Are you a Dachshund person?

If you have a well-manicured lawn or landscaped garden surrounding your home, take heed. The Dachshund is a great digger and also a clever escape artist, so you will need to spend plenty of time outdoors, checking every little nook and cranny. In Germany, Dachshunds are measured by the circumference of their chests, indicating how small a hole they can fit through. Keep that in mind when your Dachshund is burrowing his way under your chain-link fence! I hope you will also have the good sense to put up close the gate signs, because your Dachshund will be off in a flash if a visitor is unthoughtful enough to leave your gate open.

As a caring owner, you will always take into consideration that your Dachshund is quite differently shaped than the majority of other breeds. You will therefore not allow him to jump from high places or to climb stairs, so as to avoid the danger of back injury. When you pick him up, you will always remember to support his back.

Should there be children in your home, you must be a sensible parent, who will teach them to respect your diminutive Dachshund. No dog is a plaything. He will enjoy games with all of you, but you must all use common sense and care.

Just as your children look to you for guidance, so will your Dachshund look to you for security. If you are devoted to your Dachshund, that is something else you will have in common, because if you treat him kindly and look after him well, he will almost certainly be absolutely devoted to you.

Next step: Dachshund Overview

Reprinted from Breeders Best: Dachshund © 2004. Permission granted by Kennel Club Books, an imprint of BowTie Press.

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