thanks everyone!
a2k, ask questions, get answers.
listen to timber, he knows his pooches. i've loved the only couple of dachsunds i've known -- but then, i prefer a dog with spirit to a nice wuss of a golden retriever.
and ditto ceili on the diet thing. a big gut hanging off a spine like that is murder.
I'm also a fan of dogs with personality. Setanta often refers to Cleo as having personality plus - which she does.
You've got to stay ahead of a dog with a strong personality, and very aware of the need for you to be consistent when training, so you don't end up the one being trained.
My sweeiepie's doggies really love sausage, too . . .
Oh . . . maybe that's not what you meant . . .
ehBeth wrote:and this is ultimately true ...
Quote:He becomes very attached to his owner and firmly believes that sleeping under the bedcovers is in the Dachshund Bill of Rights
Oh yeah! This one is BIG TIME true.
I had a black, smooth-hair minature Dachshund (His name was "Killer"
)
Pretty low maintenance but very "clingy".
Miniature dictators, yes, but incredibly, disarmingly adorable.
I had to pop in because Cinnesthesia is a very cool screen name. How old is the Bratwurst, and has he been snipped?
cavfancier wrote:How old is the Bratwurst, and has he been snipped?
Supposedly it calms them down. My wienerdogterror was snipped, and he's still just as manic as ever.
I think the general calming effect may be a bit of a misapprehension: there are plenty of hyper female dogs out there, so testosterone isn't the primary factor. It's more about aggression, I believe, and perhaps control; snipping them should keep them more like juveniles. (You know how human boys turn rotten at the onset of puberty?)
The humping trick is a dominance/pack order type of thing, not sexual. A dog does it 'cause it figures it can, and likely will continue to do it unless and untill it becomes convinced its a bad idea. Even assertive females will engage in the practice. Not too long ago, a fiesty little Jack Russel female was visiting. An only dog at home, she's spoiled rotten and is allowed to get away with just about anything she pleases. She found, in short order, that trying to hump Big Sam (much to his astonishment), our 150-plus pound alpha dog, was a very bad idea.
That's odd. I thought I posted about our bitch humping our dog, but it ain't there.
Anyway, she does. We've talked about getting Molly a strap-on, but Otis probably wouldn't think that was a very good idea. (Then again, it might motivate him to tell her off.)
LOL... Patiodog.... I hope your post wasn't accidently sent to one of the political threads, such as the Rice thread....
Pueo.... how's the puppy??... it's been about one week??.... is everything working out OK??.... how are your daughters doing with the puppy??
My best memory, as a young girl, was my first puppy.... a Black Lab.... an awesome dog.... I spent many hours playing fetch and giving him hugs....
PaL
:-)
lucky sleeps most of the time. my girls are taking care of him, and doing a good job. i've had a few dogs in my life, but i've always dealt with larger breed dogs.
the information provided in this thread helps a lot, i pass on the information to my girls (the six year old writes it down
) don't think i'll tell them about the phantom humping just yet.
they do ask questions like, how much food is too much?, how do we know if he's getting too heavy? etc.
For a new puppy, a specific puppy food is a good idea. Experiment a little with quantity ... see how much he eats at one shot. When you hit an amount where he leaves a little in the bowl and wanders off to do something else, a little less than that feeding started with is about right. Three or four feedings a day are about right for a puppy, trimming down to one a day by about six months. Puppies are supposed to be a little roly-poly, but by 6 months or so, you should be able to clearly feel each individual rib when you stroke the flank. If you can see the ribs, the dog is likely underweight. If you can't clearly feel 'em, the dog is overweight. Around here, the dogs are "Demand Fed"; there always is dry food and fresh water available -they're unconcerned about a supply failure of either, so there's no sense of urgency. That works out well only for dogs that get plenty of vigorous excercize, though; mostly-in-the-house couch dogs aren't suited for that style.
Hi!
I've had dachshunds since 1985 - I love them!
Your girls need to be instructed NEVER to drop one, and to pick them up with two hands - one on the chest, the other supporting their butts. They should be handled gently at all times to prevent the dreaded back problem, and also a halter is much better than a collar.
Yes, they can be nippy - but it depends on the dog. My Greta would only bite another dog (as Cleo found out), but adores ALL humans. My Schatze (1985-2002) nipped many people. My Bruiser (1988-2001) never bit, except one weekend he tried to eat a bee or wasp, was badly stung in the mouth, and bit three people (not bad bites, but it did include one child whom he bit on the stomach).
There is a pack order. The dominant dog gets to touch the other dogs - so it's important that a dog be petted to establish that you are dominant over him/her. We now have three dachshunds (Greta b. 1990, Josef b. 2003, and Kohle b. 2001? a rescue dog). Kohle is a biter (bit my stepDad after we had him a week - requiring plastic surgery), and must be carefully watched. We almost gave him back to the rescue, but he is excellent with us, and loves the other two dachshunds. We adopted him a couple of months ago. Anyway, best wishes!
Oh, about food, I'd highly recommend Royal Canin. I've tried many other foods, but Royal Canin is definitely my favorite. The dogs love it, and their coats are like patent leather (they are all black and tan). Of course you must start with the puppy food, and then progress to the small dog food (and that has a long haired dachshund photo on it!). For dog biscuits, I really like 'Old Mother Hubbard.'
thanks ginny, i don't think we have royal canin here, just the run-of-the-mill dog foods.
