Liz! LOL!!!

CET - The breed has changed some over the years. They were originally bred in Germany specifically for the purpose of pursuing a badger into his hole, siezing him in their strong jaws, and dragging him back out. This, as you have surmised, is not an easy task. Badgers are quite fierce when cornered.

However, the German Dachshunds were fully able to take on the badger and win. The original Dachshund breed was a bit runtier looking, with very crooked legs. It was thought that the crooked legs would assist it in negotiating badger tunnels, but that was a misconception. In fact, it interfered some with the dog's mobility when running on open ground. Accordingly, this characteristic was bred out of most Dachshunds, and their legs are now generally straighter and better looking than in those days...though still short, of course.

Of the Dachshunds I've known over the years, there have been a few who definitely displayed the pluck, courage, and skill to take down a badger. There have been others who would probably not have had the courage to try it.

One thing they all seem to share is the ability to totally focus on an objective (such as killing a small, furry animal of some sort) to the point that they simply forget about all else, including (in many cases) their own safety. Once they decide they're going after something, that's it!

Another thing they all share is exceedingly strong jaws and neck for biting and hanging on to the bitter end. You do not want to get bitten by a Dachshund who is in a fighting mood. Once they have hold of something, they tend to hang on and keep deepening the bite.

They also have pretty large canine teeth, good for the purpose.

In short, there seem to be 2 kinds of Dachshunds around now. First of all, there are the latte-drinking types which you alluded to. These have had much of the hunting instinct bred out of them in order to make them friendly and affable pets for the modern suburbanite...dogs who are basically social creatures intent on comfort, good times, and companionship, with only a vestigial memory of "the hunt".

Then you have those who exhibit the original hunting character...and they are utterly determined and ruthless killers of anything with fur on it that isn't a dog and is relatively small (badger, groundhog, cat, rat, mouse, squirrel, muskrat, weasel, etc). Those guys will take on anything they can catch that isn't a fair bit larger than they are, they are extremely courageous, and downright deadly to smallish animals of all kinds. I can well imagine them hauling a badger out of his burrow, because once they have their little minds fixed on the target and the adrenalin is running...the target had better find a tree to climb fast or it's dead.

These latter hunting type Dachshunds make wonderful pets too, by the way. They are courageous, loyal, affectionate to their owners, and usually quite friendly to other people too...unless you're an intruder who breaks in in the middle of the night...in which case they will treat you rather like they would the badger. Not nicely, in other words.