Getting To Know Your Daschund
Posted by admin on Nov 25, 2009
Getting to know your dog starts by getting to know its breed, and that includes getting a better idea about its appearance, personality, and health requirements. Here’s what you need to know about the Daschund:
Known also as the “wiener dog” because of the long body, the Daschund makes a great pet. With its low-riding body typically comes a laid back “low-riding” attitude. The Daschund dates all the way back to Ancient Egyptian days. Over the years, the breed became popular around Europe, specifically loved by royalty.
The Daschund we know today was originally called a German Daschund, which was much larger, weighing up to 40 pounds. This early breed had straight and crooked leg varieties. The Daschund is also famous for hunting of fox and rabbit, as well as exterminating badgers and finding wild boar and injured deer. The name itself translates in German to “badger dog” because of its amazing hunting, chasing, and scent abilities.
Physical Appearance
Today’s Daschund is known for having crooked legs, a barrel shaped chest, loose skin, and again, the elongated body. As with other breeds, the Daschund is bred for a smooth, longhair, and wirehair coat. Keep in mind that the wirehair breed usually has shorter and wirier hair than the smooth and long coat. If you plan to show, the American Kennel Club accepts a miniature and full-size version, each with a distinctive class of height and weight.
To give you an idea of the difference, a miniature Daschund would weigh 11 pounds or less while a full-grown dog would be anywhere from 16 to 32 pounds. This breed is also available in a wide array of colors although the primary colors are red, and black and red. Other possibilities include:
* Fawn
* Chocolate
* Wild Boar
* Cream Blue
* Light Boar Red (copper, rust, etc)
* Piebald
* Sable
* Dapple
* Double Dapple
* White
* Chocolate and Red
* Brown and Red
In addition to the variance in colors and color combinations, the Daschund would generally have black hair intermingled on the back, tail, edges of the ears, and face. While you will find many solid chocolate and black dogs of this breed, keep in mind these are non-standard colors, meaning from conformance competition in the United States and the United Kingdom, they would be disqualified.
Temperament and Personality
If you were looking for a fun, playful, and loyal family dog, the Daschund would make an excellent consideration. This breed is actually quite clever, smart, and courageous but also being strong-willed, they can be a bit on the challenging side when it comes to training. On occasion, a Daschund might appear shy which would not be a preferred behavior. In this case, early and on-going socialization would help.
Another interesting fact about the Daschund is that the type of temperament changes with the type of coat. For example, a long haired breed tends to be a more relaxed dog. The eyes of this breed are deep and heartfelt, making the expressions sweet. Then, the Daschund usually has a rich bark while making snoring type sounds due to larger lungs that fill the space of the barrel shaped chest.
Health
Although you might expect the Daschund to have a lot of health issues because of the elongated body, the truth is most are healthy. However, they can have problems with the spine, which can be aggravated by obesity. To prevent spinal problems, it is recommended this breed be kept from jumping off beds, walking up and down many stairs, and so on. Even picking this breed up must be done carefully to avoid injury. For instance, the front and rear portions of the body must always be completely supported.
One of the most inherited of all spinal risks is Intervertebral Disk Disease, which can usually be treated with various medications and in more severe cases, corrected with surgery. Alternative medicine is also used and found in most cases to be successful. For instance, acupuncture, chiropractic manipulation, and physical therapy are all possible solutions.
Dan Stevens
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/getting-to-know-your-daschund-92422.html
Do I have any hope of training my two year old daschund I am getting soon?
I am going to adopt a long-haired daschund and I keep reading about how hard it is to train them and that worries me. I really love this dog and it has a sad story so I really don’t want to give up on it.
CUTIE!!!!
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Yes, no problem. Just remember Positive re-enforcement. But "training treats’ They’re dog treats about the size of their food… those are best.
NO NEGATIVE (Kicking, yelling, rubbing nose in… all BAD for training)
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Why would it be a problem training?
You were vague as to it’s background and "sad story".
2 yrs. old is young and dogs adapt to the owner easily.
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Enroll in some obedience classes at PetSmart or another local store in your area.
Dogs can be trained at any age and no matter how thick-headed they are
Don’t give up- he’ll learn.
Use positive reinforcement (give small treats when he does something right or is good) and he’ll catch on really quick.
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Read this book hope it helps Dachshunds for Dummies.
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-DUMMIES_SEARCH_RESULT.html?queryText=Dachshund
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i can answer this question with experience. dachshunds are actually one of the smartest dog breeds around. their problem that makes people think they are so hard to train is their stubborness. my dachshund was three when i rescued her from being put to sleep at a puppy mill and i trained her. she learned to walk properly on a loose leash in about 10-20 minutes when she had never been on a leash before. she learned to sit on command in about the same time. don’t be worried. i have experience with this and all of this information is 100% true. the key to training dachshunds is consistency. you HAVE to be very consistent on your training with your dachshund, meaning you can’t give up after the first few tries. the same with housebreaking. i’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t easy housebreaking my dachshund, but now she is. when they’re being stubborn you have to be stubborn too. dachshunds are not hard to train they are just stubborn. don’t give up. i PROMISE you’ll have a great, well-trained companion if you are consistent and don’t give up. btw, great choice of dog! dachshunds are wonderful and i’m glad to here you’ll be saving her from a sad past just like i did. please don’t give up on her/him. it’ll be well worth it in the end! good luck! =)
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have trained rescued dachshunds.
Well the basics of housebreaking are as follows and are effective with every breed, it’s usually the owner that gives up!
Feed or offer food 3 times a day! Do not leave food or water dishes lying around. After you have laid food down and they have eaten give them 5-10 minutes to digest, then take them to were you would like them to relieve themselves, and stay there until they do so, if they are walkable it is very effective for encouraging the function. Once they have relieved themselves reward them with a treat (a rawhide or toy) you don’t want to give them more food. When you bring him back into the house do not pen them up however do not leave uanttended and keep an eye out. If your schedule allows, let them relieve themselves in between meals, when just starting. If he does have an accident clean the area thoroughly then soak in hand sanitizer, he will not return to relieve himself again. If he poo’s just take the poo to the place you want him to go, they will be able to associate, for the first couple of days, do not pick up the poos if they are in your yard. Leave them there for guidance. After you have a good 2 weeks accident free, which should happen you may give full access to food and water.
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