köken: From jama (“burrow”) + -nik, related to the fact that this breed of dog was traditionally used to hunt burrowing animals. Colloquial senses derived from the body shape of the dog.
18th c., from Low German Teckel, a variant of German Dackel, also Dächsel and perhaps *Däckel, from Dachshund. Most readily explained as a borrowing from Upper German or East Central German dialects, which use the diminutive ending -el and in which word-initial ‹d› tends to be voiceless. Note, however, that Teckel is attested somewhat earlier than the other forms.