Alpine Dachsbracke

The Alpine Dachsbracke became a part of Crown Prince Rudolf of Habsburg’s hunting dog kennel in between 1881 and 1885. The Alpine Dachsbracke is thought to date back to ancient times however; there is no solid documentation to support this evidence. His first appearance in history is when he joined Crown Prince Rudolf of Habsburg on many hunting expeditions throughout Austria. Because his origins are not documented very well, it is speculated that the Alpine Dachsbracke developed from crossing larger Austrian hounds with the short-legged Dachshund. It is thought that only royals or those within the royal court were allowed to own the Alpine Dachsbracke until the early 1900s. The Crown Prince used the Alpine Dachsbracke to trail the scent of wounded animals, mainly deer, rabbit and fox, through thick underbrush. The Alpine Dachsbracke was exceptionally useful in tracking over rough terrain where other long-legged, larger scent hounds could not track. He is most famous for being part of Crown Prince Rudolf’s hunting expeditions in Turkey and Egypt. The Alpine Dachsbracke is depicted in painting and photographs with the royal while on these hunting excursions. In 1932, canine organizations and registries within Austria recognized the Alpine Dachsbracke as the third scent hound breed. At that time he was known as the Alpine-Erzebrigs – Dachsbracke. Then in 1975, the Federation Cynologique Internationale officially declared the country of origin as Austria and renamed the breed Alpenlaedische Dachsbracke. The FCI then included the Alpenlaendische Dachsbracke into section two of its scent hounds in 1991 at the same time he was renamed once again to the Alpine Dachsbracke. The United Kennel Club is the only English speaking kennel club to officially recognize the Alpine Dachsbracke.