Anyone have a Dachshund with children and a cat?

[Rebelwithallthecause]

And if so have they made a good match and get on?

[GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman]

I'd be cautious about getting a dachshund due to their long backs, which can cause them serious problems.

They can also be quite snappy: they don't have to be, I knew a standard wire for years who was a very jolly dog, but you need to be prepared to train them - and quiz breeders about temperament..

[FanFckingTastic]

I have a mini Dachshund with 3 children. We did have a cat too, before he sadly passed away and there were no problems. My sausage is excellent with the kids - it was one of the reasons why we chose the breed. She is 8 months now and adores the children - they all play together nicely and her training is going well.

We did make sure to research the breed and got her from a family breeder that had a toddler, so she had already been exposed to plenty of child-noise and was used to being handled by kids.

Good luck - they are lovely dogs!

[Rebelwithallthecause]

What age was your youngest when you brought her home?

How was training?

[SutterCane]

As with GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman my main concern would be the spinal issues that are a major issue in the breed. Across all varieties the rate of spinal issues requiring veterinary intervention is around 25% and it’s possible there are many more dogs suffering low grade back pain which isn’t recognised by their owners. Looking at the varieties individually, the standard smooth is at the highest risk and the standard wire the lowest however even the latter is many times more likely to suffer spinal issues than “normal” dogs.

Both the Dachshund IVDD website and UFAW’s page about IVDD in dachshunds are well worth a read through if you’re considering the breed.

[vanillandhoney]

Dachshunds are gorgeous but they do come with potentially huge vet costs, so if you're determined to get one then you need to make sure you get the best insurance possible.

About 25% of dachshunds require back surgery at some point - their spines are really fragile and small children aren't known for being particularly gentle.

They're also scent hounds at the end of the day and they can be stubborn and hard to train. They're also known to be hard to toile train which is something to be aware of if you have young children crawling about the place!

[FanFckingTastic]

Hi OP,

In answer to your questions:

What age was your youngest when you brought her home? My youngest was 8. We have other animals though so they all know how to behave with them and are very respectful.

How was training?
Fine! It's a long time since I've had a puppy so I don't really have much to compare her to as I can't remember how long it took to train other dogs. We still have very rare accidents but she's toilet trained, sleeps all through the night, walks on the lead, sits when asked, does small tricks (gives you her paw or does a spin) for a treat etc. It didn't seem to be overly difficult, as long as you are consistent and patient then you get there! Her recall was ok but we are going through the teenage phase at the moment so sometimes she ignores me! I think that this is fairly common for most dogs of this age and not necessarily a Dachshund thing. The only thing that we have found is that they do like to dig and she's nicked a few plants from the garden! They are very loving and sociable dogs and I don't think that they do particularly well being left for long periods. This is fine for us as she comes to work with me and never really needs to be by herself. They also can be quite vocal - again not really a problem for us but if you have close neighbours then maybe something to consider? I understand that you can train them to 'speak' and also be 'quiet' though, but we haven't tried that yet.

[RedRed9]

We have a dachshund and a cat. We got him as a puppy when the cat was already an adult cat.

We train him incredibly hard not to bother the cat. She wants absolutely nothing to do with him apart from the occasional sniff so we never let him play with her. You can tell he sometimes really wants to chase her so we have to be aware of them together all the time.

When he was a puppy she swiped him a few times for getting to close or being too rough. He ended up with a claw sheath stick mm away from his eye. So for both their sakes we stay very consistent with the rules of how he is allowed to behave around her.

[RedRed9]

Also, our dachshund is a mini. But having now met hundreds of them and their owners (I organise dachshund events) I would choose a standard over a mini.

Standards seem slightly more secure and less like they feel like they need to make up for its tiny size by being reactive or loud. Also because the standards are marginally more robust so you won’t stress over their backs and teeny tiny bones quite so much.

Although don’t get me wrong; the odds for spine problems are incredibly high still (1 in 4). I’ve met so many dachshunds with IVDD. Do not ignore this statistic. You’ll need ramps, expensive insurance and to be strict with yourself and them (keep play low to the ground, don’t let them jump up on sofas etc).

[Rebelwithallthecause]

Thank you all for the information.

Will need to wait a little while before dc is a little older.

Last dog I owned was a Pointer and he was lovely and easily trained in general but I lived in the countryside then and pre kids.

We have a cat now and DC treats him well but I think a delicate puppy will need them to be older.

I had written off getting a dog again pre lockdown due to working commitments but plan to have quite a shake up (if it’s not forced upon me) to work less and be at home.

[digerd]

Wire haired tend to be more laid back than the others.
The long-haired look the most glamerous but ours was a real hunting dog and hated other dogs and cats. Also very stubborn but reacted favourably to DH's strict handling.
But even he did not attempt to get her off the bed when she gave him the death stare.
But all dogs have their individual characters.
She was the most comical puppy especially when flying off the sofa with long ears like wings.

[HarrietBasset]

I have a mini smooth dachshund and 3 children, she's brilliant with them (they are 7, 7 and 10) and they are respectful of her and know not to pick her up etc. I'm a therapist and she's being trained to become a therapy dog. She loves people, loves other dogs, loves walks. She sleeps for 19 hours a day and loves being on a lap.
She is stubborn but training has been fine. She is quite clingy, dachshunds don't like being left alone for too long. I can leave her happily for a couple of hours but wouldn't any more than that. She also has a very loud bark but doesn't bark needlessly.
She has a ramp to get up and down the sofa and doesn't go upstairs (going up and down can be risky for their backs) with females you can reduce the risk of IVD by not spaying before fully hormonally developed.
They are lovely dogs and super affectionate. I had a Bassett Hound before who are far more laid back but equally brilliant with children and less prone to separation anxiety.

[midnightstar66]

Are your dc gentle and sensible? . They can be very prone to back issues if not handled with total care.

[midnightstar66]

I'd imagine they've be fine with a cat though, especially if the cats there first. Cats tend to rule the roost

[frostedviolets]

Cats tend to rule the roost

Really depends on the cat.
My cat is very gentle/non confrontational and tolerant and a little shy, I don’t think she would swipe a dog.

I really loathe this idea that an awful lot of people have that after a swipe or two ‘to teach the dog whose boss’ everything will be just fine.

Not all cats will ‘show a dog whose boss’, some, like my cat will go all submissive and back away and flatten themselves, or worse, run.
It’s hard to train a dog not to chase cats when they’ve already experienced what it feels like to do it.

And in any case, dogs have been blinded by cats swiping at them and a dachshund is low to the ground, a cat swipe could easily get their face.

[ErrolTheDragon]

We're on our second dachshund and DH's third. Standard, shorthaired.

Their temperaments have all been different, as is their reaction to cats. You really can't generalise about any breed.

Out current one is very laid back. We got him when he was 10 months old (he had been kept for show and stud but developed alopecia) and had been brought up with a cat and used to the breeder's grandkids. Our previous one was fine with kids but wouldn't have tolerated a cat. DHs boyhood one was apparently snappy, DH blames his mother for that.

This one is the only one to have had any sort of back problem but it was more like a strain that just needed Metacam, not surgery - he's had fewer back problems than most humans I know tbh! You do have to make an absolute rule that the kids don't pick them up till they're big enough and old enough to do it 100% with proper support, and obviously no rough play (but that applies to any dog really).

If you decide to go ahead please be very careful checking out the breeder - dachshunds, especially minis, seem to have exploded in popularity in the last few years. No way can some of these not be from puppy farms or potentially dodgy imports.

[ErrolTheDragon]

They also can be quite vocal

Probably the most bark per pound of dog, but at least with standards it is a proper bark not a yap.

[Rebelwithallthecause]

On looking for breeders it seems difficult to find standard dachshunds. My searches mostly bring up miniatures.

We won’t be getting one for a while but if anyone can recommend w standard breeder for when we do that would be fantastic

[Welshgirl10]

I have two miniature dachshunds (one smooth and one long haired) and two cats. The dogs can be a bit over excitable with the cats but the cats soon put them in their place, and when the dogs are asleep the cats have been known to cuddle them!

No children but we have nieces- our smooth is fine with them but our long hair is super shy and hides when they come over!

[bluebluezoo]

dachshunds, especially minis, seem to have exploded in popularity in the last few years

Give it 6 months and there’ll be loads in rescue. Currently it’s frenchies after their surge in popularity, it’ll be dachshunds next. Especially with lockdown- my idiot neighbour found a 7 week old puppy on gumtree and came home with it the same night. Apparently they’d been looking for —that colour— for ages...

[longcoffee]

We have two mini wires. One is very 'breed typical', the other not so much. I think they highlight that character is very much dog dependent, not breed. Both trained the same, both completely different dogs in every way.

One is the most laid back creature you could ever find. Happiest on the sofa, flat on his back, legs in the air. Really obedient, a superstar. Can take him anywhere, and he'll behave impeccably.

The other is an absolute total nutter. He had a tendency to climb the bush in the back garden - long since removed for safety purposes! Has the typical dachshund selective deafness, does what he wants, when he wants, how he wants - training was a complete and utter waste of time. Royal pain in the arse, but very lovely.

Both are fine with small children, never had any issue at all. We don't have cats, but have plenty of squirrels... unsurprisingly one is better than the other!

We have steps up to all of the sofas and a gate on the stairs so there's no bombing up and down, when they come up they're carried. Beds scare me witless, so they don't come on them. The good boy would be fine, the looper would be off the side like a lemming.

[Rebelwithallthecause]

Does anyone have a standard size?

[ErrolTheDragon]

Mine is a standard shorthaired, as was his predecessor. I think his breeder will be retired by now (he's 14).

We found our first breeder by going to a dachshund show and talking to lots of them. Not just about their own dogs ... quite a few do judging and have opinions on the temperament of other people's

By the time we were looking for no 2, we were able to use the internet - looking at kennel club and breed association info, ringing up to see if they had litters planned in the next year etc.