I’ve got the answer!
According to this site, http://planetpets.simplenet.com/dachshnd.htm
the original dachshund weighed in at about 30-40 lbs instead of the 10 lbs that is common today. At the time the badger-dog got its name it was in the same weight class as the badger. Since nobody has really had any real need (or desire) to hunt badgers in about 500 years, the dachshund has been bred to better suit its modern role as a freakish looking lap dog.
Fun factoid: the term “hot dog” is derived from that treat’s former name – dachshund sausages. Vienna, of course, is the source of the term “weiner,” and frankfurter, well, you get the picture.
Which reminds me to start a thread on a related topic …
Badgers killed Murray State, of course. Go Badgers!
Jophiel questions:
The fur makes excellent shaving brushes, and pretty good artists’ brushes.
I’m not familiar with the way in which badgers dig setts; however, if they are anything like prairie dog towns, the way in which they would be discovered is by the local baron having his horse step in one whilst we was ridng across the fields. Assuming that he survived the experience, his next move would have been to go out and buy a pack of dachshunds.
“Kings die, and leave their crowns to their sons. Shmuel HaKatan took all the treasures in the world, and went away.”
My money’s on the weinerdogs, only if they can be trained to use hand grenades.
“…send lawyers, guns, and money…”
Warren ZevonThe terriers that Mac was referring to were probably Wheaten Terriers. They are about 30-40 lbs and were bred for ‘badgering’.
[[According to this site, http://planetpets.simplenet.com/dachshnd.htm
the original dachshund weighed in at about 30-40 lbs instead of the 10 lbs that is common today. At the time the badger-dog got its name it was in the same weight class as the badger. Since nobody has really had any real need (or desire) to hunt badgers in about 500 years, the dachshund has been bred to better suit its modern role as a freakish looking lap dog.]] Papabear
Hmmm … my recollection was that the breed was divided into “standard” (25-35 lbs) and miniature. I just figgered that, for either aesthetic or medical reasons, the miniature ones had greatly eclipsed the standards in popularity. I suppose the standard/miniature distinction is a bit artificial, though, from a biological perspective.
My grandfather definitely had one of the larger varieties, however – that pooch had to weigh at least 25 pounds. His ultimate replacement was less than half his size.
Yep the winer dogs come in two sizes and three flavors toy and standard / long,short and wire hair. The toys run about 10 lbs. and the standard about 25 lbs. Mine weighed in at 22.5 lbs last week ( he still looks fat )
Found these interesting photos: LINK
Look! Zombie badgers!
(Seriously…DWestphal, you’re new here, but did you note that you resurrected a 13-year-old thread to post that?)
Look at the caption of the second photo. Tell me the first word that enters your mind…
Goose!
Hey, you gotta at least give DWestphal credit for providing the most definitive answer to the OP’s question.
Up until DWs post, every answer in the thread was based on what somebody read or heard about, somewhere. 
And just in case nobody else has yet…
Welcome to the Straight Dope DWestphal, good to have you aboard. Enjoy the ride! 
Wikipedia seems to be pretty certain on the fact that dachshunds were bred to hunt badgers. Pet dogs might not have a reputation for being vicious but I don’t see any reason why a dog of similar size to badger should lose a fight so easily. Let’s not forget that dogs are still canis lupus (a wolf) and while they might be bred to be friendly now, hunting dogs were not pets and were bred specifically to fight. The same can’t be said for badgers. Also, although badgers have a reputation for fierceness, do they really fight any battle that comes to them, or would they prefer to retreat? If a dog comes into their sett are we sure they wouldn’t prefer to turn around and leave by another exit? A strange-smelling, barking animal invading your home must be a little weird.
If you want an unfair fight, have you ever seen a bulldog?
Edit: somehow I didn’t notice the age of this thread…
ZOMBIE! Ahhhh, it’s a zombie!
Anecdotally, I can say they prefer to retreat. My little dog (a 10 kg Spitz) met a badger one day. The badger ran away with my dog in pursuit.
I think a lot of the point here is that European badgers really are not known for being aggressive to the same degree as American badgers.
They just ain’t that similar, and the dogs were bred in Europe.
European badgers, though they will sometimes fight back, will generally just leg it from attackers. They also don’t hunt anything much bigger than a frog. Badger baiting with dogs was common in the UK at least- and is still occasionally reported, despite being banned for decades.
Yep. That pretty much nailed it. It’s good to have a final answer even if it took longer than we thought.
Good point. I’ve seen captive European badgers (in a kind of zoo) and the person who feeds them was easily able to pick them up in a demonstration. Members of the public could even touch the more docile ones (I think it was mostly the males). They were fairly tame (although by no means pets) but they seemed way too cuddly to be such ferocious beasts in the wild.
Wikipedia says:
And what a zombie circa 1999! Threads hunted with clubs back then.