Otherwise, dogs will run swiftly to their owner at the finish line, coaxed by food or toys.

The early meets featured Whippet, Afghan Hound, and Dachshund racing, purely for fun.

The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in California holds an annual Doxie Derby as part of the university's Picnic Day event.

[4] The sport rose in popularity in North America after a 1993 Miller Lite television commercial that listed odd sports, and continued to grow after the release of Wiener Takes All, a documentary film that chronicles two years of the Wiener Nationals circuit.

[5] In 2009, the Wiener Dog Nationals in Fort Wayne, Indiana, held its 16th annual Dachshund race.