New (to us) Dachsie

[DollyDachsie]

Hello,

We acquired a just turned yrs spayed short hair female on Saturday to keep it from going to the pound, looks exactly like the far left Dachsie in the pic at the top of the page. We're looking for a few tips on training, etc. Are there any good books that give you the basic Dachsie info along with a little more indepth knowledge?

The dog was named Gretchen, but our daughters, 9 yrs and 5 yrs would like to call her Dolly, will she adapt to this type of change? The 9 yr old will be the primary care giver, but the dog is used to being taken care of by a middle age female, so she heads towards my wife. Any tips to get her to listen to my daughter? Also, we have a 9yr old cat who is used to being around dogs and ignores them, but the Dachsie loves to chase her around. Will this behavior ever cease, realizing we've only had her for a couple days? Lastly the previous owner's husband was rather cruel towards the dog so it is shying away from human males. Will it be possible to get her to rethink men in general? Any move I make towards her, kneeling and smiling, kneeling and holding out my hand, calling in a soft voice, brings a series of barks and the dog runs the other way.

Looking forward to learning lots to keep our new addition to the family happy and healthy.
Thanks!!!

Ken

[DollyDachsie]

The dog (Dolly) just turned 3 in January.

Thanks!

Ken

[dutchman]

Hi ken and family,

While I haven't made any major changes in the names of the dogs I have adopted the general consensus is changing names is not a problem. You might want to look for a basic obedience class that would allow you daughter to be the primary handler. I know our local 4-H offers basic obedience classes for young dog handlers at very reasonable cost. Private trainers may or may not have a problem with a nine year old being in charge of an animal in a class. A lot may depend on your daughter.

As far as bonding with you, yes it should be possible to get this little girl over her fears. A good starting point would be to place a small treat (something smelly like doggie jerky) on our open hand and offer it to her with you hand held low. Let her come to the treat. If she won't come and take it off your hand toss it most of the way to her. With time you should be able to reduce the distance you have to toss the food until the day she will take it out of your hand. Since you have a family your approach may be a little different from mine with my shy dogs (I'm single). In my case I try to force a little quality time each day holding a new shy dog on my lap gently stroking it give an occasional treat. The first day this might only last a couple of minutes but it can be extended as the dog makes progress. She just has to learn it's OK to trust you. Perhaps at first your wife (I'm suggesting your wife first just in case Dolly tries to bite anyone) could hold Dolly while you pet her. Always remember to approach with a low upturned hand. Dogs depend a lot on body language to judge a person (or another animal). When you approach with a high hand you end up blocking their line of sight increasing their stress.

I hope some of this helps we look forward to hearing a lot more from you and your family. You daughter is welcome to post questions or stories as well. I know we have at least one member not too much older than her already. Look for the postings from Tiff and her dog Timber.

Good luck and welcome to the board,

Tom and the boys (Frank and Tanner)

[LisaH]

Ken:

Welcome! How good of you to have rescued this dachsie! First of all, I think it's just fine to rename her--I call my Annie by everything but her name, and she responds to the dozens of pet names I call her. Second, to put your daughter in a more important position as far as Dolly is concerned, have her be the one to feed Dolly. There's no one as important as the giver of the kibbles! Third, I would echo Dutchman's advice on your giving Dolly treats. You might want to start by just sitting on the floor, not even making eye contact with her, and holding a GREAT treat on your palm in back of you. Let her learn very gradually that she can get close to you without your even making a move. As she gains confidence, you can move the treat in front of you, and eventually try holding your hand out with palm up as dutchman suggested. Stroke her under the chin, not on top of the head, and talk to her in a soothing voice. I think she'll come around!

LisaH and Annie the almost 4-year-old mini dachsie

[Mark]

Hi Ken, Dolly & family . . . Welcome! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/wavey.gif

Tom & Lisa gave sound advice, so I'll just say we look forward to getting to know you. Feel free to jump in anywhere to ask questions or advise others. It's a great board and, for us, like having a large extension of our families. http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

[Heidismom]

Hi, and welcome! I changed a dachsie's 3 syllable name (MacKeever) to Fritz by stretching Fritz to 3 syllables and using the same tone of voice for both names and gradually stopped the MacKeever. He was about 4 months old, and tried to be stubborn about the name change. Everyone's suggestions about affirming male behavior should work, from my past experience - and even though she may not warm up to the dad at first, if you are serious, Ken, maybe you should feed her - and a little "tasty t-bone Vita-Gravy" would probably make you a food friend REAL fast! Thanks for adopting a rescue! Julia - mom to Heidi, Gretl, and Siglen (I've been around or owned by dachsies for 48 years.)

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Heidi'smom on April 05, 2001 at 08:21 PM</font>