Miniature wire-haired dachshund

[brizzlewizzle]

Does anyone have any experience of this breed? Suitable for tween kids? Do they require much walking? Do they like to cuddle? Any advice very much appreciated - thank you

I heard that daschunds were originally bred to run long distances!
Don't know about miniatures though

Lovely dogs, but riddled with health problems. The very, very, very best pet insurance is a must. Unless money is no object, and by that I mean you can afford £10k vet bills at the drop of a hat, you should not consider a dachshund without good insurance. (And you can expect the insurance to be expensive too)
I love them as a breed, but I would never consider purchasing one as a puppy.

Friend had one. Cute and cuddly but very stubborn and loads of back problems. Vet had told her that hers must never be allowed to climb stairs!

Vital to get a recognised breeder - there is a breed club.

We have a mini shorthaired. She’s gorgeous, has a wonderful, calm, gentle personality and gets on really well with my 8&10 year old. She’s not so strong that they can’t hold her on the lead (unlike our spaniel who can pull me over!) Everything I was warned about in terms of stubbornness, difficult to train and very hard to house train has been true. She likes to bark (but not as much as the spaniel). She’s super cuddly and I’ve worked hard to ensure she doesn’t suffer from separation anxiety but I can see that this breed could be prone. Ours isn’t old enough to have suffered with her back but we do have good (expensive!) insurance in place. I did a lot of research and bought her from a very reputable breeder. There’s a lot of charlatans out there looking to make a quick buck and with their health problems, this is one breed you need to source really carefully.

Also, you will have every Tom, Dick and Harry running down the street after you shouting “SAUSAGE DOG!!” It’s like taking a mini celebrity with you everywhere you go!

Thank you all - very useful

I have a mini smooth, agree with the above, especially people shouting “sausage” every five minutes on a walk!
Mine is super affectionate, can outwalk us but if it’s raining will happily stay cuddled up in a blanket for the day. Quality breeding and comprehensive insurance is a must (we have pet plan)
We are besotted with ours, dachshunds have such characters, they are stubborn but I think I’ll always have one

You need to be prepared with insurance; IVDD is a risk and costs a lot.

They’re not an easy breed so not necessarily suitable for a first time dog owner. As well as the difficulty toilet training and the issue with barking, etc, they’re also prone to suffering with separation anxiety. They are very cuddly and loving though.

I would recommend looking for a local dachshund group and asking to walk regularly with some of the members. Ask them to tell you what it’s like having their dog in particular (without sugar coating it). After a while you’ll have a better idea of what the breed is like.

@brizzlewizzle please don't fund the breeding of deformed dogs.

Daschunds are stubborn, tricky to toilet train, often anxious, and more likely to show unprovoked aggression than many other breeds
But most importantly they're bred to a breed standard which condemns them to pain and suffering. Please choose a healthy breed

You need to be careful with their backs, and make sure you get very good insurance. They have unnaturally long bodies and short legs which unfortunately means they're prone to a lot of joint problems, and insurance costs reflect it.

I'm a dog walker and have three on my books - all lovely dogs but wary with strangers and new people. They're all prone to barking at new people or new dogs as well. They're typical hounds and follow their noses, meaning you can be stood their like a lemon while they sniff the same blade of grass for five minutes -this may or may not have happened to me this morning. No amount of coaxing would get her to move before she was ready!

The oldest of the three is now nine and sadly she's had two lots of surgery for joint and back problems and she limps on one of her rear legs. It doesn't seem to stop her and she'll still charge about but I have to be very careful to keep her on flat ground and I don't let her jump or climb things.

Thank you all. I am heeding your advice - think it might not be the best choice for us xx

I have 2 wires, they are 9 and 13 now. Lovely, friendly, laid back, not as nippy as smooths IMO. Mine are very good around my grandchildren. I love them to death, however, at 8years the dog had to have back surgery. We were insured with Tesco and they paid out in full. He is now 5 years on and fine but it is something to give serious thought to. Good luck with whatever you decide to do

I used to know someone who bred mini wires. She reckoned they were impossible to housetrain and, being tiny, were particularly adept at sneaking under sofas for a crap.

She reckoned if you moved out all the furniture in her house, you'd inevitably find some fossilised daxie poo somewhere.

Gorgeous little dogs though, with huge personalities.

I've got a dachshund cross. I adore him, but I'm not sure he'd naturally lend himself to being a family dog! On the plus side, house training was the one thing previous owners managed to instill in him. However, he certainly has the barky / nervous / aloof with strangers thing going on, as described above. Mind you, being aloof with strangers does have the distinct advantage that he's never jumped up at strangers (well, with one exception, but she was using raw mince as her dog's treats so it was really the exception that prooved the rule...!)

If you give us some idea of the sort of dog you're looking for, I'm sure MN will have some good ideas - probably best to start a new thread though.