Magyar Posta continues its series on dog breeds with the release of a special “Dachshund” miniature sheet. The stamps in the miniature sheet show smooth, long- haired, and wire-haired dachshunds, based on their coat types. Twenty thousand copies of the miniature sheet of three stamps designed by Imre Benedek were produced by the Pénzjegynyomda Zrt. printing company. The new issue will be available at first day post offices and Filaposta in Hungary from 18 June 2026, but may also be ordered from Magyar Posta’s online store.
The dachshund has been known in its country of origin, Germany, since the Middle Ages and is generally referred to as the Dackel and by hunters there as the Teckel. Dogs which were mainly suited for hunting below ground were gradually bred from hunting hounds. Eventually, these short-legged dogs evolved into the dachshund, which is known as one of the most versatile breeds of hunting dog. It also performs excellently above ground, for example in driving, flushing, and trailing.
For hundreds of years, dachshunds have been bred in 3 different sizes (standard, miniature, and kaninchen (rabbit)) and with 3 different types of coat (smooth, wire-haired, and long- haired), meaning that there are 9 different varieties. Low to the ground, short of leg, long yet compact in body with robust muscular development, they have a bold, confident head carriage and an alert expression: the dachshund’s build makes it suited for agile and fast work both above and below ground. Typically friendly in nature, it is neither shy nor aggressive, with a balanced temperament. A passionate, tenacious, and fast hunting dog with an excellent sense of smell, today, it is often kept as a family pet.
The coat of the smooth dachshund is short, dense, shiny, close-lying, and coarse. The long- haired dachshund has no bald patches anywhere. Its coat is sleek, glistening, close-lying, with an undercoat, and longer on the neck and underside of the body. The hair extends beyond the lower edge of the ears. The long hair on the back of the hind legs forms abundant feathering. The longest hair is found on the underside of the tail, where it forms a veritable flag. With the exception of the jaw, eyebrows, and ears, the whole body of the wire-haired dachshund is covered with a tight, short, thick, wiry outer coat interspersed by a finer, shorter undercoat. It has facial “furnishings”, i.e. a distinct beard and characteristic bushy eyebrows. The hair on the ears is shorter than on the body and is almost smooth. The tail is evenly and densely covered with hair.
