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... or "hotdogs" were bred with the goal of a fearless, lengthy canine that could dig into badger burrows and "fight to the death" with the vicious badgers, according to AKC. Though first bred in Germany in the early 1600s, they didn't become popular in the United States until the early 1900s. During World War I the badger dog's popularity waned, not getting much notice again until after the war ended. Two sizes of dachshunds exist today: standard (weighing 16 to 32 pounds, or about 7 to 14.5 kg) and miniature (11 pounds and under, or 5 kg).