Considering getting a smooth haired miniature daschund.....

[PreciousPeach]

What advice would you give me about this breed?

I seem to justhearbadthis about them. That they are not great with children, I have an. 8 year old ds who has been around dogs all his life and knows how to respect them.

I also heard they are difficult to train, what advice would you give re house breaking them?

What should I look out for when selecting a pup? I'm in Ireland and will get one from a registered breeder.

I would love a dappled one are these difficult to come by?

Thanks in advance.

[PreciousPeach]

Just hear bad things about them ^^

[PreciousPeach]

Also (and I know this is a pretty stupid question) but how do you pronounce daschund....dax hun, dats Hun or dash hound???

[Isthatwhatdemonsdo]

My parents have one and he is a bit of a shit. Only because they've not trained him properly. They are very stubborn dogs however with the right training they are great.

[VetNurse]

Can be moody little things but great characters. Unfortunately slipped discs are very common due to their long backs so decent insurance is a must! Have known some dogs who have required 3 lots of surgery and costs around £5k a go. Not cheap!

[learnasyougo]

I can help with the pronunciation (German):

Dax-hoond or dax-oont. The h for Hund often gets a bit lost, but technically should be pronounced. It means badger hound.

[Dirtybadger]

As someone has already said; they are prone to back problems. You only have to look at them to see they are not a very well functioning breed; let's be honest, they look completely deformed. So from an early age (and forever more) they must be discouraged from jumping up. Should be carefully lifted onto sofas, etc. They should wear harnesses.

That said, I love 'em. All the ones I know are good natured and friendly. None of them are particularly well trained but they are temperamentally sound. I think they're nice dogs; but they aren't for me. I've never heard anything bad about them, to be honest. They are quite popular in my area and all have the funniest names, somehow.

[PacificDogwood]

Dax hoond = Badger hound

They are fierce little creatures, v intelligent and therefore need mental stimulation. They can be grumpy if bored or not respected.
They can also be prone to back problems etc.

Overall, too small a breed for me

[notsowiseowl]

Hi, we have one, she's nearly a year old and a little character, we love her to bits. However, she has the following not so loveable traits:

They are terriers - hence the name - hound. They will go off on a trail and develop a deaf ear to all who call.
They are virtually impossible to house train (I have 3 dogs so I have obviously successfully trained the others).
Once they learn to bark they are a little noisy.
They are expensive to buy - about £850+. Don't even think about not buying one from a litter that hasn't been tested for PRAcord1 - see several websites for explainations on this.

I had a shocking time trying to find a reputable breeder with the right dog for us. If you decide to go ahead, good luck.

[noddingoff]

Not bad dogs but as other posters have said, terrier-like in nature so need decent training. I've seen some snappy ones but usually those that have been babied - with a sensible owner they do OK and I've seen lots of sweet ones

• get it insured up to the max with life cover (not a 12 month policy) or start saving several thousand quid for spinal surgery now
• keep it slim (won't stop it getting disc problems but makes post-surgery recovery a bit easier)
• dapple - forget it; too many potential eye problems especially if "double dapple"

I like daschies but would not own one. Their short legs are caused chrondrodysplasia- abnormal growth of cartilage. The gene coding for this also affects the cartilage in the discs between the vertebrae of the spine, which is why the breed is so prone to disc disease and why a significant number of them need spinal surgery in their middle years. The recovery is so prolonged and fairly tough on them - lots of physio etc and needing lots of painkillers to try to control back pain which can be excruciating- I would not get a dog that is genetically inclined to this type of problem. Of course other breeds get these problems too - we occasional see Jack Russells, cockers, Shih Tzu etc needing spinal surgery - but dachsies are massively over-represented.

[RustyBear]

My mum had two dachshunds when I was a child, but they were wire-haired ones - she thought they were likely to be less inbred than the more popular smooth ones. The first one, Teckel, developed back problems and had to be put down - this was over 50 years ago, so not sure if surgery would have been an option then. I don't remember him very well as I was quite young when he died, but I do remember he was devoted to my mum to the point of obsession, as was the second, Duffy, who lived to a ripe old age - he was at least 14 in this picture. He was occasionally grumpy, but only once known to snap, when someone trod on him.