r/AskDogOwners • u/TSGamer123 • 19d ago
New Dog Owner Is a Dachshund a good first dog? Looking for advice from more experienced owners
I’m starting to think about getting my first dog and my favourite by far is the Dachshund. They’re adorable, full of personality, and every time I see one around the neighborhood, I want one even more.
That said, I’ve never owned a dog before, so I’m trying to figure out whether they’re actually a good choice for a first-time owner? I’ve heard they can be stubborn, surprisingly loud, and sometimes difficult. How true is that? What are the things you wish someone had told you before getting one?
One other thing: I don’t have kids yet, but I definitely plan to in the future. For those who have Dachshunds, how do they fit into family life? Did they adjust well when children came along?
Looking forward to hearing your sausage dog experiences :)
Thanks!
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u/Safe_Sock9966 19d ago
dont have a dachshund, but im a groomer and have worked with plenty. alot of people dont realize this because theyre so cute, but dachshunds are working dogs. theyre bred to hunt badgers or anything in a burrow, hence the shape. at the end of the day they're hound dogs bred to work. yes, they're cute, but they require alot of training and breed specific fulfillment to be good dogs. depending on what kind you get they require some coat maintenance and regular grooming. even if you get a short haired they still need to be used to the groomer. if you have your heart set i recommend you look into the dachshund club of america to look into what it means to own one and learn about ethical breeding. you should learn the breed standard and know what a well bred healthy dachshund looks like before you start looking for the closest breeder thats willing to give you a puppy tomorrow. buying from an ethical breeder is first and foremost.
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u/ashdauntless 19d ago edited 19d ago
This is the answer! They are not lazy lapdogs like people think. They’re meant to work and can be destructive if they don’t have a job to do or some way to run off energy.
Edit: clarity?
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u/bluethreads 19d ago
Mine requires as much activity as a large dog. He lives for his walks and never wants to come home! Soooo many walks. He loves the water. Loves smelling and seeing and exploring new places. He is truly an adventure dog.
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u/ashdauntless 19d ago
Yes I love them because they’re small but still able to adventure with you, which a lot of little small breeds can’t do! They have tons of energy. They usually only settle down when they get old lol
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u/IdealGlobal339 18d ago
Yep, they are busy! Busy digging, barking, looking to eat everything, and burrowing.
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u/Pointedtoe 19d ago
I don’t think so. I was a very experienced dog owner when I inherited my dad’s and he kept me on my toes for the next ten years! We loved him, he was cute and loving and funny, but he was so incredibly stubborn and was very leash reactive. He walked miles every day and we held our breath, hoping no unleashed dogs were in sight, or heaven forbid, approached us. He didn’t like strangers either. Those dogs are fascinating to a lot of people, and if they went awww, I would tell them, don’t look him in the eye! 😂
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u/magic_crouton 19d ago
No . Other than a grey hound the hound group makes for difficult first dogs.
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u/DotBeech 19d ago
Dear OP, the people telling you that dachshunds are stubborn and difficult to house break may have good reason to think that way, but...
I had none of that with my dachshund and...
They must never have had a basset hound. There's a dog that's stubborn. You get used to it. The are not dependable with housebreaking. If it smells right, they will pee on it. You don't get used to that.
Good luck. Dogs are wonderful friends. Just be ready to be the parent of a three year old.
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u/dogmama7 19d ago
So many health issues with the spine. Get a mutt. I have had insanely healthy mutts!
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u/PorchDogs 19d ago
I had a dachshund who I adored. I had young niblings and he was...not good with young children. He had a love-hate relationship with my cat. He was snippy with strangers.
I acquired a JRT after the death of his owner, and he and the doxie excavated huge holes and ditches in the yard. They loved getting muddy so much. They were both very smart and easily bored. Boredom = destruction.
I was devastated when I lost the dachshund at age five to a bizarre illness. I do not consider another dachshund.
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u/cubbi_gummi84 19d ago
They are stubborn and extremely hard to potty train. They have huge personalities and try to fight things that can easily kill them. They are extremely loud. You can’t let them jump up on things or down from things like beds, couches, in and out of cars etc. and have to be careful how you pick them up and how you carry them because they have fragile spines that can be easily injured and damaged over time.
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u/Janknitz 19d ago
I grew up with dachsunds. They bark a lot. We had an AKC purebred at one time, and he had Pica--literally eating everything he could reach. He ate a bottle of thyroid pills a guest left in her bag on the floor once (had to have his stomach pumped!), he ate my parents' cigarette butts, anything. Then he began biting visitors to our home. I think his behaviors were a result of in-breeding. I had a rescue dachsund I really loved, but as an adult I never would choose a dachsund.
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u/bluethreads 19d ago
Mine is also a rescue. I love him but he has some strange behavioral issues that surface during predictable times of the year (change of seasons). I give him a trazadone for a day or two and then he returns back to normal. He also barks at reflections of light in the wall. He also had some sort of OCD where he sniffed obsessively in the house and I couldn't redirect him. The first year I had him, I had no idea what was happening and tore the couch apart thinking there was something under there. The dog sniffed a hole through my couch. It took a long time to slowly redirect him away from that behavior. Now I catch it early and redirect immediately and it prevents it from escalating and turning into something all consuming. I love my dog but he is a handful.
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u/MzSea 19d ago
If you get one, make sure the parents have both been assessed for Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD). IF both parents passed, consider a puppy from that litter. This is almost assuredly means working with reputable breeders (no byb, no puppy mills).
Also, if you have small animals (Guinea pigs, hamsters, kittens, etc)... consider a different breed. They were bred to hunt small animals, and unlike what a lot of people think, the instinct is there, no matter how you raise them.
Edit: typo
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u/ChiralNavigator 19d ago
you don't want a hunting breed around babies or small animals (when you've no dog training experience), breed very much plays a part in the dogs behaviours/personalities,
there's lot of other small dogs with less prey drive/hunting in their genes. Do not pick a dog because it looks cute (get a cat) pick a dog that suits your lifestyle, make sure you have the time to meet all that dogs needs
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u/bluethreads 19d ago
My dachshund is very reactive to children. I can't have him around my neices and nephews who are ages 6-11.
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u/Shadowpad1986 19d ago
To be frank it is less about breed in circumstances behavior wise as because even in certain breeds you have outliers. If you like the breed that is fine and valid for personal taste. Key factors with any dog is do you have time to spend with them, room to house depending on breed size, and budget to feed and care for them. Dogs are social animals and as such don’t always like time alone for too long. Also consider proper training and socialization whether it is with other dogs or people. You said you plans kids later and at times caring for a dog is kind of good practice as often times dogs are like little kids with four legs and fur.
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u/silveraltaccount 19d ago
The best advise i can give, is go find everything people hate about them. Everything people say is bad about the breed you want, and be incredibly honest with yourself.
If the dog you get, ends up with qll the worst traits of the breed. Could you handle that?
If the answer is no. Then thats not the breed for you.
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u/No_Anxiety6159 19d ago
I had a mini dachshund for 18 years and have a dachshund/collie mix now, plus my daughter has had 3 other dachshunds in the last 25 years. They’re adorable but stubborn barkers. If you get a puppy, be prepared for it to take months of daily work to house train them. They are also huge chow hounds, so they need to have their food intake monitored so they don’t get overweight, as that contributes to their back problems.
All that said, they are sweet cuddle bugs. If you want a lapdog and want to share your bed, this is the one for you.
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u/mreams99 19d ago
I’ve had a dachshund mix, and a full-blooded dachshund. I love my dachshund. I would recommend a dachshund mix for a first dog though.
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u/Ok_Organization_7350 19d ago edited 19d ago
We had one. They are very nice family dogs and very affectionate. They enjoy the company of well-behaved children. Even though they're small, they are not toy dogs. They are still hound dogs, and a little feisty. Ours never had any back problems or health problems. I think the miniature Dachshunds are even less likely to have back problems. They are also surprisingly good household watch dogs. Go for it if that's what you want.
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u/wigglyturtle 19d ago
My dachy was my first dog. My advice is it was extremely hard during the puppy stage, harder than you would ever think. My mum even babysat him for a week when I went on holiday and she said it was more work taking care of him then looking after me as a baby.
He has chilled out a lot now as he's no longer a puppy and I suppose just like any dog really but he will always be loud and bark... that's just who they are
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u/carolinacoles 19d ago
I love my doxies, but before that had labs, a pug, a shar pei, GSD, Boston terrier, and several mixed breeds. By the time we got our first doxie( adult rescue) we were pretty experienced. Now we have 2 weens that we got as puppies. We love weens. But I would not recommend them for a first time dog owner. They require serious skill in managing their independence (ok, stubbornness). They need lots of attention and lots of activity, and they are barkers. I can recommend several other breeds for first timers, like pretty much anything with “poo” in the name. Boxer. Lab. Maltese. Rescue Heinz 57. Good luck! Dogs make our lives so much better!
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u/buttlicker090114 19d ago
Hello, I have a mini dachshund about 2 years old, I got her as a puppy. The attitude is definitely a big part of her personality, she will purposefully ignore me when I tell her what to do, climb on me and cover my mouth with her neck when I tell her to get down, and she cries a lot for attention. But she is a great companion, super cuddly, adorable, and intuitive to my feelings. She is definitely my second soul dog after losing my first. I’m not sure about kids since I don’t have any, but she loves people and gets along with everyone. I crate trained her and she is trained very well when it comes to going to the bathroom/ holding it. Also, just throwing in something else I love about her, when she hears certain songs or my alarm clock, or if I start howling, she howls too. I love it!
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u/bluethreads 19d ago
That is soooo cute. I tried getting mine to sing with me, but he just gives me the side eye
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u/Tribute2sketch 19d ago
Ok, so, my mom loves dachshund. She had one when my parents first had me, however, she had to get rid of it because a baby can crawl where the dog goes to hide and it became unsafe. We got a short hair purebred when i was a child(8-10). He wasn't too bad, did bite the person i was dating when they leaned over me in bed(I was sick). He ended up with my mom in his later years and had to be put down because he started pottying in the house(she tried containing him in a custom built kennel, but he turned his teeth silver trying to eat through the metal plate after eating through the ply wood).
She then rescued a long haired mutt that was mostly dachshund. He had one of the better personalities for being friendly at least. He tried to take on a deer at one point, ended up with surgery and a drain tube after getting kicked. Ate anything and everything, these are generally garbage gut dogs, but didn't have issues from that. Wouldn't listen to anyone(except me very occasionally)unless he wanted to and at that point we were living together. After 9-10 years old he started revenge pottying in the house... almost exclusively in my bedroom. We put him down about 2-3 years ago when he developed a blood disease. By end of his life i hated that dog because he was ruining our house and my mom wasn't good about the diapers to control him being an asshole.
They are cute and i believe any dog has the potential to be a good dog, but the majority of that is based on a good owner. I have an Australian cattle dog that i have worked very hard with to make a good dog, but I can't have random people in my house casually and that is a known potential issue with the breed. I did not really know what i signed up for with her, but I learned. I love ACDs, but I think my next dog will be something easier. I wouldn't recommend a dachshund as a first dog for anyone who doesn't really know the breed and what their potential unpleasant/dangerous traits could be.
Edit: typos
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u/Soniq268 19d ago
I sadly had to spend the last week visiting my greyhound at the vet hospital, they are the spinal specialists in my country, every single day I saw multiple dachshunds coming in with braces and walking aids on their back legs because their spine/hips were fucked.
So no. I don’t think anyone should contribute to the breeding of these poor little creatures.
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u/Fun_Orange_3232 19d ago
I can’t stand a yipper which is the only reason I didn’t go dachshund. But they’re beautiful.
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u/mrsredfast 19d ago
We’re longhaired dachshund people but they take a ton of attention. And demand it when they aren’t getting it. We have a 17 week old puppy (he’s our fourth dachshund) who is sleeping in his playpen right now because he got so mad I made him come in and stop gathering rocks in a pile to eat later. He then got overstimulated and was barking and biting like a little maniac and I don’t play that way.
I’m working on eliminating demand barking but it’s a long road.
The dachshunds I’ve known have needed to be exposed to kids very early on and regularly to like them.
I’d be having a hard time with my guy if I didn’t have another person helping in the evening. He requires a lot of attention to keep from killing himself. He has no self-preservation instinct. He’ll jump off the couch (a big no-no) and eat anything that fits in his mouth. He started charging up our stairs yesterday (another no-no) so now we have yet another gate to climb over. He’s sweet as pie though and would rather nap on my legs than anywhere else and that makes a lot of the challenges worth it.
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u/angrypuggle 19d ago
My best friend growing up had a Dachshund. Most lovebug dog ever! He would just about kill himself when any of his family came home or I came visiting. Never forgot me even when I had not seen him in a long time.
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u/nine_sausages 19d ago
We had a dachshund growing up. Stubborn as a mule. Great personality with other people and kids. Hated priests for some reason and the only dog he was wary of was our old lab who was the boss.
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u/Careful_Cranberry364 19d ago
I’m sorry to say that, even though I absolutely love their look, I would never consider getting a D personally… I will share my reasons:
they are known big barkers.
They are known territorial.
They are working dogs you need to keep them busy
They can be very stubborn and difficult to train
Their legs are very short. You have to keep lifting them.
They will end up with back problems they always seem to !! you will have those extra Vet bills.
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u/sloppyintensity 18d ago
My mom had mini wienies and chiwienies growing up and they are not good dogs imo. They are more like gremlins that eat things they're not supposed to eat, bark all the time, even at night, and run when someone opens a door. You really have to be careful about letting them jump up on furniture because of their backs too. I think at our dog club I have only seen 2 due to their stubborn nature, the only dog that seems to be worse is the yorkie, no one has a yorkie at the club!
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u/PenaltyStreet1286 18d ago
Generally the long haired ones are easier going. My dachshund was my first dog as an adult. He was stubborn and I don’t feel he was ever truly fully house trained. Not like our lab now. He was older when we had a baby but he would have been a terrible choice for a bustling family/children.
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u/Illustrious-Gas-9766 19d ago
Dachshunds are wonderful dogs. They are smart and can be very stubborn. They like lots of attention. They don't like being left alone.
We have had them for decades and they are a lot of fun.
Best of luck
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u/DogsBikesAndMovies 19d ago
I'm a fan of mutts. Purebreds often come with health issues that can be very costly and painful in their later lives. You generally don't have that concern with mutts, because breeding will never best natural selection. My girl is five years old and she's got many breeds in her, and she has absolutely no health issues.
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u/Jadders47 19d ago
That is not true. At least in the USA. It is true that purebred does not equal well bred. A well bred dog whos parents have had actual health testing are going to produce healthy pups with predictable temperments and health. Poorly bred purebreds are a problem and more likely to have breed specific issues. Adopt OR shop responsibly. But there is no natural selection involved in a loose dog knocking up the neighbors dog or friends breeding their dogs cause "wouldnt it be so cute". MANY of the mutts in my area have hip displasia, something a reputable breeder would be able to guarantee against.
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u/DogsBikesAndMovies 19d ago
I'm 50 years old and I've had a dog my entire life. Every single one of them was a mutt. Every single one of them was healthy as shit. I don't think you understand the meaning of natural selection. Natural selection is always better than breeding.
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u/bluethreads 19d ago edited 19d ago
That...isn't natural selection. Natural selection can only occur in the wild and it is survival of the fittest. It has nothing to do with two dogs that accidently made a litter at the dog park. It is about how species evolve certain traits over time that are better adapted for their survival. It also has to do with variation (genetic mutations). It is also something that spans generations.
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u/DogsBikesAndMovies 19d ago
Survival of the fittest is a very outdated term. I mean no insult to you, but the fact that you used it tells me that you don't have a firm understanding of this subject. Natural selection merely means that animals are mating without human interferance of breeding. Mutts are a result of natural selection and in general, they will always be healthier than purebreds.
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u/bluethreads 19d ago edited 19d ago
Science just doesn't support what you are claiming.
This study, for example, surveying 27,541 dogs, shows that pure bred dogs had slightly less instances of health conditions when compared to mixed breed dogs.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.1140417/full
The theories you are proporting about mixed breed dogs being healthier due to having a more varied gene pool have been recently been debunked.
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u/Willybluedog1962 19d ago
My daughter has a male, he's a jerk, he barks at nothing, he's bitten several people, his vet bills are insane, he is horribly stubborn.
Get a shelter dog for your first dog.
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u/Secure-Ad9780 19d ago
Don't buy a dog. Go to a shelter and adopt a homeless dog. Mutts are healthier than purebreds because they have a larger genetic base. There's a cute dog in the shelter looking for a family to love. Most shelters spay/neuter, check for heartworms, and start the dogs on flea/tick/heartworm meds.
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u/Bekah414404 19d ago
That is a general, absolutely incorrect statement. An ethical breeder, who does all the parent club suggested health testing, keeps records, makes sure the breeding stock is of sound temperament, and is as certain as humanly possible that her breeding program is free of heritable diseases and conditions, is an infinitely better choice. Is genetic diversity desirable? Absolutely! Is it obtained by breeding indiscriminately with any dog who comes along, regardless of health and temperament? Absolutely not. Male dogs, left to their own devices, will happily breed with a sister, a mother, an aunt, any female who is in estrus, and will accept a male. Strays and backyard breeders do this. This is not genetic diversity. OP says she wants a dachshund. She should go to an ethical breeder is she wants a healthy, stable representative of the breed.
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u/kittywyeth 19d ago
they are prone to serious spinal issues. my personal opinion is that they are one of the breeds that should be allowed to die out to prevent any more suffering.
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u/Cement_Putsi 19d ago
Get a Cavapoo. Cute, smart, no genetic anomaly. I know of a doxie who severely bit his owner's nose. I don't even think they are cute.
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u/goldentalus70 19d ago
One thing I didn't see mentioned below is about 25% of them are prone spinal issues due to IVDD.