Dachshund Races Huntington Beach  Old World Village Wiener Dog Race

Dachshund Race in Huntington Beach
Old World Village Restaurant
Huntington Beach, California 92647 
Call: (714) 895-8020

Huntington Beach, Calif.- Dachshund Racing in Huntington Beach has become quite popular at Old World German Village, a place where this dog feels right at home, tracing its roots to Germany over 300 years ago. Bred to hunt badgers, the swift, 4-legged wiener dogs can enter the regularly scheduled races held for fun and entertainment. Visitors can attend the races, see Events Calendar Calendar of Events.

Dachshund Racing or Wiener Dog Racing has not been around for very long but thanks to the creative ad agency for the 1993 Miller Lite television commercial that listed odd possibilities for sports such as The Miss Perfect Face Off, Sumo Platform Diving and Wiener Dog Drag Races, this phenomenon has taken off in a big way. Wiener Dog Dachshund races are extremely popular events'some horse and dog racing tracks break attendance records when the doxies race days and nights are held.

In an average year over 15,000 people attend a dachshund race at Orange County's Los Alamitos raceway. This annual fundraiser for Seal Beach Animal Shelter was so popular that contestants were chosen from the creative letters their owners wrote telling why their doxies should compete. To keep the playing field equitable, such a process was chosen to address the concerns of the Dachshund Club of America which fears abuses can occur should Dachshund racing become a sport of betting.

While some compare the sport to that of English and later American Greyhound racing, others see it having the possibility of harming the breed from strain placed on its spinal column. Others also see the possibility for abuse of racing Dachshunds, as evidenced by the large number of Greyhounds put to sleep every year once they have proven unsuitable for racing.

It doesn't look like Dachshund racing will be going away soon, however. The national wiener dog racing championships - the Wienerschnitzel Wiener Nationals, feature racing wieners from across the USA. Dachshund owners love to gather and mingle in a sport where the training techniques are unique and creative. A second place winner, a 30-pound doxie named Max is trained by owner David Niebur who yanks a garbage bag across his backyard lawn for Max to chase. 

Most dachshund races are a length of 50 meters, and usually start with the dogs in a starting box. The box is opened upon a signal from a referee and the race begins. In some races the course is wide open, wide the dogs able to switch lanes, however some races have each lane separated. The latter races tend to be less entertaining since much of the fun of a dachshund race is watching dogs mill  around the starting gate sniffing each other instead of running.

Between 30 and 40 dachshund races are scheduled across the USA annually according to the Dachshund Club of America. Dachshunds are generally easy to train for the show ring, and many of them enjoy showing. The loyal Dachshund makes a good companion whether you live in a small city apartment or the country. But they do have a loud bark, say their owners.

The miniature dachshund weighs 11 pounds or less at maturity; a standard dachshund weighs 16 to 32 pounds.  Both dachshund sizes come in three coat types - smooth, long-haired, and wirehaired.

The smooth is the original dachshund. Long-haired dachshunds were developed by crossing the smooth dachshund with spaniels; the standard long-hairs tend to be somewhat larger than the smooths, and their temperaments may be calmer and more focused on their humans. Wirehairs were developed by crossing smooth dachshunds with terriers.

In Huntington Beach the Dachshunds and their owners have been showing up at Old World Village for over a decade since the Wiener Dog Race Craze took off in 1993. The races were started by Inga McKellop, owner of the Coffee Mill coffee shop. Placed into one of four weight classes, the Dachshunds run a 22-yard course with their owners at the finish line, luring their dogs to run toward them with colorful toys, food or cheers and calls.

The 2010 Wiener Dog Nationals mark the 15th anniversary of the event. Sixteen tiny-legged hot dogs are hot to trot for the title of top dog.  To enter your star performer, you  must pay an entry fee of  $16 per dog. Call (714) 898-5111 with credit card payment for entry.
The public is invited to attend and watch the races. The entry fee is $1 per adult and free for children 12 and under.

Old World Village was designed in the style of an authentic Bavarian Village with homes located in second story quarters above shops and restaurants. There's a church in the village, Huntington Beach Old World Village Church - St. Judas Chaddeus, that holds a service each week in German. It is quite popular for weddings and can facilitate 120 guests in the chapel. The village includes German delis and bakeries,  a shop with cut crystal collectibles, another shop that sells clocks and steins and an authentic Rathskellar where acts such as Lonnie and his accordion are featured regularly (see calendar of events).

Wiener Dog Dachshund Races and Oktoberfest are both held at Old World Village's Old World Restaurant. From the San Diego Freeway (405), exit at Beach Boulevard toward Huntington Beach. Go south to Center Ave. Look for the lit sign and the globe of the the world at the shopping center across the street from Hotel Huntington Beach and Bella Terra (Huntington Beach) Mall.