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

I would say that an Italian Greyhound is also not a great dog for a family or a first-timer. They are deffo NOT miniature whippets or greyhounds.

Like mini daschunds they are slow to toilet train, they can be very vocal and they are soooo delicate. Honestly, if your Iggy bashes a little toe, the screaming is pitiful. Real drama llamas.

We adore our little IG but he is a tricky thing. Not a people pleaser at. all.

The whippet on the other hand is an absolute dream. So quiet, gentle, biddable, can read her like a book.

We have used kennels in the past but use a dog sitter now. They'll need the kennel cough vaccine for kennels.

Italian Greyhounds are pretty fragile too. I used to work at a vets and we had a patient who somehow broke his leg running round the park, then rebroke it a few months later jumping off of furniture.

With kids, I'd suggest looking for a dog they can interact with, throw a ball around on the garden etc, not something super delicate.

Don't rule out a small mixed breed rescue (an adult may circumvent the issue of toilet training & building up alone time) but avoid designer mixes; they aren't usually bred for good health or temperament unfortunately.

Avoid exaggerated features - flat faces, long backs, large protruding eyes - these tend to bring additional health issues.

I'd suggest looking into:
Mini poodles (very smart, love them with a teddy cut. Fluffy but non shedding)
Border terriers (probably my favourite of the terriers)
Tibetan terriers (not actually a terrier!)
Mini schnauzers
Whippets

We looked seriously into Italian greyhounds- viewed them at crufts years ago but they are just too fragile.Dachshunds have a reputation for spinal problems as already mentioned and more and more people are finally coming round to the idea that it is immoral almost to buy the popular breeds such as pugs frenchies etc.
Mini poodle,mini schnauzers I think would make excellent first time owner pets

I absolutely love Italian greyhounds and their daft little faces. But I've never ever met one that's been successfully toilet trained and their skinny little tails and legs can break so easily.

We had a mini poodle before our pug and he wasn't an easy first time dog at all. They are extremely high energy, hugely intelligent (so will know all your weaknesses and won't do what they don't want to do) and he couldn't be left alone as he suffered huge separation anxiety. He was also very anxious about the vet and the groomer's and would start shaking/hiding to avoid both (whereas our pug loves everyone). The grooming was also a real pain as he hated to be brushed and his hair was constantly matted between grooms. He was very beautiful and healthy though and lived to be 16.

I considered a Dachshund when I lost my last Standard Poodle. I had several of them and loved the breed, but when I lost her, my husband was 61 and retired and I planned to two years later at 55. Standards are high energy dogs and only really slow down in the last few years if their 13/14 year lifespan. We decided not to get another in case we couldn’t consistently meet their needs. I looked into Dachshunds and decided against due to the vulnerability to spinal problems (as all long back, short leg breeds have).

We got a Toy Poodle, followed a couple of years later by a second one. They are fabulous little dogs. Highly intelligent, with a natural sense of fun (that has you laughing every day), they don’t shed and are very loving. I would highly recommend the breed to you if your children are old enough to understand that, especially as puppies, they can easily been injured by rough handling, being dropped, even falling off a sofa onto a carpet. That is also true of a miniature dachshund and any other very small breed.

Also, my Poodles, including my toys have been trained to be alone, by slowly building up from a few minutes to half an hour from 8 weeks old. If you don’t introduce them to it as babies, they won’t cope well when you try when they are older! Mine, now aged 7 and 3, can now be left together for 4 hours or so. That isn’t a frequent thing, but they cope fine.

Overbred, deformed, anxious, difficult to toilet train.
Will almost certainly suffer a spinal catastrophe because people value aesthetics over health

They bark and bark and bark. They’re so territorial. My boss got one and bought it into the office everyday. It was a nightmare. Would circle her ankles yapping at anyone in the vicinity. They paid for several trainers, made no difference. It’s probably the last dog I’d get..

I would have a look at:

Whippets
Toy or miniature poodles
Cairn terriers
Show cocker spaniel

I had heard the hard to toilet train thing. Plus any I’ve met have been neurotic and so anxious.

Cairn terriers

Yes!

I forget about Cairns as you don’t see them much at all. But absolutely brilliant little dogs.

@Nomoreusernames1244

Cairn terriers

Yes!

I forget about Cairns as you don’t see them much at all. But absolutely brilliant little dogs.

They really are fantastic little things.

I'm not a terrier person in general but I used to walk a lovely little Cairn - she had fantastic recall and really didn't need tons of exercise - an hour a day was plenty for her.

Cairn terriers look great! Will also have a look at whippets. It's very exciting even though it'll be a while before it happens. I grew up with dogs and am looking forward to giving my children the same experience. Just need to keep researching to find the right fit.

We spent a very long time looking at breeds and waiting for my children to be what we considered old enough to replace our lab who died 5 years ago. Youngest is nearly 10 although ND.. our whippet puppy is amazing., although currently having a regression on the weeing in doors, has been quick to house train and has been picking up simple commands easily through constant little and often input from 8 weeks. She is super snuggly but amazing fun, although very bouncy with sharp teeth. I'm glad the children are not younger as they are really involved with her training and can cope with the teething mouthiness.

@BeagleBeagled

When looking into which breed its a good idea to research what job they were bred to do. I'm not entirely sure but I think dachshunds were bred to fight badgers.

That's the standards, and more to track, keep at bay and then bark loudly to get the hunter to come, as I understood it. The small ones were more for rabbits.

I've got a standard - not quite as delicate as a mini. This one is so laid back he's horizontal () . He doesn't mind being left for quite a while.
He did have a slipped disk last year - but that was at the age of 14 and he made a pretty good recovery and is probably in better shape than most 15.5 yos.
He used to be able to climb mountains... now he CBA anyway though he did manage about 5km when we took him to some nice gardens he'd not been to before this summer.

I would be very cautious about getting a puppy of any popular breed. There's a thread somewhere on the board recently about the awful puppy smuggling that's going on, especially of small cute breeds.

If you're happy with a little dog, take a look at a Cavalier King Charles. My brother has one and she's the loveliest wee thing, full of personality and zip but also totally devoted to her people. They were bred as companion dogs - I always think of the one they found hiding in Mary Queen of Scot's skirt when she got her head chopped off - I didn't think much of them before he got her but I'm a total fan now. Also love whippets and have a real soft spot for Parson's terriers, they can be noisy buggers though.

@GoGoGretaDoll

If you're happy with a little dog, take a look at a Cavalier King Charles. My brother has one and she's the loveliest wee thing, full of personality and zip but also totally devoted to her people. They were bred as companion dogs - I always think of the one they found hiding in Mary Queen of Scot's skirt when she got her head chopped off - I didn't think much of them before he got her but I'm a total fan now. Also love whippets and have a real soft spot for Parson's terriers, they can be noisy buggers though.

Cavaliers are lovely but you need to look really carefully at health testing etc. Wonderful dogs but as a former vet receptionist we saw far too many die young of heart diseases or live with awful conditions like syringomyelia.

@GoGoGretaDoll Unfortunately, although lovely sweet dogs, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has a high rate of serious health problems. That’s what put me off the breed.

e.g. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is prone to several significant issues including heart disease – nearly 50% of Cavaliers will develop mitral valve disease (MVD) by the age of five, and nearly all will have it by age 10. This breed also suffers from luxating patellas, allergies, hip dysplasia, cataracts and syringomyelia.

Syringomyelia is particularly awful. It would break my heart if I had a dog with this.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2797361/

It’s so important to look at the genetic health weaknesses before choosing a breed. This is one of the main reasons I stick with Poodles (aside from them being fabulous dogs, with great personalities). They stand four square, with a normal length of leg and back, a good length snout and normally placed eyes. There were a couple of genetic health problems in the past, but these have mostly been bred out now in lines that are DNA tested. Other than toys being vulnerable to luxating patella (as are many other toy breeds), they are generally extremely healthy dogs.

Just to clarify not all cavaliers have health problems- I have met many where live to teens.

They are adorable dogs - not a mean bone in their body. They can be lazy so it’s important to keep their cardiovascular up as heart conditions can be a problem. There’s some good breeders out there - just do your research.

Some information on testing and what to look out for:
www.cavaliermatters.org/

@Lifeisaminestrone I agree that it’s all about the right breeding a genetic testing as with any breed. Would you agree that MVD is extremely common in Cavaliers though?

Syringomyelia is awful.

Whatever breed you go for, find out about possible health problems and grill the breeder - if they're reputable they should want you to.

@AnnieSnap I absolutely would agree MVD is prevalent and CKCS are subject to being puppy farmed as are popular dogs but healthy ones can be found.

I have met more than not healthy ones. I do know one that died aged 5 due to SM (which is a horrible disease) but most I have met have lived a happy and healthy life. Tbh I’d be more worried about cavapoos…..

Have you thought about a poodle? We have a miniature poodle - which, despite the name, is a small/medium sized dog. Poodles are easy to train as they are very bright. They like to be with people, so are not an escape risk. Our pup was clingy at first, but by a year was happy to be left alone for 1-2 hours.

Another benefit of a poodle is that they don't shed at all and are hypoallergenic - important for us and me and DS are very allergic to dogs!

On the kennels points - we would never leave him in kennels, but he goes to doggy day care once a week and they do 'holiday care' where the dog is in the house of one of the workers. We have not used it yet - but he loves going there (literally backflips when they arrive to collect him...he loves other dogs) so we are considering for May.