Sausage dogs don festive dress for London parade
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A dachshund wearing a festive coat takes part in the Christmas Hyde Park Sausage Dog Parade in Hyde Park, central London on Dec 14, 2025, a festive gathering of sausage dogs in the capital.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Cosy knits, sparkly bobbles and Santa hats were all the canine rage on Dec 14 as hundreds of sausage dogs and their owners converged on central London for an annual parade and get-together.
The dachshunds’ gathering in London’s Hyde Park came after a previous Sausage Walk planned for Halloween had to be postponed because it had become so popular, organisers needed to apply for an events licence.
“It was going to be too much fun so they cancelled it,” laughed Ms Nicky Bailey, the owner of three sausage dogs: Una and her two 19-week-old puppies Ember and Finnegan, wearing matching red coats and silver tinsel.
One thing everyone present had in common: a cast-iron belief that dachshunds are the ultimate pet.
“They’re naughty and stubborn, very affectionate, very funny and have bags of character,” said Ms Bailey, a 48-year-old interior designer from West London.
“It’s dachshunds all the way for me. They’re just about the cutest thing I think you could ever look at,” she added.
Dachshunds wearing festive coats and hats take part in the Christmas Hyde Park Sausage Dog Parade in Hyde Park, central London, on Dec 14, 2025.
PHOTO: AFP
The walk was started eight years ago by Ms Ana Rodriguez as a way to help her dachshund Winston get along with other dogs when he was a puppy.
Now, it is a chance for the capital’s dachshunds to meet, play and compete in a best-dressed competition while their owners compare notes.
Retail worker Jon Rummins, 43, who brought his three-year-old Bear along dressed in a Santa-themed coat, said dachshunds were like little warriors.
He said their amusing mannerisms and characters went hand in hand with “this Napoleon syndrome where they think they’re big and strong and scary when they’re really not”.
He said: “Bear wants to stamp his authority on things by barking at the big dogs, but they just ignore him.”
Ms Grace McCarthy, 19, said her dog Sausage also had a strong character and was very vocal if anyone ever looked like they might trip over him.
The horse rider from south-east London brought her cockapoo along as well, but said he was clearly not enjoying it very much, unlike Sausage.
“He loves socialising and being with other dogs,” she said as he strained at the leash excitedly, wearing a brown and white spotted fleece with antlers.
“His name was Slinky, but he didn’t like that. He only answers to Sausage,” she added. AFP
