Owner Shows Off Their 'Miniature Golden Retriever' and Internet Can't Cope

A resemblance is rarely drawn between the miniature dachshund, a dog breed that weighs 11 pounds or under, and the golden retriever, one of at least 55 pounds. However, one doxie or wiener dog has been affectionately labeled a miniature golden retriever, due to his surprising resemblance to the larger breed.

Bjorn the 15-month-old cream-shaded miniature dachshund has gone viral. He appears in a July 21 TikTok video (@sarahandweens) where his owners joke that his large head is exactly like that of a golden retriever.

"We've always joked about Bjorn's large head, stating he looks like he has a goldie head with a sausage-dog body," the pet's owner, Sarah, told Newsweek. "Whenever we take them both out for walks, people will literally stop us to ask if he is mixed. Everyone adores him. I thought of the video as a funny joke to show how much of a 'miniature golden retriever' he really does look like… and A LOT of people took it quite literally."

Dog
Bjorn the sausage dog on a rock in a garden. He has been likened to a golden retriever due to having an unusually large head, and his owner has shared a video of him to... @SarahAndWeens

Bjorn's owner added that, while she wouldn't recommend breeding a miniature dachshund with a golden retriever, her pup is a "perfect mix" of both because of his pleasant temperament. "He's become quite popular on social media as a result," Sarah added.

Bjorn's owners adopted him at 9 months old. His previous family rehomed him after they discovered that their older cattle dog did not like other canines.

Sarah said this affected Bjorn's development: "Unfortunately, as a result of that, in his puppy stage, he grew up being scared of other dogs."

The sausage dog was then flown from Brisbane to Melbourne, both in Australia, to live with his new family. "He was the most timid little dachshund, experiencing everything new for the first time," Sarah said of Bjorn's first few weeks in Melbourne.

"I don't think he was even that familiar with grass as he always wanted to go to the toilet on concrete and walk only on it when out for walks," Sarah added. "We took such baby steps getting to where Bjorn is now, a confident, happy little guy.

"Bjorn, at the start, was scared of every single dog we saw out on the street. Now, we can walk past them and go to dog meetups to keep his socialization high," Sarah said.

What Do the Comments Say?

Since it was shared to TikTok by @sarahandweens, the TikTok post has been viewed more than 7.6 million times and liked by more than 640,000 people.

"It's a wiener retriever! Or a golden wiener," one user wrote.

Another added: "Can we go with Golden Weetriever?"

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Melissa Fleur Afshar is a Newsweek Life and Trends Reporter based in London, United Kingdom.

Her current focus is on trending ... Read more

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