admin answers:

Hi, Anna,

I just bought a miniature dachshund from a home breeder, too – brought him home two nights ago. We named him Scamp.

He should be playful enough, especially if you have other dogs. Just watch out, if you have others, so they don’t play too rough with him. He’ll need frequent rest breaks at first (Scamp plays for about two hours and then takes a nap; it varies from puppy to puppy). He’ll also need to go potty after he eats, drinks, wakes up from a nap, or exuberant play. Dachshunds are notorious for being stubborn, too, so he’ll probably cry until he gets his way.

Nights could be tricky. Crate training works for most people, ebut you can always look up other options. If you opt for crate training, your puppy will cry to be let out. Wait until he goes to sleep. When he wakes up in the middle of the night, take him outside, or put him on the puppy training pad if you’re using those overnight. Once he’s done his business, put him back in the crate. You may have to repeat this a few times.

Confession: I caved on the crate training. My two-year-old shares a room with me, and Scamp’s crying kept waking up my son. His first night home was a nightmare; they kept going back and forth. Every hour on the hour, one of them woke up. So I put Scamp’s bed on my bed far enough away from the edge that he won’t fall off. Scamp sleeps his bed and I have puppy steps so he can get up and down by himself.

You may want to go to the bookstore and buy a copy of “Daschunds for Dummies.” It’s full of helpful information. The only thing to look out for in that book is the Treats section at the end; DO NOT give your dog grapes. Dogs can’t metabilize them properly and grapes can kill them. I’m pretty sure the book was published before this information was widely known, otherwise it wouldn’t have been included.

Oh, another note (then I’m done, promise): Dachshunds are champion de-stuffers. Especially squeaky toys. They will do anything to kill that squeaker, including ripping the toy to bits and pulling out ALL of the stuffing. Most of my mending basket is toys that either Scamp or Peanut, our other mini dachshund, has shredded. They also like to tear up rubber toys and anything with small pieces, like button eyes or noses. Watch out for anything that could be a choking hazard and take away the pieces.

Good luck with your new little one!
Sarah

admin answers:

I have three dogs, two older males that grew up as only-dogs, and a 2 year old female. Both of the males grew up possessive of their toys (only towards other dogs, never people). Through constant vigilance and corrections, all three now know the rules:
-you may not take a toy from a dog who is chewing on/playing with it (or taking a break from chewing on it)
-if you get up and leave a toy (even to go get water), the toy is fair game
-growling or baring teeth to another dog gets you yelled at and/or the kennel, plus you lose the toy

By always (ALWAYS) enforcing these rules, my dogs get along great, which was especially surprising for the old boxer who never lived with another dog until he was eight or nine.