“It’s a happy honeymoon until a Great Dane disguised as a Dachshund crashes the party!”
That was the “tag line” for Walt Disney’s 1966 movie, “The Ugly Dachshund,” but not everyone was enchanted with it, and certainly not Great Dane owners who rightfully cringed every time “Brutus” the movie’s Great Dane, was blamed for every mishap that befell the household.
For anyone who’s never seen the movie, “Danke,” the prized Dachshund owned by Suzanne Pleshette’s character, Fran, has had puppies. Her husband has been persuaded by the dog’s vet to let Danke wet nurse a Great Dane pup that’s been abandoned by his mother, and the husband wants to keep the Dane he’s named “Brutus.” All you need to know is that Brutus grows up thinking he’s a Dachshund, you can guess how the rest of the plot. Brutus, and his “littermates,” Chloe, Wilhelmina and Heidi, have their adventures which typically result in lot of broken things. .
Suzanne Pleshette with her “real life” dog, “Missy.”
Several Great Danes played Brutus, but most of the “acting” was played by a dog named, Pirate of Martincrest and Diego of Martincrest. There was also a “stunt dog,” “Duke,” who was one of two Great Danes to appear in Disney’s movie, Swiss Family Robinson, six years earlier. Rounding out the Great Dane actors in “The Ugly Dachshund” was “Piccolina Vom Philosophenwald,” a Harlequin who appeared at the very end of the movie and played a big part insofar as providing Brutus his redemption (fanciers will get a chuckle out of the dog show scenes). Piccolina was owned by Eva Robinson of Riverwood Ranch, and bred by Heinrich Baumann.
Despite Suzanne Pleshette’s character being obsessed with Dachshunds, in real life, Pleshette lived with a Yorkshire Terrier named “Missy.” Pleshette later said that Missy didn’t like it one bit when she came home smelling like other dogs after shooting scenes. It caused the actress to have to shower and change her clothes before leaving the studio. Many dog owners know how true this is!
Image: The canine stars of “The Ugly Dachshund”