Does anyone have a 10 year+ dachshund?

[Wonderingwhyme]

Opportunity has arisen to take on 10 year old bitch. Very healthy so far... only reluctance is age and her not being round for long and break my kids hearts... but at the same time you could have a 1year old die...

If you have one 10+ what are they like? Sprightly or obviously an ‘old’ dog?

I'm a vet and dachsies are very popular where I live. Most of them are pretty fresh at 10. They can live to 16 or 17 with the odd one getting even older but invariably are 'old' dogs by 14. The three main issues I see with them are obesity, spinal problems and dental disease. A slim well-maintained dog who has no history of back problems might be very perky for years and years to come. Expect to pay for annual dental work. Temperament is variable; I have seen them noted as 'dog most likely to bite owner'.

Thanks so much for that @villainousbroodmare I really appreciate it. She will be coming from a breeder (who is getting old and needs to downsize her brood as she has 10 that are pets) who is known for her love and care for them. I know someone who has one of her dogs And he is immaculate. I can’t remember the facts but they are Kc registered and have lines of crufts winners etc etc. She hasn’t had any health problems at all.

The only thing is, (and will be checking this when I see her) I don’t think she is spayed as the owner only has females. I would want her spayed as my friend who has her nephew (we think!) has a boy and would have her if I need to go somewhere I can’t take her ... but is 10 too risky to go through the operation?

Not at all, pyometra (uterine infection, common in unspayed older bitches) is much more risky.

Ok thanks. Does it cost more to spay older dogs? Also no one iv spoken to knows the answer to this... do dogs go through the menopause??? Or can they get pregnant up until the day they die?

Would the dental work come up when I take her for annual check ups? Do it all together?

It often does cost a bit more to spay older dogs because we usually run pre-anaesthetic bloods and give fluids just to safeguard them; often this is not deemed essential with young dogs. An older bitch may or may not continue to cycle - she definitely wouldn't conceive as readily as a young bitch but still could. But the real reason to spay is to avoid pyometra which is a potentially dangerous uterine infection associated with heat cycles in older bitches. Annual vaccination appointments would be the assessment point for teeth but all dental work really requires an anaesthetic and as for spay, this would also entail bloods and iv fluids at that time. Cost varies widely from a relatively inexpensive scale and polish with no extractions to a serious bit of work with large number of extractions which is by no means rare in older dachsies.

Ok brilliant thank you, that’s really helpful, I appreciate it.

I’m looking forward to meeting her in a couple of days... I just would’ve preferred a younger one for the dc but as I said, doesn’t always guarantee a longer life.

We have recently adopted a 10 year old Staffie Cross. I was expecting a dog that liked a quiet life but she is amazingly active and spent a full 50 minutes charging around chasing tennis balls in an exercise paddock last weekend without stopping once for a breather. A fit dog who is not overweight should not be showing much signs of ageing at 10 if they are one of the breeds with a life expectancy of 16. Our dog was spayed in rescue at age 9 and made a good recovery. Our current dog is the most recent of three that we have adopted at 8 +, all of them have been lovely and brought a lot of joy into our lives. I don't think you will regret this.

Thanks @Astrabees that’s lovely to here.