Look at that Wiener Dog Go!
Born from a beer ad, dachshund racing is a growing sport among dog lovers who embrace the combination of friendly competition and comedy. With a height of several inches and legs looking short and stiff
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With a height of several inches and legs looking short and stiff, dachshunds do not exactly conjure up images of critters born to move about the landscape at heightened speeds. One doesn’t usually see these low, longish dogs on Animal Planet programs featuring nature’s most speedy four-legged mammals. Yet, on a warm Saturday afternoon at Thomas Square, owners dressed up their favorite pooches to test the skill of their cuddly companions on the field of battle. The goal: to determine which wiener dog is the fastest in the land.
Sprung from the starting gate, the spunky canines dashed at varying speeds across the 50-foot track to the waiting arms of their owners and perhaps a favorite noisy chew toy to boot. But even for those competitors who spend more time in reverse, or worse yet just standing still staring at the adoring crowd, the competition is not about winning. It’s all about watching those little legs run and the humor it produces.
“I don’t know what the attraction is,” laughs organizer Sheree Revilla. “I think it is just that they are so cute, and they have such attitude and personalities along with their short legs. You never know what they are going to do when they come out of the shoot. It’s kind of like watching cats race. You don’t know what they are going to do. They may lie there, they may roll over and want to be petted, or they may run off to the side and take off.”
Wiener dog racing began in the 1980s after some clever Miller Light ad reps figured out a way to help sell beer while bridging the gender gap. If you remember, a couple is watching TV with their pup when the man makes his claim to watch drag racing. The woman, and presumably the dog, wants to watch the dog show. No problem. A simple tap of the TV with a Miller Light and both wishes are combined as the TV switches over to the Wiener Dog Winter Nationals, where Muffy and Dogzilla battle it out in a wheelie-inducing drag race that results in the pink-collared and detached Muffy winning by a nose - a very long nose.
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Though most of the viewing public saw the ad as just another humorous way to sell a product, for dachshund enthusiasts it was a call to arms. Or legs. Suddenly across the country owners decided to put their pooches to the test while sporting look-alike uniforms and a certain level of excitement that only their sometime high-strung pets could appreciate. The current king of wiener dog racing is the Wiener Nationals in San Diego sponsored by, who else, Der Wiener Schnitzel. An annual event in Texas draws thousands each year. But this particular event, in just its first year, was on a much smaller scale.
“We thought we’d be lucky to get 12 dogs, and it got a little crazy,” says Revilla, who eventually had to cut off registration at 60 dogs after concerns arose whether they could run so many races in such a short period of time.
“I had to cut it off at 10 heats. I can’t have anymore than 10 heats. That’s 60 dogs, and I still have people signing up for backup positions,” she said before the race. “We’ve got people coming in from Kauai, Maui and the Big Island!”
As it turned out, the event went rather smoothly except for a could-have-been-better layout that forced Revilla to spend the entire day jumping fences and taking the long way around the ever-present obstacles. The 50-foot track and gate built by Gerry Smith, her co-coordinator, worked perfectly and not a frown was to be found.
“The first couple of races were for the puppies, and they didn’t know where they were going, and everyone is cracking up. A lot of them got within the finish line and would go back the other way.”
Those taking part in the race, which was held during the Hawaiian Human Society’s Canine Game Day, were given a list of the 17 rules for everyone to follow. These included such things as age restriction, no food and no dogs in heat.
Most important, says Revilla, a Huntington Beach native, was “Don’t take yourself too seriously. We’re here for fun.”
Revilla turned down offers to award prizes to the victors, worrying it would put too much emphasis on winning and spoil a day meant for fun.
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Yes, there is a dark side to wiener dog racing. Some owners even put their pets on a circuit of races. All for bragging rights and privilege of trophies, ribbons and often cheesy prizes. Instead, every person who registered for the 2009 Hawaii Wiener Derby got a prize, whether it was a package of hot dogs, a Puka Dog T-shirt or a gift certificate to Pets Discount.
Though Revilla, who doubles as a marriage and family therapist and substance abuse counselor when not trying to turn dachshunds into greyhounds, had plenty to keep her busy, she did manage to get her two special friends into the action.
“My little girl (a 1-year-old black-and-tan named Ruby), I thought she was going to win the heat, and she was running real fast, but the minute she came out and saw all the people she just froze. Then she saw me and started running.”
Doggie No. 2, her 4-year-old red smooth named Nickel, won his heat, but Revilla gave his spot to the second-place finisher, who went on to win the event. Revilla had too many things to take care of and didn’t want any unwarranted speculation about improprieties.
Though the racing was the centerpiece of the action, the real purpose of the event was to get together like-minded owners so they could network, share information, learn about breeders and to find playmates for their furry friends. Evidently there is a huge subculture of dachshund owners living in Hawaii - a lot more than the 500 who attended the race. And together they make up an eclectic bunch of strong-willed, fun-loving owners who appreciate the same qualities in a pet.
Revilla admits that dachshunds may not be the right pet for everyone, but to their loving owners no breed offers the affection, attitude and individuality that characterizes these crazy-looking canines who strut around boasting under-sized bravado and unconventional cuteness.
“People who are attracted to dachshunds like their sassiness, their independence and their standoffish nature combined with their funniness,” says Revilla, who adds the dogs take on the personality of their owners. “People who own dachshunds are pretty much happy, easygoing people. They are not really uptight, froo-froo kind of people. We all like to have a good time and laugh, because you cannot walk a dachshund down the street without having people snark or smile. They’re funny to some people and really cute to others.”
After months of hard work, now begins the season of rest for Revilla and her small group of volunteers. Wisened by her experience, she is setting her sights on an even bigger event next year that may include a costume contest for the dogs, a look-alike contest for dog and owner, more prizes, more volunteers and, most important, a shadier location than Thomas Square offered for this year’s event.
“I’m really looking forward to next year. We got together after the event and talked about things we want to change, what worked and what didn’t, and I think it’s going to be a lot bigger and lot better next year!”
One thing that won’t change is the contestants. Revilla has no plans to expand her wiener dog racing empire to include other breeds. But who knows? Perhaps next year someone will take the initiative to create the 2010 Dandie Dinmont Terrier Drifting Challenge.
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