Sunday, September 12, 2004
Salchichas
The spanish word “salchicha� translates several different ways. It can mean: 1)sausage, in its many forms, to include hotdogs; 2) the breed of canine known as dachshund. I own two. Of the canine variety.
The two I currently own are numbers 6 & 7, for me. My first was a birthday gift, on my fifth birthday. I will be 32, in a few months. My boys, the current ones, will be 18 months old in a few days. I feel the need to explain my “obsession� with the breed.
First, let me explain. I am a “dog-person�. I love dogs. My family has owned the following breeds: Beagles, Bassett Hounds (the Hush Puppie dog), English Setters, Labrador Retreivers, Old English Sheepdogs, and multiple mutts. Not to mention my prolonged exposure to dogs that friends of mine have owned that did not fit into the aforementioned breeds. While they have not always been “my� dog, I have loved them all. There have been a few treatises that have asserted viable cases for the domestication of the canine species as being as important to the development of the human race as homo sapiens having an opposable thumb ... given my experience with dogs, I believe them.
So, okay, I am biased. Biased towards dogs. That does not explain my bias towards a specific breed of dog.
Dachshunds are special dogs. Unlike any other breed I have ever encountered. A dog that is entirely comfortable in a setting with no other dogs present, in any lifestyle, ... yet has the strongest primeval pack instincts I have EVER seen in a dog breed. They are more finely attuned to the “alpha� or pack leader (or what they perceive as their pack leader) than any other breed I have ever seen. What does that mean? It does not matter who you are, if “your� (their choice, not yours) dachshund makes the “terrible� deal with you that I talked about in “My Boy� (the dog in question was a dachshund).
They are not conscious of their lack of physical size. My last one whipped a German shepherd ... and if I had allowed it, would have tried to do the same to a rather pissed Pit Bull! My current one has.... Okay, let me be the proud “father� for a moment ... has kept a 5'11" woman (my guess is 150+ pounds) from going upstairs in my house, AND has pinned an employee of my landlord’s(a male, at least 6', and over 180 pounds) against my front door, just by growling (rather intently) and raising the hair on his hackles. THE DOG IN QUESTION WEIGHS LESS THAN 13 POUNDS! And measures less than 4 inches at the shoulder! So, to quote an often used phrase, dachshunds are a BIG dog in a small package. They are afraid of nothing, especially if their pack leader backs them up.
The two I currently own are numbers 6 & 7, for me. My first was a birthday gift, on my fifth birthday. I will be 32, in a few months. My boys, the current ones, will be 18 months old in a few days. I feel the need to explain my “obsession� with the breed.
First, let me explain. I am a “dog-person�. I love dogs. My family has owned the following breeds: Beagles, Bassett Hounds (the Hush Puppie dog), English Setters, Labrador Retreivers, Old English Sheepdogs, and multiple mutts. Not to mention my prolonged exposure to dogs that friends of mine have owned that did not fit into the aforementioned breeds. While they have not always been “my� dog, I have loved them all. There have been a few treatises that have asserted viable cases for the domestication of the canine species as being as important to the development of the human race as homo sapiens having an opposable thumb ... given my experience with dogs, I believe them.
So, okay, I am biased. Biased towards dogs. That does not explain my bias towards a specific breed of dog.
Dachshunds are special dogs. Unlike any other breed I have ever encountered. A dog that is entirely comfortable in a setting with no other dogs present, in any lifestyle, ... yet has the strongest primeval pack instincts I have EVER seen in a dog breed. They are more finely attuned to the “alpha� or pack leader (or what they perceive as their pack leader) than any other breed I have ever seen. What does that mean? It does not matter who you are, if “your� (their choice, not yours) dachshund makes the “terrible� deal with you that I talked about in “My Boy� (the dog in question was a dachshund).
They are not conscious of their lack of physical size. My last one whipped a German shepherd ... and if I had allowed it, would have tried to do the same to a rather pissed Pit Bull! My current one has.... Okay, let me be the proud “father� for a moment ... has kept a 5'11" woman (my guess is 150+ pounds) from going upstairs in my house, AND has pinned an employee of my landlord’s(a male, at least 6', and over 180 pounds) against my front door, just by growling (rather intently) and raising the hair on his hackles. THE DOG IN QUESTION WEIGHS LESS THAN 13 POUNDS! And measures less than 4 inches at the shoulder! So, to quote an often used phrase, dachshunds are a BIG dog in a small package. They are afraid of nothing, especially if their pack leader backs them up.
