Burger King may believe it's the new top dog in wieners, but established rivals don't think the chain's just-launched franks can cut the mustard. Convenience store behemoth 7-Eleven and restaurant chains Wienerschnitzel, Checkers and Rally's have all come forward with special hot-dog deals and social media mud-slinging efforts in the last week, hoping to keep a foothold in the wiener market.

"They took a shot of coming into our backyard and we're not going to have any of it," Rick Silva, CEO of Checkers and Rally's, told CNBC.

Checkers and Rally's — both owned by the same company — temporarily decreased the prices of their own hot dogs to 79 cents for a classic dog and 99 cents for a chili dog through March.



Burger King declined to comment.

Its Classic Grilled Dog is slated to retail for $1.99 for a single hot dog, while the Chili Cheese Dog will cost $2.29. "Burger King is late to the party and they are over-priced," Terri Snyder, chief marketing officer of Checkers & Rally's, told CNBC, explaining that the burger giant is likely to pour millions of dollars into advertisements in the coming months, opening up space on social media for a conversation about hot dogs.

Checkers and Rally's, which has more than 800 restaurants nation wide, has competed against fast food giants like McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King for years, particularly in the burger sector. Silva isn't worried about the competition, however, noting that his brand has been selling hot dogs for more than 30 years. Tweet 3

