant, Quail and Hungarian Partridge Hunting found.

The farmers didn't plow the fields right up to the fence lines like they do now, but would leave enough cover, (so the Coyotes didn't have the advantage over the birds, like they do today.)
 
Heading into the knee high wheat, it wasn't long before the "Squirt" had his first Rooster on the run.
 I couldn't help laughing when all we could see of this Little Long Haired Dachshund, was the heads of moving wheat as he tunneled his way through.
 Every now and then, up he would spring, like a little "Jack In The Box" trying to get his bearings, then back down again, hot on the scent.

Before we knew it up came a Rooster, catching everyone off guard.
 A few feathers floating in the wind, was all that came from our three hurried shots and the Rooster had set it's wings.
 Down the slope he glides for what looked like half a mile, with Little Squirt still in hot pursuit.

 Looking obviously concerned that we might lose sight of the pair, our Farmer friend had us all jump onto his tractor and away we went White Knuckled down the hillside, trying to catch sight of this Persistent Pup.
After a wild ride, all of us holding on to our shotguns and the tractor for dear life, there at the bottom of the hill stood one proud little Pup, latched onto his prize and a look on his face as if to say, "Hey! What took you guys so long?"  
 I guess Dynamite does come in small packages. These little Weiner Dynamo's with noses that are half their length, have my vote any day!
Doug

[Buzz2401]

I had a long haired dachshund and she was for sure a hunter.  Loved hiking and would destroy any squirrels or chipmunks she could get.  They are great dogs and pretty smart.

[Alchase]

As a breed dachshund is not by any means one of the smartest. They are usually rated in the bottom range for trainability.
If you girl friend has experience training hunting dogs, she would know this.
There are lots of "smart breeds" that can be trained to hunt. Going with a breed that has been hunting for generations would be your best bet.
A dachshund would not be my pick to train as a hunting dog. Most struggle through basic and advanced obedience.
Having said that, the old world dachshunds were supposed to be breed to go after badgers. Not sure I buy that, but there you go, LOL

[nwwanderer]

Hunted with a hound growing up, beagle/walker cross, different stature than yours but just as hard headed.  Not so trainable but certainly game.  Never lost a bird that I can remember.  One we thought he lost was under a hog house in a badger hole, found the feathers when we moved the house the next spring.  Kind of like a hog, smarter than most dogs and more independent than a cat.  Really did not care what we liked except hunting!!! Thanks greaty stuff

[bearpaw]

Girlfriend wants a weiner dog, she is insisting she can train it to hunt and retrieve birds, she wants to get one from Germany.....

Im skeptical.

Thoughts?

The Germans have exacting standards, they are some of the best dog breeders in the world, many good hunting breeds were developed in Germany. Americans typically screw up hunting breeds! 

[Jpmiller]

For reasons unbeknownst to me alot of my family back in North Dakota had Weiner dogs, and my grandparents had them over here. They were all monsters around mice rats and squirells....and children.

I think they could be trained to do just about anything like most dogs could given the right time and individual dogs temperament but I'd be leary, don't know that more than one or two had any real training that I was around but pretty much anyone who wasn't old enough and big enough to kick one of them real good had better have an adult close by. I'm no expert by any means but I don't think I'd ever entertain the notion of owning one.

[Curly]

Seeing how this thread was started around 15 months ago, I have to ask the OP......did your gf get a dachshund?

And I really did witness a guy hunting by Potholes reservoir years ago with a few wiener dogs and I talked to him for quite a while about his dogs and they were quite birdy and the old guy did quite well behind them so I know it's possible. 

[time2hunt]

The little terrors are hunting machines. Our little dog would hunt 24/7 if we would let her. I would put her nose up against my hounds nose any day of the week.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk