My wife wants a dachshund puppy.
Can they climb stairs? We have 3 floors and lots of stairs.
Can they sleep alone on another floor, like a watch dog should?
What are the pros and cons?
I’d love to make her happy. But I want it to be an informed decision.
Are you going to get a miniature or jus a normal sized one? I have a dachshund, he is a normal sized one and he does climb stairs although the vet says that they shouldnt we cant really stop my dog, we tried a baby gate but he squeezed through it and went upstairs anyways 
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I don’t know I guess it depends on the dog in itself, but mine is really agressive to people that he doesn’t see atleast once a week sort of thing. Although his brother is really shy and timid so i suppose it depends on the dog. My dog was also really hard to train , it took a long time. so i hope you can get used to cleaning up dog poo and pee atleast three times a day for several weeks.
Also take him/her out for a walk atleast once a day otherwise they will turn into big fat walking sausages, I have seen those and they look much less attractive to a lean muscled dog.
If you have any particular questions just ask me, hope i could help.
oh yeah, and i’m sure you could get the dog to sleep on a different floor than you, although my dog was raised sleeping on the end of the bed. Here is a link that should probably answer most of your questions. http://www.barkbytes.com/direct/doxie.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weiner_dog#Famous_Dachshunds and of course, wikipedia. be sure to read the history, its pretty interesting. It says they shouldn’t climb stairs, wich is probably true although we just couldnt stop our dog. I would reccoment putting up barriers on your stairs though.
My parents owned five dashshunds and not one of them was ever completely housebroken. My brother owned one and it was basically untrainable. Apparently he was too because he bought one. Out of interest, whenever I see someone with a dashshund I ask them if they (that is the dog) are housebroken. Nine out of ten of the owners are honest and say that they are not. The other one of ten that is lying says they are completely housebroken but only have an occassional “accident” which means they don’t understand the meaning of the word housebroken.
Dashshunds are adorable little dogs. They’re really goofy to watch, also. They go up and down stairs with great facility until they find out they can fool you into believing they can’t. I remember my mother carrying one of her last dashshunds up and down stairs because the dog had “back problems” and couldn’t climb on her own anymore. When my mother was away the dog would stand at the bottom of the stairs looking up at me with a forlorn expression waiting for me to provide elevator service. I would say “get up the stairs” and the dog would tear up the flight like a fireman after a baby.
Dashshunds are among the most if not the most stubborn breed of dog there is. They are also as tenacious as Jack Russell terriers. They will not back down from anything. They were bred to hunt badgers and go into the nests and tunnels after them. That takes guts. Because of their proportions they will eventually develop real back problems. They are small dogs and therefore relatively long lived. For cuteness they are up there with my favorite breeds. For practicality they are not. Dogs, however, like the people who generally buy them, are not practical.
Everyone, thanks. Greg: Wow! you said a mouthful.
yeah, everything harper said. 100% correct.
My parents have two miniature dachshounds. They’re both very good watch dogs, but I suspect one of them wouldn’t like to be kept on a different floor at night, because it likes to check up on everybody once or twice each night. It just makes a round past the bedroom doors, so it doesn’t really desturb.
One of the dogs have had no end of health problems. We suspect they are caused by inbreeding, so the other one was bought from a propper kennel, and it has always been healthy.
The race has a tencency to get back-problems when they grow older, so in 8-10 years you might have to carry the dog up and down the stairs.
Dachs hounds are said to be “independent minded”. In other words: They’re hard to train. My parents dogs are house-trained (teaching them that was no problem) and they usually come when you call them, but other than that they don’t follow orders. Fortunately they’re so small that they can bark at strangers without really being threadening and if you want them off the couch you can just pick them up and put them on the floor.
Are you saying your wife is a cowgirl?
you should totally get a potbellied pig, they are much better than daushconds, they can even climb up to 5 stairs at once, and there are so many stories of them saving lives it is incredible
I knew someone who had a two of those pigs. They’re really smart and friendly animals, and practically noone is allergic to them, but for some reasons they always ate your shoelaces if they could get away with it.
yes, they are the smartist domestic animal, and besides the shoelaces thing, another drawback is that if you die, they will eat you
Re-read the Im going to stetch my ear lobes thread. The solution is there. What your wife is really hinting at is that she wants a companion with long floppy ears.
Ha, ha! Billy sleeps on the floor. Get a bed! Maybe THAT would make your wife happy.
P.S. - get a real dog… one that has legs (i.e. - unlike these)
An old highschool buddy of mine had a really awesome miniature long-hair dachshund. When it was young it was really spazzed out and if you lay on the floor it would go right for your face.
It reaked havoc with their very old beagle-mix. If you gave them each a chew toy, the dachshund (Chloe) would play with hers for a while, then start eyeing Jenny’s (the beagle’s) toy and eventually run up an snatch it. Then Jenny would casually walk over to Chloe’s original toy and start chewing it. Then Chloe would start eyeing Jenny again and the cycle would repeat.
I do remember it peeing in the house a lot. I also remember my friend’s mom accusing me of causing it every time, and making me clean it up. No big deal, one paper towel would do it.
It loved to eat poo! If it was in the yard when I came by, chances are it was gnawing on a turd. It would just prance around with one hanging out its mouth like a big stoggie.
In its later years it has gotten rather portly (probably from all the schnitzel his German immigrant grandmother feeds it). It’s a lot slower now, and its little round tummy is bare from dragging across the carpet. Kinda sad really. That dog gave me a lot of laughs. I would definately consider owning one some day.
Get one! Definitely.
Maybe before you get a purebred anything, take a walk with her through the pound. There is bound to be a small cute dog, maybe even a dachsund that really needs a home! Your wife gets her dog, and gets to be a hero, too!
You may actually be able to get a mixed breed with a fraction of the health issues.
I did not want to mention the breed’s tendency toward coprophagia but it appears to be not uncommon among its members.
I think a pound dog would be a very good idea. Take your wife to the pound, she’s bound to fall in love with one of the puppies there.
[QUOTE=BillyTheMountain]
My wife wants a dachshund QUOTE]
Not heard of that model: is it one of KH or a Qu-Ax?
Nao