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Why are Dachshunds so barrel chested2007-11-25 2:55:41

Their chests are so full and rounded. Is there some physiological or evolutionary reason for this?

Answers:

Daschunds are deep chested because their original purpose was to hunt small quarry underground. AKA Earthdogs.

Earthdogs such as Daschunds were selectively bred for their superb digging skills and large lung capacity for stamina and drive.

A deep chested dog was considered a robust dog that could bark, dig, tunnel, and flush prey from the ground. The AKC still hold tests to this day called Earthdog Trials to see if your dog can still do what is was bred for. They are 9" square tunnels with false entrances and dead ends and at the end are rats in a cage which your dog has to "work" bark, dig, scratch for varying times depending on his level of expertise.

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i have no idea but they're so cute!

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They were bred to dig badgers out of holes so they have large chest and short legs with big attitudes in a small package.I have had all most every breed of dog now they are my favorite.

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Dachshunds were originally bred to hunt badgers. So were Bassets. Anything that can take on a badger is a force to be reckoned with.

Anyway, the short legs and long bodies make them look barrel chested. If they had longer legs - like a beagle etc. - they wouldn't look so barrel chested.

But the other responder is right - they are indeed cuties - and smart and sassy - a great pet for just about anyone.

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Dachshunds were actually bred as hunting dogs, so go down into holes and shoo out rabbits and other underground animals for their owner to catch and kill for food. The barrel chest is one of the ways for them to cope with getting down into the hole, keeping the weight distribution to the front to better get down, and greater lung capacity to deal with the different air pressure in the small holes.

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Dachshunds were bred over time to be shaped as we see them today. They were used as hunting dogs. The reason they are so long and round is because as hunters we wanted them to be able to go down into rabbit holes to pull the rabbits out. I believe that this breeding was done in in England but I am not sure. I had a dachshund for a really long time and I was very interested to hear why they were bred to be the way they are.

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Dachshund - literally "Badger Dog" in german. They were bred to hunt badgers, to be able to chase them from their underground dens. The chest houses the lungs and heart - they had to breathe underground too as they chased out the badgers .

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Dachshunds were bred to hunt badgers by going into the badgers den after it. When the Dachshund caught up with the badger inside the den and cornered it the badger would turn and attack. The Daschund can pull it's head back and leave it's big fleshy chest out front. The badger bites the Daschunds chest and the Daschund then bites the badger by the back of the neck and kills it or drags it out to be killed.

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