Schweenie

The Schweenie is a hybrid dog, and information regarding his exact origins is rare. In order to understand the history of the hybrid, we can study the origins of his parent breed in order to gain an understanding of the mixed breed. The Shih Tzu is known as the "lion dog" of China. He was used to guard the monasteries of Tibet, and, at one time, the only way to own a Shih Tzu was to be gifted one by the Dalai Lama. In fact, the Dalai Lama gifted a pair to the Chinese Empress, who bred her own set of royal dogs. (Her dogs are rumored to have had their own palace and to be able to sit on their haunches and wave at the Empress when she came to visit.) Upon the Empress' death in 1908, members of the royal family attempted to continue the breeding that she had begun. Some poor-quality dogs came out of this, and they were sold on the streets of China. Somehow, a Lady Brownrigg obtained a good-quality pair and took them to England, where she began breeding them as a part of her kennels. Her nephew, Philip Price, is credited with bringing a pair to the United States, and the Shih Tzu became very popular in the U.S., a trend that continues today. The Dachshund finds his roots in Germany. He was known there as the "badger dog." There are pieces of artwork depicting a dog similar to the Dachshund dating as far back as the fifteenth century. Historical documents refer to the Dachshund as an "earth dog." He hunted den animals such as foxes (his long body allowed him to follow the fox somewhat into his den, but the hunter could pull the dog back out in order to get to the fox). Even today, the Dachshund is able to hunt both above and below ground. His long nose made him a great scent hound, and often, his tail was used as a "handle" for the hunter to pull him out of the burrows of his prey. By the 1800s, the Dachshund had been imported to Great Britain, and by 1885, the Dachshund had been imported to America. He was registered with the American Kennel Club in the same year.