Years back there was a car called the Chevy Vega. It had a nice looking body, but was built with a gutless, underpowered, cheap engine. What could have been a real nice car and even a bold step in the direction toward smaller and more fuel efficient cars that history shows that GM needed to go in was instead one of the worst cars in the history of GM.
Until the cars started ending up on the trash heap and kids started putting 350 V-8s under the hood. What you ended up with was a subcompact car with muscle car oomph.
The same principle was carried out more professionally with the Shelby Cobra: you take a little car body and cram a 427 inch Corvette RAT engine in it and you get something special.
Heck, it works great with cars; why not try it with dogs?
There are all kinds of breeds of dogs out there, of course. And then when you add in the fact that dogs have a way of ignoring the rules and creating their own breeds of “mutts,” well, it truly takes all kinds to make up a world.
I’m here to talk about what happens when you take a “big block Labrador” and put it into a “compact Dachshund body.” You get this:
Aint she pretty?
I love dogs, and have always found them to be incredibly beautiful creatures to go along with the fact that they are world-class athletes. If dogs were allowed to compete in the Olympics, they’d end up with pretty much all of the medals for pretty much all of the track and field and swimming events.
I’ve always particularly loved the big dog breeds, such as the Rottweilers that I’ve had. There is simply nothing like watching a big dog running with the big dogs.
But this 42 lb Dachshund-Labrador mix has truly opened my eyes to the middleweight class of dogdom. In the case of this one, she’s basically an “atomic Dachshund,” complete with webbed feet like a Lab, a weight that’s right near the middle between a 20 lb Dachshund and a 60 lb Labrador Retriever female, and legs that are about twice as long as a Dachshund’s but about 3/4s as long as a Labrador’s.
This is a dog that might have happened “by accident,” or might have been the result of “designer breeding.” When I finally figured out what my little darling was, I discovered that “Dachsadors” are a designer breed. You’ll have to “ask an expert” how you breed a Dachshund with a Labrador. And if you find out, please tell me so I can finally have an answer for all the people who have asked me just that very question.
She is a high-speed, low-drag low-earth orbiting ballistic missile system when she’s in full-pursuit of a rabbit or squirrel. And this is a dog that has now caught a jackrabbit – and believe me that aint exactly easy! – in addition to a few cottontails (it turns out neither rabbit species particularly like to be caught and literally SCREAM until I make her put them down). She’s got a combination of speed and agility that has to be seen to be believed. I call it torque; she’s got those powerful leg muscles and that short running stroke to get going fast REAL quick. It is not unusual at all to see her run with both sets of legs parallel to the ground at the same time. It’s almost like she’s flying, and all she needs is a little superdog cape:
She’s a very athletic thing that loves to jump as much as she loves to just plain flat-out haul ass:
I often just find myself simply admiring her exquisite musculature and shape:
I find her to be a beautifully muscled and beautifully proportioned dog. I love watching her trot along so easily and gracefully with her beautiful wheaton coat gliding over her ribs and muscles:
And of course she has been since the day we brought her home as a little puppy:
She’s just been a tremendous little dog, and I love her dearly.
A few extra details about her:
She is without question the most joyful dog I have ever been around. She will wag her tail if you just LOOK at her. She loves to play and can keep herself quite entertained by throwing one of her toys into the air and catching it. And frequently she’ll just get a little bee in her bonnet and start racing through the house at top speed with a happy-to-be-alive gleam in her eyes. She’s got a few different courses to race on. And the more I laugh the more she runs. When I adopted her, she was a nearly 10 week-old puppy in a glass cage at a shelter, and had been in the cage for close to 2 weeks. When she was introduced to her back yard she ran like a happy little fool and just never really got over her love of running.
She is also the most remarkable dog I’ve ever seen in remembering where things were and any kind of change. If anything in the house gets moved for any reason, she KNOWS about it and zeroes right in on it. If she’s out in the desert and something new got blown or placed or built or dumped anywhere near her domain, she is instantly aware of it.
And she likes to watch TV more than any dog I’ve ever heard of – especially if there are animals on. I’ve had on the Westminster dog show and she has watched enraptured for a good half hour straight. When one of her “shows” comes on in the form of a commercial, she recognizes it by the music jingle and looks up on cue just when the dogs appear. She will wag her tail at certain times, perk her ears at certain moments, etc. She loves to watch horses, but is quite interested in just about anything that has just about any kind of animal.
When I got her and figured out what she was (the shelter labeled her as “a red and white hound mix”), I discovered that people were intentionally breeding these “Dachsadors.” You can easily understand why when you think about it. Labradors are and have been THE most popular breed of dog by AKC registration because of their many fine qualities. Dachshunds have been slipping, going from as high as the fourth most registered breed of dog in 2004 to the sixth most in 2006, to the eighth most in 2010 and the ninth most last year. But obviously a lot of people see a lot of positive traits in both breeds of dog.
So why not put them together? What you end up with is a medium-sized dog of excellent temperament and intelligence. And if you really want a Labrador Retriever but can’t have a dog that large, well, why not shrink it down?
The people who know dogs that look at my little darling see a Labrador face from the front and a Dachshund face from the side. And I always enjoy being around dog lovers who will come over and tell me they’ve never seen anything like her, and how beautiful she is and what a great shape she has.
I’m glad she’s female because while my Rottweilers were “macho dogs,” this one is definitely “daddy’s little girl.”
P.S. I mentioned that I’m a Rottweiler lover. It’s amazing how different dogs can be and how wonderful they are at being the incredible things they were bred to be. My last Rottweiler was HUGE by Rottweiler standards – standing nearly 32″ at the shoulder (in the realm of Great Dane height!), weighing in at nearly 200 lbs, and standing about 6’6″ on his hind legs (I’m 6’2″ and he could jump up with his front paws over my shoulder and look me right in the eye – and he was leaning at an angle). He was the product of very large parents which led to a 3-puppy litter that allowed him to get as big as the genes from already large parents would allow him to get. He was incredibly smart and impossibly strong. That dog could easily knock a big, strong man down and that man wouldn’t get up unless and until that Rott wanted to let him get up. Before him, we had two brothers who were what we called “muttweilers” being the result of a purebred female and the neighbor’s 3/4 Rott-1/4 German Shepherd who jumped the fence. I used to go backpacking in the Willamette National Forest and reuglarly went on 3 day outings. I would hike from 10-15 miles a day, depending on the leg, while the dogs chased each other off the leash. I kid you not, those dogs would run at least 150 miles a day each of the three days. No human being who ever lived could have begun to do what those dogs did EASILY. One year I took one of them to visit my parents and my father and I went hiking. That dog loved to walk ahead, but he didn’t know which way we would go at one point where the trail split. And when my dad took the uphill path, the only way the dog could get ahead of him was to jump up a rocky outcropping that we figured was easily 8′ high. That Rottweiler mix took one step back and MADE that jump; at the very top he had to pull himself up with his front legs with an effort my dad found as amazing as the jump itself.
Dogs are just amazing, aren’t they? And the only thing they do better than their many amazing feats of speed, agility, leaping, strength, endurance, etc., etc., is be the best companions in the world.
Hope you enjoyed my show-and-tell about my dog!
Tags: Dachsador, Dachsador pictures, Dachsadore, Dachshund, Dachshund/Lab, dog, Doxador, Doxie, jackrabbits, Lab, Labrador, Labrahund, pets, pics, pictures, puppy
July 31, 2012 at 5:52 am
It’s awesome how different pets can be and how amazing they are at being the awesome factors they were meticulously to be.
July 31, 2012 at 1:01 pm
marksdorcel,
That’s ultimately the lesson I learned in this “little dog.”
I had been wearing blinders to the “big dogs.” I would have argued with you that anything a little dog can do – except curl up on your lap – a big dog can do BETTER. Heck, I would have presented a bunch of arguments for that and maybe even convinced you.
But this dog runs through the desert brush like nothing I’ve ever seen. She runs under things without breaking stride that would slow down taller dogs. And her medium-length legs (her legs are just right between the long legs of a Lab and the short legs of a Dachshund) give her amazing agility and balance with a low center of gravity.
There are so many breeds that were bred for a reason and which fulfill their design magnificently, and there are so many combinations as those dogs in turn breed with other breeds. Dogs are amazing creatures and it’s an amazing world.
September 18, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Love your little dachsador! She is very sweet and you can tell she is very fast! And as to how this can come about, I’m assuming that artificial insemination is a key component of this, lab dam and doxie sire. And so nice to hear you speak kindly and lovingly. I know you get all wrapped up in the liberal thing and I’m slowing working my way through your essays, all very good, by the way!
September 18, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Thank you, Millie!
Thank you in particular for enjoying this article about my beloved little dog and for reading my other articles.
You probably know this better than I do, as I’d never even HEARD of this combination before: but “Dachsadors” are now a “designer breed.” And one that never would have occurred to me until I saw my first one.
I actually AM a “kind and loving” man if you had a chance to know me. My walks with this sleek little rabbit-chasing machine of mine are the hightlight of my day because I have that 2 hour opportunity to reflect and to pray.
It’s interesting that you mention me getting “all wrapped up in the liberal thing” in the context of being speaking “kindly and lovingly.” Because I believe they are related.
Think of a parent who sees his child carelessly wandering into a traffic-filled street. That father is furious with anger because unlike his child he sees what is coming clearly and BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE the consequences of the disaster he sees coming are so terrible. And if a predator threatens his child that good father is ready to fight because of his love for his child and the threat that predator presents.
From the very first moment that I saw the videos of Rev. Jeremiah Wright saying, “No, no, no! NOT God bless America! God DAMN America!” and realized that Barack Obama had spent 23 years in that racist, bigoted, hateful, toxic, anti-American, Marxist temple, I clearly saw in Barack Obama a truly evil man who had put on a mask to fool the country and lead it to its demise.
And as someone who has served his country and who loves this nation and what it has historically stood for, yes, I am far more angry than kind and loving to those whom I see threatening it.
We’re at a point where the “independent” is increasingly foolish. And I say that because too such completely and entirely disparate worldviews are being presented that I shout that such people need to get the hell off the fence and finally choose a side. If you want more government, bigger government, more spending, more debt, more class warfare, fewer moral values, then your choice is clear. If you want less government, smaller government, less spending, less debt, more true equality, more Judeo-Christian-based worldview values, then your choice is clear.
If you want the former, then I believe my articles document why I truly believe you are a threat and why I as one who loves my country am willing to take you on any way I need to. If you want the latter, then I urge you to understand the issues better and get more involved. And if you’re an “independent” I increasingly look at you the way I would look at someone who watched a child heading into a busy street and did nothing to stop the terrible accident because you couldn’t make up your mind which side to be on.
I didn’t say any of that to criticize, and I feel you must be basically conservative to want to continue reading my political articles, but rather just to offer an explanation of why I am so passionate about what I see happening in this country.
My little dog is periodically threatened by rattlesnakes and by coyotes. I am constantly on the watch for both as we walk and ready to deal with any threat to my beautiful girl. When I had my two Rottweilers the food chain worked the other way (with the coyotes) and they were not so active or able to get under the shrubs where the rattlers can be lurking. When I had the Rotts, I’d see a coyote and think “What a beautiful and majestic creature!” Now that I have a dog who is on their diet, I think, “What a nasty, vicious little monster!” It’s funny how much angrier you can get when what you love is vulnerable and subject to being attacked and injured or killed.
Thanks for your reading,
Michael
January 31, 2013 at 12:36 pm
I have an awesome little doxie/lab mix named Marshall, he really is the best of both breeds. Smart, energy beyond belief, friendly, no one is a stranger, but can be shy. They are truly a wonderful good natured dog. He can run like no other dog I have owned, I take him out late at night so he can run, and run he does like a crazy dog. Love watching him because it is his fun. I have always liked dachunds, but only take rescue dogs. My daughter was working a dog rescue event and this little dog was in the cage and no one was really looking at him because of all the cute puppies, he was about a year old. She saw him in the cage looking all sad, took him out and started playing with him, well that was the beginning of a love affair that is still going strong today, with the whole family. This dog was truly a jewel that everyone was overlooking. The rescue people were worried that because he wasn’t a little puppy he may not get adopted. At least for this dog the story has a happy ending, he is healthy, happy and with a family that truly loves this little dog.
January 31, 2013 at 12:49 pm
Peppie,
Glad to hear from you. Thanks for sharing your experience of what we have both found to be amazing dogs.
You bring out a few details that I have in common with you:
My girl is the same way. This is a dog who will go with me on a 4+ mile hike – in which she chases absolutely everything that will run, fly or crawl from her or is actively looking for something to chase – and then come home and go on a 3 minute full-speed tear through the house. All with the most joyful look on her face.
She is a very sweet-natured dog, but actually started out as a “submissive urinator” by peeing everytime she met somebody. She is still very thrilled to meet new people, but is that little bit shy and afraid.
You said:
Ditto. I’ve never seen a dog that could do the “Greyhound bus logo” thing with all of her legs parallel to the ground at the same time in a full fledged glorious RUN.
She just runs and runs.
I brought her home from an animal shelter and put her in the back yard so she could do her business. And she just started running like a fool around that yard. It was like she’d been cooped up in that glass case dreaming of the moment she could just run and run and run. And she loves to run like no dog I’ve ever seen.
And boy is it ever fun to watch her race around looking so happy to be racing around.
February 23, 2013 at 6:02 pm
Very interesting that I came across your blog. In 2006 we were looking at dachshund breeders and I stumbled upon thelongandshortofit.com in Central Texas. At the time I had a toddler, a preschooler, and a first grader. Her site had dachsadors and she explained that she thought it would be the perfect mix for families with small children. They combined the strong skeleton of the lab with the small sleek look of the dachshund. We took a drive down there with the plan to get a male, but a little female chose our daughter. If you go to that site and click on dachsadors you can see my kids with the puppies.
The way they “did” our dog was to artificially inseminate a female black lab with dachshund and get a litter of 50/50 puppies. Zippy’s mom is half/half and looks like a short legged lab. Her name is Velvet. When Velvet was old enough, they bred her with dachshund studs. The result was 3/4 dachshund 1/4 lab puppies. Zippy looks like a stocky dachshund. Her personality, though, is very un-dachshund like. She thinks that she is ENORMOUS. She is our protector from anything threatening, including cockroaches, neighbors, geckos, or even our parakeets.
Anyway, I wanted to let you know how they created the dachsadors at their kennel. They have now retired their mamas and stopped breeding them, which is why I was messing around online looking up dachsadors. Glad I found this nice blog!
February 23, 2013 at 6:14 pm
Oh, the link from your blog goes straight to the site I recommended. It opens directly to a photo of my children holding our dog, Zippy. The bottom left of the screen when the page opens is our daughter being chosen by Zippy (armful of squirming puppies). In the middle of the screen is an older Zippy with all three kids. Zippy is now almost 8 and still in great health. Anyone with Facebook can see her here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=424858426999&set=a.403605396999.187043.511331999&type=3&theater
Blessings,
Laura Hill
February 25, 2013 at 10:51 pm
Laura Hill,
And blessings to you.
Thanks a lot for adding those personal details that better help people understand the math behind “Dachsadore.” We now know: it is artificial insemination of Dachshund daddy to Labrador mommy. I’m glad to know that; because the alternatives just boggled the mind!!!
But in that artificial insemination process, obviously breeders are going to a lot of trouble to give us Dachsadors.
Mine has really opened up my eyes to the world of “smaller dogs.” She’s pretty sure she’s worth all the trouble of immaculate conception only for dogs.
I’ve always been a guy who likes large, athletic dogs – the last two being Rottweilers. It’s a rather large leap to go from loving Rottweilers to loving Dachsadors.
This one just seemed to pick me out for the sucker in the crowd when I adopted her. I was planning on adopting a German Shepherd mix when this one impressed me with the sweet, bright, exuberant spirit that she has had ever since. And she particularly manifests that spirit when she is running around like a little fool.
At the same time, it’s amazing how adaptable she is. When it’s time to run, she’s taking advantage of the moment to run; when it’s time to calm down, she does that amazingly fast.
She’s just a real delightful dog.
It sounds like Zippy worked out pretty well for you, too!
March 10, 2013 at 12:24 pm
This article was so lovely. My Daschund gave birth to 6. half breed labradr pups. They are tO gorgeous and I was worried that that was going to be an odd combination. Thank you for your comment and photos!
March 10, 2013 at 9:47 pm
Ericka Matias,
I have a feeling some Dachsadores take more after their Dachschund side, some take more after their Lab side, and some (like my girl) take near equal measure from both.
I think this dog is one of the prettiest I’ve seen. She is so powerful and yet so streamlined. And she is just a wonderful dog.
Good luck with your pups!
March 14, 2013 at 5:22 pm
I am glad your Lab-Doxie crosses are happy and healthy. Unfortunately, I have seen the other side of these breedings and it is dark and disgusting. The dogs don’t come out perfectly half and half. Nature works on a scale. And the breeders don’t want to talk about the deformed puppies they breed. The large, heavy lab bodies sitting on short crooked legs that can barely lift their weight. This type of breeding is an abomination to nature. I am so happy that you love your dog, and you have been lucky that he is so healthy. But, please don’t promote these dogs.
March 15, 2013 at 10:03 pm
Dog Lover,
I actually didn’t know about the “bad examples” of Dachsadors.
I only recently found out that they are generally the result of artificial insemination. And I agree with you that that aint a good thing. God’s dogs can reproduce without syringes.
The dog I WILL promote is my own beautiful little specimen.
P.S. My dog was a shelter or “rescue” dog. She was found at about eight weeks of age in a meadow. I always wondered if her breeder may have just tossed her fearing she was one of the kinds of problems you describe.
March 30, 2013 at 6:52 pm
I have a dachsador too! I like to call him a Wienerdor. Lol he’s the funniest, smartest, best dog I’ve ever had. He’s amazingly smart. I taught him to sit when he was not even a month old. He’s so loyal. And obsessed with attention. He sleeps in between me and my boyfriend.(lol it drives us crazy sometimes). Every time we take him to the dog park people always ask us what kind of dog he is. And their fascinated with it. Lol its a great topic when people come over or we go somewhere with him.
March 31, 2013 at 8:42 pm
Lauren,
I never cease being amazed at my little girl. That said, I have been continually amazed and enthralled with every dog I’ve ever had!
This little thing in particular is a “chick magnet.” Women just ADORE this dog. And she knows just how to “play up” her advantate, too: she’ll wag her tail at a cocky angle, do her play bow, and prance for them while they tell her how beautiful her coat is and how much they’d like to take her home.
Mine usually loves to sleep at the foot of the bed, either right up against the back of my knees when I’m on my side or (if I’m on my back) between my feet.
She’s only truly content when she’s with her humans. She doesn’t have actual “separation anxiety” but she has the most mournful look in the world on her fact when we leave in the morning. But other than that she’s the most joyful dog I’ve ever been around – especially when she’s just flat-out racing around to glorify in the fact that God made her fast.
April 2, 2013 at 5:25 am
Hi Michael,
u also have one like this, but i think they are called dachshunbdlab mix of dachshund and Labrador, its the best dog arround its lovely and funny, it’s a male, and i was wondering not how it’s was done, i what to know to which dog i need to pair to have more like this, do you have any idea?
well, great article
if you mail me i will send you pics of him, he is just beautiful.
April 2, 2013 at 10:15 am
Lionel,
Laura Hill said:
That’s the most I know about it.
Someone who called themselves “Dog Lover” posted a warning that sometimes these “Dachsadore” breedings go horribly wrong. Just to warn you on that end. I imagine birth defects will happen to ANY dog breedings; but one can readily see how they would be more likely in this kind of breeding.
I personally would never consider “artificial insemination” as a way to breed dogs in the case where it is physically impossible (as in short-legged Dachschund daddy and tall Lab mommy) for the dogs to breed as nature intended. But if I saw another healthy Dachsadore pup, I’d sure be considering it.