The Yorkshire Vet: Watching the Dachshunds in Munich - Julian Norton

So far, the journey had been simple. We took off from the fantastic Teesside International Airport, which gives the initial impression that it’s anything but international. A fifty-metre walk to the gate and no queue at all made the start of the trip very relaxed and by lunchtime we were nearly there. After a couple of Munich’s best beers, we retired to the grassy bank of a wide but shallow river before the next step of the trip, which would be a train to Oberammergau. We sat in the sun and surveyed the people and their dogs. It should have been no surprise that the majority were Dachshunds! Traditionally these dogs have been symbolic of Bavaria and it was nice to see so many in the same park. Our neighbours, reclining on a picnic blanket, had one along with an elderly pug. The pug gave the appearance of being rather bored of the afternoon’s activities, especially as his tongue lolled out of the right side of his mouth, giving him a haphazard appearance. In his moments of activity, the lengthy tongue would emerge and lick, not only his nose but also, the whole of his eyeballs. I’d never noticed this phenomenon before, and I wondered whether this could be another reason why flat-faced dogs struggle with eye infections. The Dachshund, on the other hand, was altogether more animated. Patrolling the edge of group, he would spring to attention and bark at any passing dog. The noise was not commensurate with his stature, but presently he decided to jump into the pug’s pushchair. This gave him a much better view and he surveyed the area like a captain on the deck of a ship. Had his left ear not been flipped inside out, the little-legged dog might have carried an air of authority, but this was not the case and he looked slightly ridiculous. I’m certain that a similar park in Yorkshire would not have a similar proportion of Yorkshire Terriers on patrol.