Participants aren’t career racing dogs, and they don’t sprint from the starting gate — rest assured. But Dachshunds, AKA built-to-the-ground pooches, mean business. And so do their parents.
Dachshunds Race for the Gold
“Things can get pretty tense,” says Official Starter and Wiener Warden Joe Gray at the Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver, B.C. Especially when $2,500 in the overall puppy prize pool is at stake.
One dog parent escorts their entry to the starting gate “while the other waits at the finish line frantically waving a favorite treat or toy.” And things can get pretty hilarious. “One year, two hale and hearty security guards took chase in pursuit of a stray pup that ran his own race on the infield grass around the clubhouse turn and along the backstretch with thousands of fans uproariously cheering for the speedy dachshund,” wrote Greg Douglas. “ In a scene you might expect to see in a comedy hour television show, the guards were tripping and falling over each other. One of them wheezed later, “I guess we were just too old to cut the mustard with those hot dogs. We just couldn’t ketchup!”
All Fun and Games
The dachshund dash is typically held at race tracks and skating rinks as fundraisers for rescues or fun family events. According to Wikipedia, The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in California holds an annual Doxie Derby as part of its Picnic Day event. For over 30 years, the races have been a fundraiser for veterinary students. To find wiener races in the U.S., check out dachshund station.
