Talk to me about miniature dachshunds please

[MiniatureHotdog]

Hello. I am getting close to agreeing to getting a dog...after constant begging from the DC I had dogs growing up but haven't had one as an adult. My DC are primary aged (eldest going to secondary next year). I'm aware that the bulk of the work will be done by me, which doesn't put me off. I'm thinking of a miniature dachshund. For background we have no other pets, we're detatched, average sized urban garden, I'm at home every day, we can afford a dog.

But I have some questions about logistics so I can check it's the right breed for us, and also plan what time of year would be best to get a puppy. Can anyone with miniature dachshunds (or puppy experts in general) help with the following...

1. Assuming we get a puppy, at what age would they be okay left home alone for half an hour to an hour? I'm assuming at first I will be housebound .

1. What sort of age is it appropriate to start using a kennel if we had a couple of days away? We'll start planning holidays to be dog friendly longterm, but there are always odd weekends that crop up that aren't dog friendly (eg a wedding).

1. Apart from the other obvious things like sorting insurance, finding a good local vet, bedding/leads/toys etc for at home... what other things, or impacts on our life, do I need to consider that I might be missing? I want to go into this with due thought and our eyes wide open.

Thank you

“plan what time of year would be best to get a puppy.”

Well firstly - that’s really hard to do, good breeders tend to only have a litter every year or so, which means it’s literally just a case of when their bitch goes into season the year they’re ok to be bred, you can’t accurately predict that. They can guess, but could be months out.

“1. Assuming we get a puppy, at what age would they be okay left home alone for half an hour to an hour? I'm assuming at first I will be housebound”

6 months is a good age to plan for, it could be younger, it could be older... but around about that wouldn’t be too far out.

“2. What sort of age is it appropriate to start using a kennel if we had a couple of days away? We'll start planning holidays to be dog friendly longterm, but there are always odd weekends that crop up that aren't dog friendly (eg a wedding)”

I don’t really use them... but, I’d leave one with someone else for a couple of days at about again... 6 months for an emergency or something I really couldn’t miss, about 1 just because.

“3. Apart from the other obvious things like sorting insurance, finding a good local vet, bedding/leads/toys etc for at home... what other things, or impacts on our life, do I need to consider that I might be missing? I want to go into this with due thought and our eyes wide open.”

Well firstly puppies are often unpleasant to live with for quite a few months and they’re fairly likely to spend a lot of time trying to bite children especially (it’s play, not aggression, but - it still hurts a lot and can make children really dislike being around a puppy)

Dachshunds specifically aren’t an easy breed - they’re fairly delicate, you’ve got to be very careful with their backs, so you’ll want stairgates up and steps or ramps to get on furniture, they need picked up carefully and you need to be careful with some types of playing as well.

They’re statistically the most likely breed to bite their owner, I kind of suspect that’s linked to the back issue as Dog’s with pain issue do bite more and also that because they do need to be picked up and manhandled more than other breeds... which dog’s tend not to like.

They’re not the most trainable of breeds either, they’re originally bred for hunting, so going off and doing stuff by themselves and dogs bred for that will usually weigh up whether they actually want to do what you say rather than just doing it like more biddable breeds. I’ve known more than one that’s taken a very very long time to housetrain because they just kind of go, hmm, what’s in this for me? And you quite often can’t actually see what their back end is doing because it’s already practically on the ground.

They are also often quite territorial and barky.

It’s not that they make bad pets, just that you need to be aware that they are big hounds, but in a tiny fragile body.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply tabulahrasa that's all really helpful. Very good point about timing I'd not thought of it like that! I can what we can do is work out the earliest time we have nothing booked and leave the calendar empty from then on and just have to wait.

6 months sounds reasonable. And yes, I'd hope not to have to use kennels but it's good to know the options.

Thank you for the info on dachshunds specifically. I'm prepared to put the work in for training but I didn't quite appreciate how delicate they are. I shall do some more research...

Most important preparation is practice taking dpuppy pics for mn!!
Winter dpuppy means dark evenings stood in the garden shouting Have A Wee multiple times! Easter holidays is perfect imo!! Everyone home and your dpuppy will be vaccinated in time for long summer walks!

Mini dachshunds are well known to be difficult to train, get separation anxiety and have more issues toilet training than the majority of breeds.
Their insurance will also be expensive due to the likelihood of back problems.

Standard (larger) dachshunds are slightly more trainable but still very sassy!

If you're looking for a small family dog, a miniature schnauzer or a cockapoo would be easier.

I am sure you are aware but Dachshunds are popular with old people for a reason. They love company and do not do well left alone for any prolonged length of time.

My friend (against my advice) got one. He is almost 2 years old and is gorgeous but very vocal, and requires a large amount of "play time" he also has had a variety of health issues so i'd research your breeder carefully.

6 months ish you can start leaving them for 30 mins and building up. We started by being in different rooms then used to put bins out or go to corner shop (literally 10 mins max)

Kennels i just wouldn't use myself. They are very stressful for the animal and we love our dog too much. She would also just hate it as she is a bit nervy. We either have in home carers /sitters or our girl stays with close family (who she knows well and sees 3-5 x per week)

Oh amd toilet training was a total ightmare and almost broke her... she ended up paying £££ for a specialist and while improved he is still at best "a bit unreliable"

You need to be very very careful indeed choosing a breeder for mini dachshunds, they have become far too popular for their own good. Of the five we have as regular clients for our dog care service, only one seems to be in perfect health. Three have back problems, including one who is currently unable to use his back legs due to spinal damage, and it is unlikely he will ever walk again. Two of them also have eyesight problems.

I would also avoid anything with poo or oodle in the name. You just don't know if you're going to get a combination of the best traits of both parents, or a combination of the worst.

Most important preparation is practice taking dpuppy pics for mn!! I don't think that would be a problem!

Hmm, perhaps I do need to look into the breed a bit more. As I said I'm home every day, and am happy to have a velcro dog at first, but eventually I would want to be able to leave it at home for an hour or two without it being upset. I think I'd want a short-haired small breed, that needs moderate exercise, is OK with children but can be left eventually for short times...

Thank you everyone for the replies!

I have two miniature dachshunds and love them greatly but they are a lot of work. They really do not like to be left alone- we have built up to leaving them for a few hours but they are not overly happy about it, they really are lap dogs.

Unfortunately my oldest dachshund has recently suffered an episode of IVDD (basically a slipped disc in his back.) he is on crate rest for six weeks and needs total rest and piece and quiet, which may not be easy to do in a busy house. They are so delicate- really they shouldn’t be doing any jumping anywhere at all which is easier said than done. It has been heartbreaking watching him in pain going through this. The vet has advised forever he can now only go for short walks, no rough and tumble play and even no chasing his ball.

Mine also won’t go to a kennel- we have to home board them as they are so used to a family environment.

They really are lovely little dogs but they are quite high maintenance compared to other dogs.

I wouldn't advise a miniature dachshund if you're a first-time owner.

They're stubborn, difficult to house-train, very noisy and have numerous health issues. As a dog walker I've met several over the years - only one has been pleasant to be around, and she lived on a farm and basically had free-reign of the land and had tons of freedom and exercise.

The others were all chronic barkers, guarded their territory (home, garden, owners), had accidents (even the "adult" ones) and didn't take kindly to being left for long periods.

Remember - dachshunds are originally hunting dogs and were bred to work. They weren't really bred to be an urban home with little exercise.

@Pumpkinsonparade

Most important preparation is practice taking dpuppy pics for mn!! Winter dpuppy means dark evenings stood in the garden shouting Have A Wee multiple times! Easter holidays is perfect imo!! Everyone home and your dpuppy will be vaccinated in time for long summer walks!

Well, not long walks if you follow the 5 mins per month rule. Especially, I would have thought with a daschund's potential back issues, but I'm not sure.

The five minute rule is largely false - it's just to encourage owners to built up the amount of exercise their dogs' get.

In other words, don't take a fourteen week old puppy out for hours - just do it slowly and take plenty of rest, carry them if necessary and don't drag them out to pound the pavements all day.

We have a puppy Mini Daschund. He is delightful. He’s 20 weeks now & is toilet trained. We leave him in his crate during the day for no more than 3 hours. He has 2 short walks a day or 1 big walk. He’s super sociable and loves children and other dogs. We have a stair gate at the bottom of the stairs and a ramp at the back door to protect him. We don’t let him jump off furniture etc. He does sometimes bark to let you know what he wants, he’ll do it if he wants you to lift him onto the sofa . We all love him to pieces

We have a 10 week puppy ! She took to crate training very well. But we slept in the same room as her crate for the first weeks so she wasn't alone when she woke and didn't learn to cry till we came as we were there and could just talk to her till she settled without getting her up. This has worked really well and she now sleeps through and we are back upstairs with a baby monitor. She is happy being left to sleep in her crate in the day for short periods but we currently only put her in if she is obviously tired and its nap time. If that coincides with the school run great, if not she comes too in the puppy pouch. So she is never shut in and left unless we know she will sleep. I wouldn't expect her to just stay at home to my schedule yet. She is whippet and is very bouncy but amazingly cuddly. We are working from the off on her not being too velcro puppy but this is probably the biggest issue. She is pretty quiet but will howl if she thinks she is alone atm..and they are more robust than they look ! I am pretty impressed with the breed so far having had gun dogs before and being a bit sceptical about whippets but the breed worked for our family. I also know of incredibly stubborn miniature daschunds... whos determination not to house train was legendary !

My parents have had 7 dachshunds over a period of about 40 years from 1 upto a max of 3 at a time. Originally miniature smooth haired and after 2 had severe non back health problems (in 1980s) moved to wire haired minis where there was less inbreeding.
All were gorgeous and loving family dogs who we all adored with delightful natures. But...
Only the first one was ever fully housetrained!
A couple of them ate poo
They regularly howled loudly when they thought they were alone
Most wee'd with joy when you came home even if it was after 5min
3 out of 6 had severe health problems one of which was a back injury after it fell off a car seat.
They always barked at other dogs on walks

They would still love to have one last one though!

@icedcoffees

The five minute rule is largely false - it's just to encourage owners to built up the amount of exercise their dogs' get.

In other words, don't take a fourteen week old puppy out for hours - just do it slowly and take plenty of rest, carry them if necessary and don't drag them out to pound the pavements all day.

Is this veterinary advice? Where have you seen this, I'm really interested?

@IReallyCan

This old thread has some links/evidence.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/1975106-This-5-minute-rule-myth-can-I-access-the-new-evidence-to-refute-this-guidline

Get a pug! Easiest anf most kid-friendly breed ever! Ours id amazing! He was very easy to potty train, loves to please, is extremely cuddly (wants to lie on top of whoever is currently on the sofa/bed, sleeps most of the day, but is very playful when you want to play with him, can be left alone for hours and is just the best dog ever

Photo attached

Apologies for the typos

Zelda, I’m sure your pug is great, but the health problems with pugs are so extensive that I would never recommend one. OP, avoid any breed with extreme features -ie flat noses, long backs, bulging eyes, then see what you’re left with and Get further advice.

Our friends have a miniature dachshund that’s roughly the same age as our lab (both around 7 months). I’m no expert so will compare the 2.

Friends’ pup is very cute, easier to manage than our lab just for the fact that he’s smaller. For example, if he pulls on his lead, it’s not really noticeable. We’ve had to put a lot more effort into training ours but theirs doesn’t really do much. He hasn’t learnt many commands and he’s still not properly toilet trained whereas ours arrived 90% trained. He’s got quite good stamina for such a tiny thing but he does get stuck in things like long grass 😂. He also gets itchy a lot and there’s lots of things that he can’t eat. He likes to sit on our friends’ laps whereas our lab squashes us when he does it (although he does anyway).

There was a study done back in 2008 that concluded that daschunds were the most aggressive breed. Probably more due to the fact they're small and owners are less likely to deal with it as a matter of urgency than a bigger dog. I suppose all little dogs have the potential to be more scared of the world when everything around them is ENORMOUS.
With any dog with kennelling I think find a good dog sitter asap. If pup is used to spending time there and loves it it's far easier to leave it there when you need to be away for any reason. The earlier they get used to it the better.

Scariest dog I ever met was a Daschund.
It was completely evil and I generally love dogs

@XelaM

Get a pug! Easiest anf most kid-friendly breed ever! Ours id amazing! He was very easy to potty train, loves to please, is extremely cuddly (wants to lie on top of whoever is currently on the sofa/bed, sleeps most of the day, but is very playful when you want to play with him, can be left alone for hours and is just the best dog ever

Photo attached

I'm sure your pug is very sweet but pug ownership isn't something to be encouraged. Their health issues are extensive and nobody should be buying dogs with such awful breathing problems.

Ours is very healthy (touch wood). No breathing issues