The Silkshund is a designer dog, the intentional cross
between two very small canines, the Dachshund, a badger hunting dog from Germany,
and a small companion animal from Australia with a talent for hunting rats and
snakes, the Silky Terrier. The Dachshund was first developed at some point prior
to the 1400s in Germany in order to eradicate vermin, primarily fox and badger.
This dog had to be brave enough to chase after animals that were often larger
than it was, small enough to fit in underground dens and tunnels, and tough
enough to dispatch its quarry once it caught it. Refinements in the breed were
continued by German foresters and farmers, and additional traits were encouraged
such as a deep chest for added stamina, large, paddle-shaped paws that increase
their digging power, and a long, sturdy tail to make it easier for hunters to
pull the dogs from burrows. The first Dachshund clubs formed in the late 1800s and
these spunky little dogs had become one of the top ten most popular breeds in the
United States in 1914. Around the same time that the Dachshund clubs were
forming, Yorkshire Terriers were first being introduced to Austrailia in order
to improve the coat of the slightly larger Austrailian Terrier. The result of this
combination was the Silky Terrier, also commonly known as the Sydney Terrier,
first recognized as its own breed in 1906 in New South Wales. There was a great
deal of variation between individual Silky Terriers at that time, particularly
in regards to weights and ear confirmations, partially due to the intermixing
of Yorkshire, Australian, and Silky terriers that continued even after the comprehensive
breed standard was written in 1926. In 1932, the Kennel Control Council of Victoria
introduced legislation that barred further crossbreeding of the three terrier
breeds. The breed was recognized by the American Kennel Club 1959, at the same
time as the breed standard was revised to further reduce the weight range from
six to twelve pounds down to eight to ten pounds. Despite their tiny size, these
dogs are well known for handily dispatching both rats and snakes when the need
arises.