Once upon a time, a girl (me) inherited a little funny shaped dog from a roommate. I decided I should learn all I could about the Dachshund breed and that started my obsession.
Since that day, I’ve learned that people also call Dachshund by alternate names including wiener dog, weiner dog (a misspelling of the word very common in the Dachshund community), dotson dog, doxin dogs, doxie, daschie and oh, so many more.
All of these different names are for the same breed of dog. For example, when someone asks, “Where can I find a Dotson dog?” they really mean a Dachshund. They just don’t know the real name for the dog or how to spell it.
Dachshunds and Wiener Dogs are the same thing too.
So how many different nicknames does the funny little Dachshund have?
First, a Quick Bit of Info About the Dachshund
The Dachshund is a member of the hound group that originated in Germany for hunting. They were bred to hunt badgers, and other burrowing animals, in the woods. They’ve also been used to hunt rabbits, foxes and wild boar.
The proper spelling of the breed is D-A-C-H-S-H-U-N-D.
The name “Dachshund” literally means “badger dog,” from Dachs (“badger”) and Hund (“hound, dog”).
If you want to be proper, the name should be pronounced with a German accent – DAKS-huunt (or hoont).
A Dachshund’s temperament is often described as intelligent, tenacious, energetic, stubborn, devoted, loyal, clever, lively, and courageous.
To learn more about the Dachshund temperament and personality, read my articles:
- 21 Things Every Dachshund Owner Needs to Know
- 11 Funny Things Dachshunds Do That Owners Will Totally Understand
There are two sizes of Dachshunds in the US and 3 in Germany. Read my previous article if you want to know more about the different sizes of Dachshunds.
There are 3 coat types – smooth (short haired), long haired, and wire haired. Each coat type comes in many color variations.
The breed is prone to health conditions like Intervertebral Disk Disease (IVDD), a genetic disease which affects their spine. This is the biggie – about 20–25% of Dachshunds will develop back problems in their lifetime due to IVDD.
The breed is also prone to seizures, cushings disease, patellar luxation, and allergies.
Photo Credit: Julie Austin Photography
Different Names: Dachshund vs WIEner Dog vs WEIner Dog
Dachshund are known for their ability to be athletic and their tenaciousness.
I used to hike and run with mine – Chester – all of the time.
One night when I was sleepy and not thinking straight (tired and I had NO CLUE how much work a blog is), I decided to start a blog about it.
But what would I name it?
I knew that Dachshunds were also called Wiener Dogs. I liked that nickname better because it fit our silly and free lifestyle. The problem was, I didn’t remember the proper spelling.
I hopped online, typed “WEIner Dog” and Google returned a lot of results about Dachshunds and the nickname with that spelling. I then typed in a different spelling – “WIEner Dog”. Just as many relevant results were returned so I went with the former.
As my blog and club was becoming known, I started getting requests for interviews.
One interviewer asked why I spelled it “WEIner” instead of the proper German spelling “WIEner”. I wanted to have a clever reason but I didn’t. My spelling of the word was a split-second decision while I was tired and super excited and I had made the wrong choice about the spelling.
I did eventually change the spelling of the blog to WIEner so it was proper and so I would stop getting questions.
However, you do see it misspelled, as I have, all of the time – so much so that it doesn’t seem to make a difference how you spell it. If you type it into Google with either spelling, plenty of web pages about Dachshunds come up.
Other Nicknames for Dachshunds
I’ve been blogging about Dachshunds, and running Dachshund club in Seattle, for 0ver 7 years. I think I’ve heard every name there is for a Dachshund. And so many variations on those names.
“Proper” Names
The official, breed specific, names for long and narrow dogs are:
- Dachshund (Us and Germany)
- Teckel (Germany)
- Dackel (Germany)
Nicknames
Other names I’ve heard a Dachshund called, and their variations, are:
- Sausage Dog
- Doxin
- Doxie
- Dotson Dog
- Doxin Dog
- Datsun
- Dachie
- Daxie
- Daschie
- Dashie
- Weenie Dog
- Weeny Dog
- Weenies (one of my personal favorites)
- Weens
Your turn. Have you heard any terms for a Dachshund that I haven’t listed?
Debbie Cohen says
I never even noticed that you spelled it differently.
I just did a quick google search and thought they made some good points here:
2browndawgs says
Never noticed the misspelling…lol. Seems like people are always trying to steal a good idea.
Mumsy, Chancy and Crew says
If anyone has ever taken an idea of mine I don’t know about it. I am not as clever as you and others so no one would want my ideas anyway. 🙂 I did purposely misspell gardener (gardner) when I started our blog. But either spelling can be found in the search engines. Hugs
prttynpnk says
ie or ei- dachshies rule!
Bill Pfeifer says
You wrote: ” I typed in “wEIner dog” and “wIEner dog” and both came up with just as many web pages for the short, elongated dog.”
However, if you look at the results, BOTH of them only show web pages with the correct “wIEner dog” spelling.
Jan says
Our neighbor’s son has a weeny dog
Jessica Rhae says
I can’t believe I forgot that one! And a few others. I’ll go add them now. Thanks 🙂
Pamela says
Your creative spelling of wiener threw me off for years. I never knew what to tell people to search for when I met dachshund lovers on boats (and I meet lots of them). 🙂
Jessica Rhae says
Like I said, it’s pretty common among the Dachshund community… so I don’t know how “creative” it is. Ha, ha. Google even treats both spellings the same when it comes to search results. However, to people outside of that circle, that know the proper spelling, I understand it can be confusing and/or grating. That’s why I changed it in the logo and on business cards. It would have hurt me too much to switch it in the URL so I own both spellings and they both point to the same website. They both resolve to the “WEIner” spelling. It doesn’t matter how it’s typed into Google though.
Lena says
I love this post. There are so many nicknames!
1) For us “weenier” quickly transformed into “weasel” after our Frank started stealing food and playing other tricks, and then morphed into “weez” and then into “weez-hund.” We’ve called other people’s dachshunds “lil weasels.” Lol, they usually don’t know what we are talking about.
2) A few years back a neighbor’s toddle saw our dog and exclaimed “HUNDLEY!” Which is the dog on PBS’s “Curious George.” (http://curious-george.wikia.com/wiki/Hundley)
3) Also we call fat doxies “Brats” like bratwurst, becuase a bratwurst is usually thicker than an American hot dog.
Ilene Smith says
I sew pet accessories and have heard many people call them Dash Hounds…😂
Babs says
Hot dog. Noodle dog. The Queen of Ween!
Nikka Bonnett says
Omg. That cracked me up. The queen of ween. I love it. Thanks for the laugh.
Lucie says
In Mexico, children yell ‘Salchecha’ (sausage) when they encounter Snoopy.
We thought ‘Snoopy’ a weird name for our tweenie when we adopted him…until we saw his ears flap when he runs and dances. Perfect. (And my name is Lucie. Our last Doxie was Charlie.)
Keep up the great blog!
Lynda says
My two are cocktail wieners! Cuz they are miniatures!!
Sarah says
I had missed the misspelling in the URL too. I’ve been seeing Daxie more and more often. It seems to be a Dutch thing, but that’s based on only a handful or people using it that way.
With Dotson/Datsun, I had a neighbor who couldn’t help himself from making from of a friend’s use of that version. My friend mentioned to my neighbor several times that we had a Dotson coming to visit. Next day my neighbor mockingly said, “I just wasn’t sure how you were going to fit a Datsun through the front door.” Wiener dog jokes never end and take on many forms.
Christina Berry | The Everyday Dog Mom says
I love this post! 🙂
I call Georgie just about ALL of the names on your list above! My favorite is “Tiny Datsun”. LOL. You know that Elton John song, Tiny Dancer? Yeah, I sing, “Hold me closer, Tiny Datsun.” It’s Georgie’s favorite song. :p
Jessica Rhae says
Ha, ha. That’s super cute 🙂
Michele says
I call mine “Wienerschnitzel” lol
DIES says
In Russia this dogs breed called as “Такса”/”Tax” and “Таксы”/”Taxes” for multiple. Yes, simple as that.
Jessica Rhae says
That’s very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
James Russell says
In the old days we had penmanship and spelling rules driven into us, and the rule for those particular letters was “i” before “e” except after “c”; and we also owned a wienie names “Coffee”, but he passed away of old age on December 31, 2015.
Jessica Rhae says
Yes, I had that too. Although, spelling and penmanship probably wasn’t as drilled into me like it used to be (evidence: my Grandma who was an absolute whiz at those things). But I started my blog late at night when I was sleepy and not thinking straight. I remembered after the deed was already done 😉
Bearsie says
They’re a GERMAN breed.
If you’re going to call them “Weeners”, the spelling has to be WIE. THat’s pronounced “wee in German.
WEI is pronounced “why”, so “Weiners” is pronounced “Whiners”, which is just stupid.
OK?
Jessica Rhae says
Yes. I hear you and thanks for the little German lesson. The thing is though, whether you like it or not, or whether is’s grammatically correct, some people in the Dachshund community will always spell it weiner. To me, it’s nothing to get angry over. Life is too short. What matters to me is that they treat their dogs well.
Susan Jeffay says
I was admiring a man’s dachshund, when he tried to correct me: “It’s called a Dutch hound, it’s German you know!” I’ve heard “dashhound” too.
Jessica Rhae says
Huh. I’ve not heard “Dutch” Hound before 🙂
Tami Slater says
I think it’s so cute that you spelled it Weiner. I recently adopted a PRECIOUS little Wienerschnitzel and found your blog when I googled to find the proper spelling!
Keep going with the Weiner, it makes such a great story! =)
BTW, I’m from Bellingham, my puppy was born in Lacey and we adopted her in Lacey so her name is…….Lacey!!
Jessica Rhae says
Meh…. Dachshund nuts spell it either way so they get it no matter how I spell it 🙂 Do you live in Bellingham currently? I went to school and one of my best friends lives there so I go up fairly often. Love that town.
Jens says
You wrote, finger raised, “The proper spelling of the breed is D-A-S-C-H-S-H-U-N-D.” – which is hilarious, as the first “S” should not be there… 🙂
*My* two cents: In Germany, the dog is definitely normally called “Dackel”.
The historical denomination “Dachshund” is seldom used. The FCI states, that Dachshund is the german name for this dog, whereas it is rather used as collective term for “Dackel” hunting dogs divided into short haired, long haired and wire-haired Dackel.
The name “Teckel”, in turn, is hunter’s jargon. Usually, kennel clubs just love to use that description.
Jessica Rhae says
Ha, ha. Thanks for catching that. That was definitely a case of a typo. Ironic isn’t it given the article 😉
Thanks for the clarification of the terms. I find it very fascinating.