Dachshund owners please come and speak to me!

[Inbedbynine]

So I bitten the bullet and will be bringing pup home next month! Super excited but also a little anxious. I grew up around dogs but it will be my first one. I have a list of things the breeder said I will need but can anyone recommend what I should get and things not to? Any tips???

She replied again saying if I have s family member it will be fine... but I don’t...

She said she can put me on the list for the other dog but can’t guaramtee dates will work. Im presuming it will be quite a difference if i has the 6 weeks hol at home? And THEN when i go back to work it will be a bit easier as pup would be 14 ish weeks old? Or will 6 weeks not make a difference?

6 weeks compared to 1 week is a big difference. They really do change quickly at that age and you have time to build up leaving them slowly as well as progressing their toilet training.

However, that doesn't mean that your plan of someone coming in with you popping back a couple of times won't work.

I wouldn't make a snap decision either way right now. Sleep on it and look at all the options.

Honestly the likelihood of bringing a pup home from a reputable breeder at the start of those six weeks is negligible. Bitches don’t have monthly seasons! There will only be a couple of times a year when a bitch can mate. Not all seasons are exactly every 6 months and not all matings are successful. Good breeders don’t have multiple bitches continually pregnant.

She did say she couldn’t guarantee the dates and would depend on being succesfully mated wtc...... oh I don’t know what to do

Iv told the breeder I need to wait for summer...... makes me sad but I think it’s right... just need to find someone that has some available around July. I’m guessing that a bitch would be getting pregnant around now (where possible) and then be born May/June to be able to come home July/Aug time? I didn’t ask the breeder but do they take the bitch for a scan to check ashes pregnant?

*she’s not ashes

I would ask to put your name down for the Summer litter. Of course the breeder can't guarantee a mating and dates, but even 4 weeks over the Summer is better than 1 week now.

Some check.
I still think you will be lucky to get a pup from a really good breeder at a particular time of year. They breed so rarely.
Maybe look at options to get you through the early months if you do have to work.
Always worth contacting the breed club. You should get put in touch with a good breeder and they will know who is expecting pups.
Good luck!

All puppies are different op. I have had some who have been laid back, easy and obliging, and others who have been difficult. Our current dog, now 2 and a bit, was really hard work as a puppy with a bladder more akin to a leaky tap (she was tested for uti's). It didn't help that she was the first puppy I have ever got during the winter - housetraining, rain, snow and darkness are not a good mix. I would say she was 5 months before she was totally and reliably housetrained. There was no way I could have left her alone as she would have been terribly distressed. Fortunately, we didn't have to as we are retired, but now, having been gradually got used to staying alone during her first year, she can be left happily for up to 3 hours or so, and she just sleeps.
I see you may have changed your mind about the timing of getting a puppy. The summer holidays would be much better, and you will have the option in September of popping back from work as well.
I have also used a local dog sitter who will pop in and do what you want with the dog - feed, walk, play in the garden. Delaying would give you time to put something like that in place. She is very trustworthy and professional and I have no worries about her having a key. In fact, she kept the key in case of an emergency and we were stuck somewhere.

Thanks everyone. I’m glad I made the decision to wait, it was stressing me out!

So those with dachshunds, what do you feed them? I want to stay on dry food, the breeder is using a specific one (can’t remember the name) and Iv found I can buy in bulk. Should I just stick to that one? What about leads/harness etc? Does it matter what I buy? I will be getting an extendable lead I think. Is that plug in thingy worth getting? Iv seen a cat one feline something or other and know you can get a dog one. Worth it? Iv looked at insurance, would £7k life time cover be enough? Know what vet to use and will be doing their plan each month to pay for injections etc etc ....

Need to decide about bedding... will get that stuff wolfie mentioned above....

Have you considered and adult rescue instead of a pup? It's much easier to get an adult dog that will fit into your life very quickly. I've had 4 rescues and never had to toilet or lead train a dog.

I would also be careful of breeders who own both the parents of the pups they breed as it's usually a sure sign they're breeding for money rather for the betterment of their breed. What are the chances that they just happen to have the best sire under their roof already? Reputable breeders will carefully select the parents of a litter, and it's rarely two dogs they own already.

dachshundrescue.org.uk/

at puppy training we were told that extendable leads were bad news. Very dangerous for puppies and other dog owners alike (wrap around things and people's legs) and taught pups to wander freely with no obedience to master/mistress at all in early days.
Why not enrol in "positive reward"puppy training class after ten weeks and see what trainer says. They often have very very good advice.

Dry food can go rancid if you buy it in bulk and open the packet. Unless you have an enormous dog/many dogs who is going to gobble it at an enormous rate

I wouldn't use an extendable lead - they're dangerous and have a tendency to snap especially if they get caught on something. I would go for something like a double ended one or a rope lead - I got a really good rope lead that clips to the harness for about £6 from Amazon.

I wouldn't spend a lot at first as he/she will chew and grow quicker than you think! Mine ate through two Halti leads in two days once 🙈 so now I just buy cheap leads! We have a Ruffwear harness which I've found really good although I'm not sure if they make them to fit Dachshunds.

Yes I will be enrolling in puppy class.

Thanks I didn’t know that about extendable leads won’t get one of those!

Iv been on loads of rescue pages for the last 2 years and can’t get one. They have either been literally opposite end of the country or not suitable for children or they won’t let me rescue one as Iv not had my own dachshund so I have extensively looked into a rescue but hasn’t worked out.

She doesn’t own the dog, just bitch.

Does the breeder screen for IVDD and/or are they breeding for longer legs/shorter backs than is currently fashionable?

IVDD is a real issue in the breed with 25% of dachshunds being affected to some degree (which can vary from a full recovery with rest and medication to major spinal surgery or even permanent paralysis/death) and their shape means they're vastly more prone to it than normally shaped dogs are.

I'd highly recommend having a read through this site if you haven't already. There's loads of great information about the screening scheme as well as lifestyle advice which can potentially help reduce the risk even further.

I'd definitely go for more than £7k in terms of insurance as a bout of IVDD could very quickly use that up in no time.

Yes she does as that was something important to me in a breeder. The only cover above £7k is £12k through petplan. Is that ok?? Is it the premium likely to jump up after a year? Presumably will go up as dog gets older?

You said in a recent post...
She doesn’t own the dog, just bitch.

But you did say further up the thread...
She only has 2 litters a year, 2 different bitches. Both parents are there

As I said, I wouldn't expect a reputable breeder to breed from two bitches and a dog that they already owned. It smacks of breeding for money and convenience rather than breeding for the right reasons (which are definitely not money or convenience).

My conscience will never allow me to buy from a greeder while there are dogs or pups in rescue, even if they're not exactly the flavour I want. There's always a dog waiting out there who will suit your family.

I bought a dog. My breeder has bred three litters in her lifetime. Hardly a greeder.
Something like 8/10 pups born in the U.K. come from puppy farms.
If you want to buy a pup I would always go through the breed club.

I think the 'good breeder' thing is really tricky.

Someone I know bought a dachshund pup and would swear they were a reputable breeder, well thought of, knew someone else who had a pup off them etc. Could well be right that they're a good breeder.

But by chance we happened to look around their property when we were house-hunting, and I went into the basement with the agent to view what was down there, and it was a stone-walled cellar room with no windows and a couple of small crates, where the dogs were shut in. I really, really didn't like it. It was like a prison.

You could argue that the dogs were crated for their own good whilst the owners were out. But they also had outdoor pens, and empty crates in the kitchen. So other places the dogs could be, more comfortably.

It basically smacked to me of poor bitches living their lives in the downstairs crates and only being brought up when whelping or for show to prospective clients...

I don't know.

Equally, an overheard conversation today amongst a couple of owners of pups and a breeder. Local area, everyone knows everyone, you know. Breeder couldn't recall what exact relation the pups were to each other, or who the mother was for each - was it this bitch or that one? Well liked, breeder, lovely pups, all litters in her home - no complaints. But just goes to show it's a minefield - she couldn't recall off the top of her head, and these pups were both less than 18 months, so that means multiple litters from multiple bitches.

We have a rescue. And that's not without controversy depending on how you rescue them/they come to you. I'm not sure there is an ideal for dog ownership and welfare any more. Kennel Club can be as bad a genuine bad news puppy farm.

You just have to do the best you can, and be a committed owner however your dog came to you.

I meant that both parents we were able to view as she knows the owner of the dog. She has 2 bitches.

As I said Iv been on all of the dachshund rescue pages (plus normal ones) for rescue and they won’t re home one to me. Iv spent the last few years trowling through and applying but never succeeding as i haven’t owned one before so a puppy is the the next option.

I’m also signing a contract to say I won’t be breeding from pup.

That shouldn’t be necessary at all. They can put endorsements on the pup that means no pups could be registered with the KC.

She did say about them being endorsed.... is that not a good thing?

It’s a very good thing!! It means she’s looking out for the future of any pups.

Yes I did think that! That’s ok