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[Greg1976]

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Hello all, just joined the forum. We are prospective minituare daschund owners and seeking as much info as possible. My wife and I have had a number of dogs, with our most recent being a rescue dog (mixed breed). She suffered terribly with separation anxiety and unfortunately she is not with us anymore, we now feel after a few years that we are ready to be committed dog owners again. Look forward to chatting and learning from you all.

 

[Violet Turner]

Welcome! I love miniature daschunds. You have come to the right place because we can advise you and help you on your journey finding a new canine friend!

 

[Josie]

Welcome @Greg1976 - you’ve come to the right place!

I don’t know much about Dachshunds but I do occasionally look after a lovely wirehaired Dachshund who is gorgeous! It does take ALOT of persuasion to get him walking but he is 10 so it’s most likely different for a younger one. He absolutely loves cuddles and is a real lap dog.

He’s very protective of his owners and can be quite vocal, which I believe is a bit of a trait with this breed!

 

[Greg1976]

Thanks for the welcome! Regarding daschunds being vocal, we have heard that as well, which is a concern. We are also considering getting another breed, to go along with the daschund, both as company but also as a calming influence. Perhaps a cava-poo! I suspect we may end up having a chat with a dog behaviourist to get some further insight.

 

[Violet Turner]

Thanks for the welcome! Regarding daschunds being vocal, we have heard that as well, which is a concern. We are also considering getting another breed, to go along with the daschund, both as company but also as a calming influence. Perhaps a cava-poo! I suspect we may end up having a chat with a dog behaviourist to get some further insight.

Yeah, Cava-poos are lovely dogs! You may want to have a chat with a dog behaviourist because they may be able to help you. Is there anything specifically?

 

[JoanneF]

Cavapoos are sweet little dogs but Cavs can have some serious hereditary health problems (heart and syringomyelia). Good breeders will screen their dogs to make sure they don't breed from parents who carry these conditions but you are FAR less likely to find a breeder of crossbreed who does that. They do exist but they are few and far between. Poodles also have hereditary conditions and the same argument applies but IMO the problems Cavs can have are more distressing. Also, before you consider two dogs you should do some reading on littermate syndrome - even if they aren't from the same litter.

A behaviourist will normally work with you to resolve behavioural problems, or prevent any specific ones from developing - is there anything in particular that you think might be of concern?

 

[Greg1976]

Cavapoos are sweet little dogs but Cavs can have some serious hereditary health problems (heart and syringomyelia). Good breeders will screen their dogs to make sure they don't breed from parents who carry these conditions but you are FAR less likely to find a breeder of crossbreed who does that. They do exist but they are few and far between. Poodles also have hereditary conditions and the same argument applies but IMO the problems Cavs can have are more distressing. Also, before you consider two dogs you should do some reading on littermate syndrome - even if they aren't from the same litter.

A behaviourist will normally work with you to resolve behavioural problems, or prevent any specific ones from developing - is there anything in particular that you think might be of concern?

Thank you for the response Joanne, very interesting regarding the potential health issues. I will look more into it. Same goes for littermate syndrome. The thinking around speaking to a behaviourist is specifically around avoiding separation anxiety and the effect of having 2 pups from a different litter and/ or breed. At the end of the day, we are wanting family dogs who are well adjusted to us as well as to each other.

 

[JoanneF]

Having two dogs doesn't necessarily prevent SA, there are lots of things you can do to prevent it though and of course prevention is better than cure. When your puppy is very young, get him used to you walking out of the room then back in again, preferably when he is occupied with something like a Kong. The aim is for him to barely register you coming and going - ideally for him to have a 'oh, you're back, I didn't notice you leave' reaction. Gradually build up time. If he is distressed you have created anxiety and that is not what you want. Stair gates are also useful to allow him to see you pottering about in another room, but without being glued to your feet.

You can also reward independent behaviour - praise when your dog is not actively engaged with you, which is actually quite hard to remember to do because we sort of don't notice when it happens!

@JudyN might have some more tips, I think I remember her posting on this subject.

There are other things you can do like picking up keys and putting on outdoor clothes then not actually going out, to desensitise him to the triggers that signal you leaving but I think these are more useful for dogs who are already anxious about you leaving.

If you still want to speak to a behaviourist, Emma Judson is one of the UK's experts in SA and she can do online consultations at a very reasonable rate.

thecanineconsultants

 

[JudyN]

Not a lot to add to what @JoanneF has said - the key really is to go at your dog's pace, even if that means leaving the house for 3 minutes and coming back again one week, 5 minutes the next, and not being able to get anywhere you want to go for some time! Dogs develop their ability to be left at different speeds but it's important to go at their pace, even if that means you have to use dog walkers, persuade your friends they'd like to 'look after' your pup for the day and so on.
I'll Be Home Soon by Patricia McConnel is a great guide: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ill-Home-S...=1520084469&sr=1-1&keywords=i'll+be+home+soon

 

[Violet Turner]

Not a lot to add to what @JoanneF has said - the key really is to go at your dog's pace, even if that means leaving the house for 3 minutes and coming back again one week, 5 minutes the next, and not being able to get anywhere you want to go for some time! Dogs develop their ability to be left at different speeds but it's important to go at their pace, even if that means you have to use dog walkers, persuade your friends they'd like to 'look after' your pup for the day and so on.
I'll Be Home Soon by Patricia McConnel is a great guide: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ill-Home-Soon-Separation-Anxiety-ebook/dp/B001CSLJR2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1520084469&sr=1-1&keywords=i'll+be+home+soon

i like your way around it.

 

[JudyN]

I forgot - it can be useful to record what your dog does while you're out. Just audio is fine, but it's horrible if you have to hear your dog howling and whining. Don't assume that the dog might 'entertain himself' - it doesn't occur to some dogs to play on their own, so you want them to be tired enough to relax and sleep.

And two dogs are not necessarily better than one - if you have one dog who is fine with being left and the other who isn't, the anxiety of the latter could affect the former and then they could develop SA too. There is a very real danger of them becoming overbonded to each other rather than you, too. In general, raising two pups together can be more than double the work of raising one.

 

[Greg1976]

Thank you Judy, much appreciated, and very helpful

 

[arealhuman]

I'll just say welcome