Weenies run wild at 4th annual Harvey’s Garden Oktoberfest dachshund race
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Standing strong on its four legs, the low-riding, aerodynamic speed-chaser, also known as a wiener dog, prepares to race to the finish line. One of the competitors in question is a 2-year-old dachshund Gertig Gunthram, which his owner Shannon Aylesworth said means “spear warrior” in German.
“(Being a dachshund parent) is like joining a cult,” Gertig’s owner Aylesworth said.
On Saturday, Harvey’s Garden hosted Syracuse’s furry friends for their fourth dachshund race at the venue’s annual Oktoberfest celebration. Pairing with the German-themed event, there was steinholding, a best-dressed Oktoberfest contest and then the main attraction: the wiener races.
Split into three separate heats, the winning dog of each bracket moved onto the final round, where one winner was crowned.
Shanon brought her two dachshunds, Gertig and Dillian, but only Gertig competed in the race because 6-month old Dillian is still training, Aylesworth said.
After hearing about the event for the first time this year, Aylesworth knew she needed to bring her dogs to enjoy the day, too. She drove from Utica to Syracuse to enroll her dog in the race.
“Ever since I had my first dachshund I have been obsessed with them,” Aylesworth said. I’m part of a lot of dachshund clubs and have been looking for events to take them to.”
A dachshund owner embraces her dog at Harvey’s Garden’s fourth-annual dachshund race. The Saturday afternoon event was the finale of an Oktoberfest celebration. Sparrow Lieu | Contributing Photographer
While Gertig didn’t take the cake this year, he’s determined to come back next year and try again, Aylesworth said.
Other dog owners, like Julie Ende, a frequent guest at Harvey’s, heard about this year’s races on Facebook. Ende brought her 4-year-old dachshund, Lola, who she rescued last summer.
To get their dogs to stay on track and run the race, some dog parents stationed one person at the starting line and the other at the finish. From high-pitched squeaky toys to tasty treats, the dachshund owners used various tactics to encourage their pups to cross the finish line.
“I was thinking about leaving for 10 minutes and standing at the other side so she’d run to me, but she’s also obsessed with other dogs, so hopefully she’ll follow the crowd and keep up,” Ende said.
While some tricks worked to keep dogs on the course, Nicole Wall’s 5-year-old dachshund Frankie had its own plan in mind. Frankie was the runt of his litter but still tried his best in the race, Wall said.
During the second heat, Frankie ran up to the finish line three times without crossing and came running back; it’s safe to say he didn’t win his heat.
“Frankie loves people, and he also loves to almost win the race then stop,” Ende said. “He’s used to getting his name yelled, and he’s used to ignoring me like he does at home.”
Next year, Ende plans to enter Frankie in the races to redeem himself. She’ll better prepare him by practicing at home and getting him a “cute German-dog outfit,” she said.
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Iris Iacob and Zach Eklum brought 2-year-old dachshund Tommy to the race in hopes of doing better than he did in the past. Last year, Tommy got overwhelmed by the cheering and whistling, so he simply sat down on the track.
“He’s in it to win it,” Eklum said. “He’s motivated by happy smiling faces. He’s really social and loves the other dachshunds.”
From miniature-sized to wavy haired dachshunds, each dog looked and performed differently.
For Cara LaSala and her 8-month-old puppy Elfie, getting to be around other dogs and parents at the race made the event worth it — even though Elfie got stage freight and turned around during the race.
“I’ve never seen this many dachshunds in one place,” LaSala said. “Meeting all the different kinds of dachshunds and seeing everybody show up, it was a fun community activity.”
