Spotlight on the Dachshund: Best in Show at Crufts 2020

Crufts 2020 took place at the beginning of March, and this four-day dog show is the culmination of the Kennel Club’s showing calendar, which takes place over the course of the year and represents the results of months of preparation and even years of prior planning when it comes to breeding and showing top-quality pedigree dogs.

The highlight of the show is the Best in Show judging on the final evening of the competition, and this heavily televised event is the most popular and hotly contested part of the entire endeavour.

The dog that wins Best in Show at Crufts naturally gets a lot of attention, and the breed that they belong to tends to see a heightened level of interest in it too over the following months, as sometimes the event puts less common breeds on the map, or reinforces the popular appeal of rather more common ones.

The winner of Best in Show at Crufts 2020 was a wirehaired Dachshund named Maisie; and in this article, we’ll share some background information on Maisie herself, and highlight some facts and insights into the Dachshund dog breed as a whole. Read on to learn more.

More about Maisie

Let’s start with a quick introduction to the dog everyone is talking about! Maisie, or to give her her more formal name, Silvae Trademark, hails from Gloucestershire and is owned by Kim McCalmont, who also exhibited her in the ring.

Maisie is a wirehaired Dachshund, and she saw off all of the other finalists to go home with the Best in Show cup; but likely to the chagrin of her owner, she also goes down in history to be the first Best in Show winner to stop to poop during her victory lap, something the newspapers have made sure to mention at every turn!

What is a Dachshund?

A Dachshund is small and very unique-looking dog from the hound grouping, and despite their short stature, dogs of the breed are not actually as petite as many people who are not familiar with them expect. They’re close relatives of the more petite miniature dachshund, which is what many people mistakenly think is the size of the standard breed.

Dachshunds have long or rather, normal-length bodies and heads, with disproportionately short legs. This is because the breed was developed as a result of the presence of a genetic mutation that causes a form of canine dwarfism.

This is a breed trait, but one that can be harmful; dogs whose body-to-leg ratio produces a particularly long body are prone to back and spinal problems, including a crippling and debilitating disease called intervertebral disc disease, or “Dachshund paralysis.”

What do Dachshunds look like?

The defining physical trait of the Dachshund is their abnormal conformation, with very short legs in relation to their bodies. They also have long muzzles, drooping ears, and straight or slightly kinked (rather than curled) tails.

In terms of Dachshund coat types and colours, there is a huge range of diversity within the breed, and accepted and recognised within the Dachshund breed standard. Dachshunds can be either longhaired or shorthaired, and may have a smooth or a wirehaired coat, the latter being displayed at Crufts by Maisie.

Colour-wise, there is a wide spectrum, but all-white Dachshunds are not permitted, and dogs bred from two dapple-coloured parents (known as double-dapple) should be avoided at all costs, as there is a very high risk of a range of health problems accompanying this colour variant.

Other so-called unusual and dilute colours should be avoided too.

How popular are Dachshunds?

The Dachshund is a really popular dog breed and they’re a common sight in the dog parks and on the streets all over the UK. They’re also a breed that is becoming ever-more popular each year, and they’re also getting a lot of media attention at present too.

The Dachshund is widely seen in home décor items and novelties as one of the dog breeds that is currently in fashion, and naturally, having a dog of the breed win Crufts will only contribute to this!

At the time of writing (March 2020) the Dachshund was the 14th most popular dog breed or type in the UK, out of a total number of 244 different dog breeds and types offered for sale here on Pets4Homes.

How much does it cost to buy a Dachshund puppy?

Dachshunds are relatively costly to buy compared to the broad norms for dogs of all types of a similar size, and the high level of demand for dogs of the breed might mean that prices remain high as demand is currently outstripping supply.

At the time of writing, the average advertised price for pedigree Dachshunds on Pets4Homes was £1,248 each, and for non-pedigree Dachshunds, prices fall around the £812 mark, which itself is higher than the cost of a pedigree of some other small breeds.