It is a talented scent hound, and is capable of tenaciously entering the burrows of ground animals such as badgers, to flush them out, or even drag them out.
Fewer people know of the dogs' aptitude for modern athletics.
Shown here on the left is Brutus, a red smooth-hair dachshund, and the only dog of any breed certified as a skydiver, falling to earth at 128 miles per hour with his loving companion who will pull the cord and open their parachute in plenty of time to make a safe landing. On the right are Tina and Itsie, two talented smooth-hair dachshunds from Los Angeles with great talent for baseball. Like many dogs, dachshund love to run and fetch. They can be capable ball handlers and excellent jumpers, despite their small size. More than any other small breed, the dachshund is as well suited to the sporting field as to the writer's drawing room, the actor's stage, and the halls of the nobility, as these pictures clearly demonstrate.