Life without a dachshund is possible but makes no sense. As a dog my dachshund is a catastrophy. As a human she is priceless.
When I was a kid, we had a standard black/tan "doxie" named Kaiser. He was a great little dog with the heart of a lion.
Did you? Yeah, they do have the heart of a lion even if it costs them their life. Read about a doxie attacking a boar and getting her tummy ripped by him. The operation was $3,700 but saved the dog's life. LOL, Did your parents name him/her Kaiser because of our William II who had some? His favorite one was called "Erdmann", as you may know. Mine is not a standard size doxie but smaller. Incidentally, how did you get along with your doxie in view of the fact that they are said not to be "good with children"? It may be different if kids and dogs grow up together, though.
Your doxie is adorable! What is his/her name? Haha; Kaiser was AKC registered, so his full name was Kaiser Wilhelm. He was a good natured little fellow and extremely protective of the family, especially my dad. One Thanksgiving we traveled to my grandparent's farm for a family gathering. My uncle arrived with his standard Doberman Pincer, "Major." When Major ran toward my dad, Kaiser went into protective mode and lunged, latching onto Major's throat. Dad had to spray the dogs with a water hose to get Kaiser off the Doberman. Thankfully neither dog was hurt, but Major gave Kaiser a wide berth for the remainder of that day. (My uncle was quite annoyed that his burly guard dog was bested by a little squirt of a dachshund. ) I have been considering a mini-Doxie since we lost our precious little Harry a couple of years ago. My only concern is that we have a 2-story house and I wonder how a small Doxie would do on the stairs. I know they are prone to back problems. What do you think about that?
Thanks, Beth. @Beth Gallagher The name Kaiser Wilhelm is funny. ;-) I call her Sari but her actual name is Zarina of....because she is a pedigree and belonged to the Z-litter. (That answers your question, too @Craig Swanson ) When I got her I also lived in a 2-story house plus basement which makes 3. I was also concerned because I'd heard about the risk. And Sari did not only race up and down the stairs, she also jumped from couches and beds. After six years she partly lived in my new place that doesn't have stairs. It's been only two years now that she doesn't have to cope with stairs any more except when I visit someone because most people I know do have houses/apartments with stairs. And she keeps jumping from couches and the bed because she's nosy and is "easily excitable". I simply can't prevent it even if I were at home all the time. If I have a chance, though, I carry her down steep flights of stairs in public buildings and places. One of my previous neigbors, who also lives in a two--story house, has been having a doxie for 18 years now without the dog having had back problems. His is not of pure breed. Sari is nine now and hasn't had any back problems yet perhaps because mini-doxies aren't as long as real wieners. I read that breeders are aware of the issue and try to consider that. Vets, on the other hand, say doxies shouldn't jump... So I took the risk and have been taking it ever since and keep my fingers crossed. So far I've heard of one case only when the prime minister of one of our federal states couldn't attend an electoral meeting because his doxie was having back problems. Guess it was a standard one. In my vicinity there's one family who have two standard doxies and a house with two stories and who haven't told me about back problems. One of their dogs has got metabolic problems, though. There's always a risk. One of my neighbors has his second Dobermann and told me that this race is known for a heart problem running in it which can cause the dog to drop dead all of a sudden when being about two years old. What breed of dog was Harry?
This is my dog, Marley who is part Welsh Border Collie and either German Shepherd or Rottie. She has the sweetest disposition of any dog I've ever owned.
I'm not sure why my father chose Kaiser's name, as a kid I never thought to ask. Sari is a great name for a beautiful little dog. Thanks for your input about the back problems with Doxies; I suppose it's just the luck of the draw. Kaiser never had such problems either, but my mother didn't allow him on the furniture, haha. And we lived in a one-story house. Harry was a designer mix of Yorkshire Terrier/Poodle, aptly called "YorkiePoo." (Who comes up with this stuff??) He was an adorable, crazy little furball who only lived 9 short years; he died 2 years ago of cancer and kidney failure. He was scheduled for surgery to remove a tumor from his intestine when his kidneys failed and the surgeon said he wouldn't survive the surgery. I was totally devastated. It's amazing what a hole they leave in our lives when taken. When Harry was a young pup, he was a little crazy guy with one speed... wide open. He was always jumping off of our (tall) bed, especially if he heard a delivery truck rumbling down the street. At 3 years old he blew out the tendons in both back legs and had to have surgery on both knees at the same time. That was a difficult recovery; we had to keep him corralled in a baby play pen and carry him outside to potty for a few weeks. So we have been through expensive and painful surgeries with a little dog and I'd hate to have to go through that again... but with any pet that's a possibility. Here's my Harry... this is in our motorhome; Harry was a great little traveler and he was in more states than most people ever see.