Does anyone have a Daschund?

[llmb]

Iv always adored them and knew someone that had one and always loved his character. I’m looking, next year, to get a dog. I just wonder if you could share your experiences of owning a daschund? They seem to have a bad reputation but I know 2 families that have a couple and they only speak positively and say they are great with the kids etc.

If you could let me know your experiences I’d be really greatful. I have 2 dc but they are 10 and 12 so not babies and both love animals.

Tia

See the '7 months old still peeing on everything' thread for some daschie fun!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/3116709-7-months-and-still-peeing-on-in-everything

Oh no! That doesn’t sound great! I’m not sure id want a puppy but you never see them in rescues..

There may be a breed specific rescue.
They are stubborn little buggers! Full of character and not a lapdog. Read up on health issues etc.

I have a standard dachshund who I adore. He can be a bit standoffish, and definitely stubborn, but also a lot of fun. He's also very barky, so if you want a quiet dog, don't do it. I've found him quite easy to train, mostly because he's very food motivated so clicker/reward based training works well, and he seems to enjoy the challenge. He also has a pretty strong prey drive and has caught mice before so that might be something to consider as they can dart off quite quickly.

Given their health problems (especially back issues), if you do go for one do plenty of research to find the breeder and make sure the parents are fully health checked. It might also be worth looking at the breed club, or some of the Facebook groups if you want to talk to owners. There are also regular sausage walks in London (I've been to a few) and elsewhere if you could get to one to meet a few dogs and their owners.

I'll be pedantic - it's Dachshund and they were bred to chase badgers out of their setts.
The ones I've met have been lovely.
Bear in mind that they are a bit trendy so it should be quite easy to get one from a rescue in a few months.

A friend has a rescue Dachshund. Up until recently they had to muzzle her every time anyone came to the door 🙈 She's bossy, loud, stroppy & loves skittles. Once she knows you she is adorable, very friendly & cuddly. She does herd the kids tho!

You need to be extremely careful when looking for breeders as their increased popularity (particularly of the mini smooths, registrations of which have doubled in the last ten years) has inevitably meant an upsurge in dodgy breeders. The breed is very prone to spinal issues, 25% of all dachshunds will need some degree of treatment during their lives, so finding a good breeder who does everything they can to reduce the risk of the puppies they breed being affected is absolutely vital.

They’re also not lazy little lap dogs (which some online sources would have you believe), or at least shouldn’t be allowed to be. Keeping them fit and lean is one of the best things you can do to reduce the risks of IVDD once the dog is in your care.

This website is very informative about dachshunds and IVDD.

The breed council health site has some good information both about variety specific health issues (including what health testing should be done, personally I’d look for someone doing the ‘Recommended’ tests and not just the ‘Required’ ones) and the main breed council site has lots of useful information about the different varieties and buying a puppy.

The one I knew for quite a while would always sit on my lap, always had to be the centre of attention. I know they are vocal, I know a neighbour behind me somewhere has recently got one as I find the bark is recognisable!

What are yours like if you leave them at all?

Thanks for the links cornflake

If you’re interested in rescuing the breed club run their own scheme which covers most of the country. The breed club has a list of rescue contacts here and there’s also a separate rescue site.

I would imagine they’ll turn up with some regularity in rescues which take on ex-puppy farm bitches as well.

Thanks for the rescue link, that’s great.

What are the differences male to female? Apart from the obvious! Or does sex not make much of a difference in this breed?

@llmb mine is ok to be left but we did work up to it from when he was younger and he's never left for more than 4 hours.

cornflake makes some good points, especially about not letting them get fat. We have to watch his diet as he's a bit of a scavenger and looks so cute people want to give him treats.

I may move in the next year hence why I’m waiting. In my current home I’m a 2 minute walk from Work so would only leave it alone for max 3-4 hours and I only work 3 days part time but I may Not be as close if I do move next year hence trying to make sure I know our housing situation is sorted first.

We have a lh. It's true what people say, that a dachshund owns you and not the other way around.

Keep in mind they are not lap dogs; but proper sized dogs on small legs with huge characters! Ours is very barky with a highly honed prey drive for anything small and furry. He loves and needs lots of exercise! We've found him difficult to train (despite professional help) - and we were all nipped when he first arrived - but we adopted him and he'd had a very difficult start in life. All's fine now we know where we are with one another!

He loves travelling in the car but can't cope with new environments when we arrive, so we've stopped travelling with him now (and spend a fortune on pet sitters).

Compared with the working dogs I grew up with, who were easily trainable and straightforward and whose reactions you could pretty much anticipate, our dachshund is a bit more complex in character; a mixture of timid and outrageously audacious, loyal yet mischievous. Very difficult to fathom!

Despite all of the above, we love him to death!

Btw, do be careful if you are offered "blue" or "dappled" varieties as the breeders of these can be very unscrupulous and the genetic stock is not always sound. Best to avoid.

Interesting...

If I rescued one I’m guessing you wouldn’t know about the parents and the genes?

No you'd only know what the rescue could tell you from the dog's time with them. Unless it was an owner hand in with papers - which happens from time to time - you wouldn't know any true history

Do you think rescuing one is too risky? I’d prefer that than getting a little puppy. What’s the worse that would happen? It could be riddled with all sorts of health problems that I wouldn’t know about? Is there any way a vet could tell about the health genes or only knowing about the parents being clear?

Depends what you mean by risk. Any dog can have health problems. The issue would be how much the rescue could reliably tell you.

I guess what I mean is, if I rescued one, there’s a chance it has that PRA I think it is. If you went to a breeder you could ask for the paperwork of the parents to show they are clear but going to rescue you probably wouldn’t get that information? So worse case, if I rescued one and it ended up with that, worse case I’m presuming is hefty vet bills? Do insurers cover for that or not does anyone know?

Even if a dog does come with papers, it's not a guarantee of good health I'm afraid. Have pm'd you!

Thanks for that sludge

Dogs Trust gets litters of them in as puppies from the puppy smuggling trade mainly. So yes there could well be health problems BUT you could have the same issues from a KC assured breeder pup, such is the way with the sausages! The DT puppies will rarely hit the website as they're snapped up too quickly!

I can imagine they do get snapped up! I really don’t think I want a puppy... as much as me and the kids would love one!

That’s a good point bunny about the health side of things with a kC breeder. Will there be exclusions from a pet insurer just because of the breed? Are they likely to exclude back related problems etc does anyone have any experience of that?