Hercules Practices His Badger Hunting Skills

When a new dachshund puppy joins the pack, one of the first questions I always have is “how dachshund-like are they?”

Dachshunds were bred to hunt badgers (dáchs in German). If you know about badgers, they’re fierce animals that take no guff from anyone. Even bears leave them alone. And a badger in its den is just about undefeatable.

So, if you’re going to breed a dog that hunts badgers, you’re going to want one that’s insanely brave – almost to the point of single-mindedness when the hunt is on. You also want one with big, shovel-like front paws that can dig fast pursuit a badger in the burrow.

They should also be able to bark loudly so if you lose them in the burrow, you can still hear them. Oh, and a good strong tail that can be used as a handle to pull them from the burrow is also a must.

Of course, our modern family pet-style dachshunds have been bred down from their original 30-40 lbs, to a more compact “mini” or “tweenie” size, so hunting real badgers is out of the question. But, here at the ranch, there are still plenty of burrowing pests like ground squirrels, gophers, moles and voles, etc. worthy of a dachshund’s pursuit.

The question is then, how many of those dachshund traits are in the new dachshund?

Hercules is only 4 months old now, but I can confirm he already has that Dachshund “let’s hunt for badgers in their burrows” instinct. He loves to dig, and once he gets going, dirt flies to the sound of his continuous bark.

Unfortunately for our potted plants, Hercules hasn’t yet figured out (or doesn’t care) that badgers rarely hide out in flower pots.

So yesterday, after my husband cleaned up the patio near the front door and added some newly potted flowers, Hercules took the opportunity to do a little hunting.

He was quiet at first, so I didn’t catch him right away, but when I did, he looked so cute that rather than stopping him from emptying the flower pot, I took a video instead.

My husband wasn’t particularly happy about the mess, but I thought Herc was adorable. Plus, Hercules learned that there were no badgers in that planter and my husband learned that he needs to keep those pots up and out of the reach of Hercules’ mighty paws.