Looking to become a Dachshund owner, any advice?

DanielleNDerek · February 28, 2009

there will be a lot of whining with the crate. One thing that did help was we moved the crate into our bedroom so the dog could see us and now we were there. And he's a very young puppy he will not be able to hold his pee in all night. Your going to have to get up in the middle night (like 3 am-ish) to let him out to pee.

Infinity22 · February 28, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanielleNDerek

there will be a lot of whining with the crate. One thing that did help was we moved the crate into our bedroom so the dog could see us and now we were there. And he's a very young puppy he will not be able to hold his pee in all night. Your going to have to get up in the middle night (like 3 am-ish) to let him out to pee.

Yep, we got up with him several times last night. I thought about putting his crate in our room but what happens if we don't want his crate permanently in our room, at what point would we move it to where we want it to be?

KACENGG · February 28, 2009

I would definitely move the crate into your room for the time being. If he is whining and doesn't have to go pee, just stick a finger in his crate for a few seconds to let him sniff and lick and he will know you are close by.

Also, we've found with our new, young foster dogs that sometimes they are just missing their siblings that they are used to sleeping with. We toss a big stuffed animal dog in the crate with them and they usually cuddle up to it and settle down. And also, if the dog is whining or throwing a fit, never let them out of the crate until they calm down and behave in a positive manner. Good luck!

DanielleNDerek · February 28, 2009

I'm the wrong person to ask when to move the crate out of your room. Eventually when my dogs were old enough to sleep through the night without accidents, they moved out of the crate and into our bed. So basically dh has a whole side of the bed and i have the other side of the bed with two dogs sleeping on top of me, literally on top of me. one usually takes my legs while the other lays on my back or head. And dh wonders why i never get any sleep!

dolfinluck · March 2, 2009

you might what to get a Snuggle Puppy, its a stuff animal that has a heart beat and warms up, the breeder we are looking at to get a puppy from recommends them if they are missing their siblings.

Infinity22 · March 2, 2009

Do puppies typically whine when they have to go pee? He whines and barks whenever we put him in there. Also, he acts so hyper and jumpy when he gets out? I wonder if that's because he's so excited to get out or if he wants to play...possibly both.

Infinity22 · March 19, 2009

Just curious, what's the most consecutive hours a puppy of 10 weeks should be in a crate?

JaimeLynne · March 19, 2009

Hello fellow Doxie owner!! Welcome to the wonderful world of Dachshunds - be prepared to become addicted! LOL

We have a 3 year old male red short-haired Dachshund named Ollie and he is the light of our lives (obviously seriously spoiled!)

you've gotten a lot of good advice, but I want to make sure you know the NUMBER ONE thing about these little guys is WATCHING THEIR BACKS! We're talking, a $2-3k surgery with a possible lifetime in a wheelchair if you do not! Serious stuff. Like someone else said - NO jumping. Also walking up and down (mostly down puts pressure on their spines) the stairs can be tough on them, though our little guy does it like a champ. Make sure you watch his food intake! Doxies will just keep eating and eating and eating... you've got to set limits. What we learned to do was set up 2 feeding times - 1 in the AM, 1 in the PM. Set your kitchen (microwave) timer for 15 minutes, and after that take up BOTH his food & water. This is key in potty training! Dogs will not let themselves starve, so even if he is finicky about this he will learn. Do yourself a favor and stick to this rule because it's true - Dachshunds are stubborn so you have to show them who's boss!

We paid for a pro trainer to come to our house once a week for 10 weeks, and totally whipped Ollie into shape! LOL he is seriously the BEST dog ever now! So don't let people tell you that they have poor personalities - Ollie is super happy-go-lucky, and very well trained.

Oh, and they *love* to burrow. Blankets will become his new best friends if you let him ;-)

Ok, I am sooooo excited about this! We are going to get a female dachshund after the wedding. they are so damn cute as puppies, so it can be hard to train them, but for your own good it's important to do it ASAP and show them who's the boss!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Infinity22

Yep, looking for a red short hair male puppy. =) I've heard I definitely need to be patient in the beginning but I didn't know they had such a hard time with the potty training, especially if they're kennel trained. I guess it varies from dog to dog. I've heard that it's also important that they're AKC registered. Is that correct? I didn't think of the whole "crate" thing before but thanks for suggesting that idea. I wondered what I'd do with him in the beginning so he doesn't chew up furniture.

Doesn't matter that they're AKC registered - we got Ollie from a shelter we volunteered at and he has been healthy as a horse! We really limit his food though (1/4 cup 2x/day) and don't let him jump up on things. Teach him the command "up" so he will hop up on his back legs for you to pick him up. And use "off" for getting off the couch or whatever else he might be getting into (they're sneaky!

). "Down" we use for laying down. With his training Ollie can stay in a down-stay for an hour!!! Took a lot of work and patience, and we rarely make him do a down stay anymore, but it is really great for when people come over and you don't want them bothering you at the table, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Infinity22

Sorry if I sound dumb for asking this but what's a kong?

I found out last night that the breeder I want to go through has been using "pee pads" and I heard these just confuse the dog and makes them think they can pee inside the house. If they're already using pee pads and the puppy is 7 weeks old, how easy/hard would it be to convert them into kennel training?

Start taking the pee pads that he has peed on outside on the grass. This should help convert him. Be patient - it took Ollie a LONG time to get completely potty trained. The food and water schedule is so important here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TammyB

As far as crate training, yes thats a great idea. Puppy pads are not a bad thing, Dachaunds are big babies in the cold so maybe that's why the paper trained. Just slowly move the puppy pad to the door and eventually bring the pad outside. It should do the trick.

So true about the weather - Dachshunds definitely are little "weenies" lol However, I just stand firm and march out into the cold/rain with him and make him go. Unless it is really harsh weather - then we use a potty pad in the garage. This doesn't confuse him now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Infinity22

Well everyone, last night my family and I went and picked up our new little mini Dachshund runt puppy that's 7 weeks old. After talking about possible names for the past few months I came up with Lewis in a conversation and it's stuck ever since then. So here's the first photos we've taken of our new little cut puppy Lewis! I swear he's the cutest puppy I've ever seen face to face. He's so cute when you play catch with his squeaky toy too.

SOOOOO Freaking CUTE! This was Ollie when we first got him @ around 4 months old (taken at the shelter). And yes, he has a blue eye!:

And here are some more shameless proud mommy pics:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Infinity22

Now that we've introduced him into our family, I've noticed a few things that have caught my eye so far. A little history on the situation....he was the last of 2 puppies and they were apparently "pee pad" training them instead of crate training them. They apparently slept in a little bed in a bathroom with little "pee pads" around for them to urinate on at night, so his new crate probably has him a little mixed up. Upstairs we have 3 bedrooms.....1 master, the kids bedroom and then a guest. We put Lewis' crate in the guest bedroom for his first night but when you put him in there, he whines and whines. Last night we could throw little squeaky toys in there and he's run in and get them but now he doesn't want to go in there. I think he associates the crate with him being abandoned or left alone (something he really hates right now) since nobody else sleeps in that room. So any suggestions? Should we possibly move his crate into a higher traffic area?

First off, he should be introduced to the crate very gently. Try coaxing him in with treats at first, let him explore it during the day on his own with you there. At night, put a towel or light blanket over the crate - it helps them to feel more secure. Also, make sure the crate is not too bit - just big enough for him to stand up and fully turn around in. At first you might also put a piece of clothing with your scent on it, however he is probably going to pee on this. Kind of a lose-lose there, sorry ;-P

Another issue that may come up is "piddling". Dachshunds often have a habit of losing control of their urine when they either get really excited or really nervous. Try not to scold him for it. Best thing to do is ignore it and hope it goes away - it's just the nature of the breed. It is not him going potty in the house - totally different and pretty hard for them to control. Over time he should grow more able to control this. Ollie is *just* getting to the point where he doesn't piddle as much. When guests come over, ask them to ignore the pup for awhile until it has settled down, and then allow it to interact calmly.

Uhhhhm, let's see... what else? I was thinking of something, but forgot. I am a little Dachshund crazy as you can tell, so if you have any more questions please let me know! I'm all about educating people about these little guys so they don't end up in a frustrated environment or at a shelter like our little guy.

Good luck with your ADORABLE little pup - love the name Lewis! So cute

Infinity22 · March 20, 2009

AWESOME INFORMATIVE POST, THANK YOU!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaimeLynne

Hello fellow Doxie owner!! Welcome to the wonderful world of Dachshunds - be prepared to become addicted! LOL

We have a 3 year old male red short-haired Dachshund named Ollie and he is the light of our lives (obviously seriously spoiled!)

you've gotten a lot of good advice, but I want to make sure you know the NUMBER ONE thing about these little guys is WATCHING THEIR BACKS! We're talking, a $2-3k surgery with a possible lifetime in a wheelchair if you do not! Serious stuff. Like someone else said - NO jumping. Also walking up and down (mostly down puts pressure on their spines) the stairs can be tough on them, though our little guy does it like a champ. Make sure you watch his food intake! Doxies will just keep eating and eating and eating... you've got to set limits. What we learned to do was set up 2 feeding times - 1 in the AM, 1 in the PM. Set your kitchen (microwave) timer for 15 minutes, and after that take up BOTH his food & water. This is key in potty training! Dogs will not let themselves starve, so even if he is finicky about this he will learn. Do yourself a favor and stick to this rule because it's true - Dachshunds are stubborn so you have to show them who's boss!

I know, that's what scares me. They say to always watch a puppy when he's out of his crate but seriously, Lewis is a hard puppy to watch ALL THE TIME. When he's on the couch snuggling with us, sometimes he'll get a little restless and want to get down, so he'll hope out of our arms really quite, let out a little bark and then hop off the couch like he's Wonder Dog! LOL He also runs up the stairs all the time. So with their backs, do you have to just watch them when they're jumping off things like the couch or even when they're jumping up, like hoping up the stairs? As you can imagine he's full of energy!

Thanks for the recommendation on setting up a meal schedule because we've been a little confused on how we should go about it. So far we've let him eat whenever he's hungry outside of his crate. He knows where his food is, so he gets water or foot at any point. Should I take his water away from him outside of those meal times too?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaimeLynne

We paid for a pro trainer to come to our house once a week for 10 weeks, and totally whipped Ollie into shape! LOL he is seriously the BEST dog ever now! So don't let people tell you that they have poor personalities - Ollie is super happy-go-lucky, and very well trained.

How much did the trainer set you back?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaimeLynne

Oh, and they *love* to burrow. Blankets will become his new best friends if you let him ;-)

We've noticed this as well!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaimeLynne

Doesn't matter that they're AKC registered - we got Ollie from a shelter we volunteered at and he has been healthy as a horse! We really limit his food though (1/4 cup 2x/day) and don't let him jump up on things.

Holy crap, 1/4 cup twice daily doesn't sound right. Our little guy is only 10 weeks old now and he's as skinny as they come. Surely the food intake for a puppy has to be different than a full grown dog, right?