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Daschund Info Needed!!!


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Hey, ya'll. I might (key word is MIGHT. my mom is one tough cookie to crack) be gettin another dog. It would be my 10 year old sister's dog. She wants a longhaired mini dacshund, but of course she's gonna check the humain society first. We (my sis and I) have done extensive reasearch on daxies, and have learned a TON!! Plus, we talked to a breeder who lives near by and has her one daxie with her four Labs. But, just wanted to know a couple things...

*Shadow (a lab mix) is very dominant over dogs, but gets along fine with little dogs that aren't dominant. I've done a lot of research and think that it would be ok to have a daxie, but any suggestions???

* I know that they have a lot of back problems, and ur suppose to keep their backs straight, right? like, when u pick them up and stuff? And what about stairs? I got 14 steps goin down to the basement, and was wonderin if we would have to carry her down them all the time.

* How much exercise do they need? I know we couldn't take her on a walk with Shadow or Rocky, so how far do you need to go... if they need walks at all??

* What kind of training (ex. choker, positive training, head collar, etc.) is better to use on them?

Oh, I know I have more questions... just can't think of them all right now. All replys will be grately appreciated!!! Like I said, it's not for certain, and we might not be getting one for a long long time, but it's really nice to know all this stuff JUST IN CASE and for future reference. Thx!!!

P.S. This is our first small dog. We've only owned big dogs (GSDs, Labs, Huskies) so little dog info is needed too. lol. Leave it up to my sis to pick a breed that I knew absolutely nuthin about. Well, I guess I got to learn about a nudder breed that I would have never even considered before. lol.

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PG- my grandpa has had dachshunds for several years now and I could fill you in on them a little. (also ask Goo- she has a mini, Annie.)

Firstly- they are STUBBORN. They are also smart, surprisingly. 8) This makes them very hard to train- you won't however see many at obedience, maybe this is because their owners think they're small they don't need training. WRONG- I cannot think of a breed who would benefit more from it!!! They are also determined- originally bred to hunt badgers underground (hence their shape), they never ever give up on something once they have it in their sights. Their prey drive is very strong.
They can be VERY dominant, especially entire males (this is where my experience lies). They won't back down from anything, not even if their opponent is three times the size of them, so if you do get one, get it neutered or spayed otherwise you'll be in trouble with Shadow.
Stairs aren't great for them, but seeing as Grandad doesn't have many, it's never been an issue. Tomson likes to jump around like an idiot most of the time, he's on, off, on, off the furniture- it's impossible to get him to sit still. :roll: (yeah, did I also mention they are hyperactive?!?! A lot of dog in a little body.) Try to discourage them from jumping on and off things all the time, it is bad for their backs, but when they are puppies it's very hard. Also if you get one make sure it's kept lean- the excess weight these dogs put on easily does not favours for their backs either.
Dachshunds do like to be walked and I think they need it, for the socialisation if not the actual exercise. As I said they have a lot of energy for something so small, so if you get one he/she will need to burn it off either by walking or playing games.
With training- hummm I'm not sure. Clicker might be the way to go- these dogs LOVE food and love praise, but are stubborn, so I hope you have lots of patience. If you crack the sads with them in training (eg. they won't stay when you command them to), they will sulk and may refuse to obey you for the next hour. :roll:
Dachshunds love comfort and being spoiled, they lap it up.
It is also said that the longhaired ones have a more sedate temperament than the other types, the wire haireds are supposed to be more terrier-like, the smooths are in between. I can't really comment on this though, Grandad has only had smooths.
Their temperament in general is very bright and outgoing. It is a breed fault for a dachshund to display shyness. They are really very entertaining little dogs if you let yourself be owned by one. :wink:
Here are some links you might want to have a look at:
[url]http://www.dachshund-dca.org/[/url]
[url]http://www.drna.org/[/url]
[url]http://www.dachshundcircus.com/[/url] (this is my favourite one, I reckon everyone should check this out!)
[url]http://members.aol.com/kevinS1092/winston/links.htm[/url]
I would imagine there would be a few on Petfinder too.
Good luck! :)

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My freind/Neighbor owns a Daushound. She just finshed a huge report on them and knows alot. Last night I was telling her about the message boards I was on and she was interested in this one. He dausie is a Male about 2 years old. Hes got a redish coat and is long haired. I will show her this post and she was she has for you.

[img]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid57/pfa8c4f63beafdcc06c4d4e05e687152c/fc6b4662.jpg[/img]
There is a picture of Teddy. I have found that teddy isnt stubborn at all. He like a lab in a long body :D

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I have an 10mth old chocolate dapple Mini Long Dachs. He thinks he is bigger than he really is and tries to dominate the others but because of his size they just ignore him! So I think it best that when you go view a litter you pick one that is out going but not overly so.
Best of luck they are great little dogs.
Bec

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Thanks ya'll!!! I'm gonna print this out and give it to my sis (ha ha... she has to do more homework!!) she'll lap it up. I don't know what it is about those little dogs, but she sure luvs um. lol.

Oh, and we are DEFINETLY goin to spay her (my sis wants a female). I'm NOT dealing with heat cycles and worryin about it all. Not worth it at all, if you ask me.

Thanks again... both for the info and givin my sis extra work. lol.

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We have a 5 yr old smooth mini Dachie, and she's been living here since she was 1 1/2 yrs old. BK described the dachsie personality pretty well... their original purpose required that they be pretty tough little dogs. Annie is dog aggressive (sometimes I think she lives for the chance that another dog might pick a fight with her so she can go at it with them) and fairly dominant towards the other dogs (except Goo, whom she worships :lol: ). She also has very high prey drive, and will chase anything that moves fast (this also included children, but we worked on that and she knows that they aren't to be chased down anymore :roll: ), which can be bad if you want a dog that can be left offleash (bunny runs across the street, dog follows, oops! :-? ). They also have a tendency to follow their nose wherever it takes them, and sometimes will tune you out completely, so you have to be sure to have a solid recall before EVER letting them offleash in an unenclosed area. As for stairs, we have stairs leading outside (one tall, steep set, and one short, not-steep set), and she has no problems getting up and down them, but if you're worried, you could maybe run a little "ramp" along the top of the steps on one side. This could be done with just a couple 6" or 8" wide boards or pieces of plywood. Some people also make ramps for their dachsies to get onto their furniture. Annie NEEDS exercise everyday, or she'll drive us crazy. We usually do an hour of obedience/fetch/swimming/running every day, and if we miss a day for some reason, I can expect to be out there longer than usual the next day while she runs off the extra energy. Some days in the spring/summer, we'll leave early in the morning, run to a park 4 miles away, play catch on the beach (with me throwing the ball in far enough that she has to swim out to get it), then run back home, and she'll still play ball later if I feel like taking her out. She's got decent obedience, but she's very toy/tug motivated, so it's not hard to get her to work. They don't seem to have a really high desire to please (compared to some of the "working" breeds), so there's got to be something good for them in the deal, or you can forget about them doing anything. I train Annie mostly with positive methods, but there are some situations where I'll use corrections, usually on a flat collar. In addition to the back problems they can have (some say that by keeping them well muscled up along their backs, you can decrease the risk of them having disk problems, it's also common for them to get bad teeth, and I've heard of some having slipping patellas. Here in the US, BYBs are producing a lot of dachsies with out-of-standard temperments, so watch for that. I've seen some that are extremely fear aggressive, shy, or snappish around children. Especially in a rescue dog (I DO support rescue, but make sure you evealuate the dogs' temperments carefully), who's owners may have thought it was "cute" to have a little dog that attacked peoples' ankles or barked nonstop when someone came into the house. They are a lot of fun, and I wouldn't mind having one at some point later on, even though I'm a fan of bigger dogs. Here's a couple pics of Annie

Cute little dachsie tongue :lol:
[img]http://seemesmile.com/photos4/2373894a.jpg[/img]

Not afraid of anything (this wave went right over top of her, and she looked like a drowned rat afterwards :roll: )
[img]http://seemesmile.com/photos4/2373909a.jpg[/img]

Dragging Goo across the floor
[img]http://seemesmile.com/photos4/2373945a.jpg[/img]

Trying to get her tug back from Goo
[img]http://seemesmile.com/photos4/2637142a.jpg[/img]

[img]http://seemesmile.com/photos4/2411682a.jpg[/img]

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Thanks, Goo. Very cute dogs by the way *wink*. I'm starting to really think this one over... I'm not one for a dog with no recall, but it's my sis's dog so it's her decision. Glad to know that they aren't totally lap dogs though. The high-prey drive thing I can work on, Shadow has a high-prey drive... and so does Rocky so I'm pretty used to that sorta thing. I'm really happy that I posted this now instead of like when we're getting a dog... really useful information. I can just see the little ramp running down our stairs... until Shadow will decide to use it (I know her) then- crack- no more doggy ramp. LOL.

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I probably should have been a little more clear about that... Annie has a great recall. I've actually called her off of chasing small animals, birds, ect, and she's never blown me off (YET :roll: , so I try to not let her get to into chasing or whatever she's doing if we're anywhere near a road). You have to make sure that they know that coming back to you is a million times better than sniffing around the yard, or chasing the neighbor's cat, or whatever they may come across. In Annie's case, I just made sure I always had something for her to play with if I had to call her back to me for something... I can remember several times when I'd pull off a glove and toss it for her, or a stick if there were any nearby, and we'd play for a few minutes every time she came back. Now she's great off-leash, and will "check in" without me even calling her. If I do call her back to me for some reason, she comes flying back and watches attentively to see what I'm going to have her do next. If you were to build a ramp along you stairs, it could just be a simple 2" x 6" or 2" x 8" board rested on the edges of the stairs (make sense?) on one side, that way it would be sturdy (Goo's 60 lbs, and a 2"x 6" is strong enough to hold her easily, so 100lbs might be ok even if one of the others did try it out) , and the other dogs probably wouldn't be TOO interested if it wasn't in the center where it would be in their way. Annie's actually a great dog to work with because she's very focused, and once she's concentrating on something, you could set a bomb off beside her and she wouldn't even know :wink:

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Thanks, Goo. Daxies sound like great dogs, and I'm sure that one would fit in great at my house. Few more questions:

* If you were getting a daxie, would you rather get an adult or a puppy and why? Reson for the question is because there are quite a few give-aways in the paper, and couple at the shelter, that are adults (like a year old or so). Some breeds it is better to get them as a puppy, and others it really doesn't matter. Just wonderin'.

* Is it ok to do agility with daxies? I don't know if I would or not, but I was just wonderin'. I know that they can, but is it bad for their backs or anything?

Sorry for takin so long to reply!!

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Well, with an adult, it's more "what you see is what you get", and with a puppy of unknown breeding/origin, it's more of a "feel lucky today?" type thing. If I was going to go through rescue, I'd probably choose a young adult (1-5 yrs, doxies can live well into their teens) over a young pup. Through a responsible breeder, either would be fine with me (though I'd probably lean toward the young adult still, simply because I have some definite preferences that might not be noticeable in a pup).

As for agility, some will tell you it depends on the dog, others will tell you "no way" should a doxie be doing all that jumping around. I feel that it's pathetic that the breed is supposed to be a hunting breed, yet due to people breeding without care to soundness (of the back), owners feel they can't even let their dogs run around in the yard for fear they might fall a few inches and hurt their backs. I've been playing around with Annie on the agility stuff in the yard for a couple years, and she does great with it. I also know that doxies are one of the breeds that qualify for the "lowered height" on jumps in agility, which in one club (don't remember which one) would put their jump height at 4". So yes, if your doxie is healthy, and seems to enjoy it, I say go ahead with the agility training (that's just how I feel though, and I'm definitely not an expert on it, so go with your instincts, or ask someone with more experience to be sure :wink: ) . First though, I'd have the vet x-ray his/her back to check for any calcified disks or other problems that might be aggravated by the training, and if I had a chance to talk to some knowledgeable breeders, ask them to check out the dog (in person would be better, but even a couple pics could help them identify any problem areas) and see if they saw anything that might cause problems. I also would get the dog as fit as possible before trying agility with it... at least a month of conditioning, maybe more depending on what kind of shape the dog was in when you got it.

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I have seen pics of Basset Hounds doing agility which is pretty cool. Everything is modified so they don't hurt their backs. I suppose you might also get this with agility for dachshunds? :)
Ages ago I posted a link to a working dachshund club that I will try to find for you. You may be able to train your dachshund to do close to what it was bred for! :D

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Guest Anonymous

One of my buddies has two of em. One female, Cleo, who is the laziest dog Ive ever seen (you have to hand feed her!) and a male, Elmo, who when you first meet will scare you worse than one of my APBTs. Elmo's cool after a few months of talking and bribing. I take my housedog over to play with them all the time. Cleo hates her and tries to get on a lap. Elmo stands his ground while my girl runs straight to him, jumps in the air and does a full twist to stay just out of reach. He growls and snaps the air at her but always misses. He also kills all the baby rabbits :cry: he can find in the backyard. Cleo has had no health problems but [b]thousands[/b] (no BS, thousands) have been spent for Elmos back. He is fine now though! Im not a small dog fan but you just gotta love the dogonalities these two carry with them.
IMO its always better to start with a pup.

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Thanks, BK. I saved it to my favs. Very interesting stuff!!

We might go with a young adult dog, because there ain't no responsible breeders round here [color=red]*rolls eyes and they get stuck in the back of her head*[/color] And my folks still think it's nuts to pay just a FEW extra bucks to get a good dog. They still think that pet shop dogs are still ok to buy... but that's my folks for ya. All depends on what there is when we go "lookin".

I know this is a weird question, but I go campin a lot and that usually involves lots of water, so:

* Do daxies like water?? Some breeds don't, so I was just wonderin. I know, I know, it's a weird q, but somebody's gotta ask it!!!

* I know there are two different sizes in daxies, mini and standard, so I was just wonderin if one would be better over the other, since I have big dogs too?? Are there any personality differences (I didn't think that there was, but just wonderin' *smile-- eyes still stuck in head*) between the two??

Thanks again, ya'll!!

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Well, Annie hates the rain, baths, wet grass, and puddles... but she'll swim :lol: She swims pretty good, but we have pretty strong undercurrents in some places around here, and she occasionally gets swamped by a wave or two, so she has a doggy life jacket. She also likes going in the boat, and is light enough that she doesn't count as an extra person like Goo does :roll:

I don't know much about standards, but I think minis are usually more active, and standards tend to lean more towards the lazy side (that's just from what I've seen). It also seems like minis are more common than standards. The standards would be a bit larger, but minis seem to be faster and more agile, so they could get out of the way. Also, a standard would be a bit heavy for your sister to carry around if that's what she wants, as they can be up to 30lbs.

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Ok. Yea, my sis wants a mini longhaired but I was just wonderin if there was a difference in personalities. We'll probably go with the mini because that way, like you said, she can carry it around. That's basically what she wants: a little lap dog to carry around. But I want a dog that likes to do other stuff too, so I think I've met her bout half way. She's even got a name picked out. She'll name her LowBelly but her call name will be L.B. (pronounced elbie). Cute huh? We got it off of the show Gumby. lol.

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I love the name- very cute. :D

Tomsons likes having water splashed in his face- eg. if you are doing the dishes or washing your hands. He doesn't like baths but I don't know if that's the water or not. The other boys never liked baths either and would take it in turns to jump out of the bathtub (you know, you put one back in and the other one decides to have a go at escaping :roll: ).

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