Hi, my name is Marie, but just call me Staffy. I am a new member here and is desperatly seeking help. I am an over - euthuiastic animal lover and currently own a rabbit. I have been searching for nearly a year for a suitable breed to suit our family's circumstances. We have a crawling baby in our house and I have looking for a small - medium breed that will get on with all our family members. But it MUST be a short - haired as my parents don't like the idea of our house being swamped in dog hairs. Do you guys have any good positive sides of owning a dog that I can tell my parents? I have been researching if a shorthaired dachshund puppy will suit us as I've fallen in love with these guys. Can you give me any advice? It will be greatly apprieciated

Thanks
Staffy

Admin: Edit.
Staffy please do not post your age in posts. The internet can be a dangerous place :-)

Hi Staffy,
welcome to the board:).
Im no doggy expert but I believe that even short haired doggies shed a fair amount of hair:).
We have a cocker who is very good with children ( now that he cant be botherd to chase them anymore:)).He also looses hair but Im pleased to report that its only a tiny bit:)
Dont know anything about Dachshounds, but Im sure someone will help you
All the best Chris & Douglas xxxxx

I know my mother in law had three dachshunds and they did loose hair a great deal, however I am no expert

Hi Staffy,
We currently own 6 dachshunds and can tell you that out of the all the types the only that does not moult is the wire-haired variety. This type of dachshund requires to be hand stripped to keep the coat in shape if showing. If the pup is going to be kept as a pet then the coat can be clipped. The wires also have a wonderful expression with their beards and bushy eyebrows and fit in well with families. The only down side is that they are small dogs and great care is required not to accidently stand on them or handle them roughly as they are prone to back problems.

Good Luck in your search.

Hi Staffy. I would agree with Herbie that the wire-haired dachs are free of hair loss but you do have to keep them trimmed every few months, which shouldn't be a problem!
We had a wire hair miniature who was the love of my life.
They do have health problems to look out for - mainly with their backs.
The other serious one is very rare disease but is in the miniature wire haireds and unfortunately our little dachsie had it. It's called La Fora's (spelling?) but if you buy from really caring and responsible breeders, you should be OK.
They're OK with children - lots of families have them - and ours adored my daughter and her friends who were around 8 years old when he was a puppy. But it's never a good idea to leave children around pups unsupervised as young dogs can get overexcited and bite in play which can frighten kids.
We now have a Shih Tzu who I must say is brilliant with kids and babies and adores them and is very gentle and calm. They have long hair which does not moult at all but you'd need to put up with daily grooming or keeping their hair cut very short.
Having been a dachs lover all my life, I never thought I'd fall so much in love with Shih Tzus but they are wonderful little dogs and I'm a total convert! It might be worth a look at them on the internet .. but ignore the 'show' coats which I think are not so pretty when they're too long and ribboned up! They are actually huge characters which you can't see from some of the photos!
Hope you find a little friend to share your life with -
Best Wishes
Alison

Couldn`t agree more with the two previous posts
M.W.D. are delightful little characters and if you want a small family dog you can`t go wrong with one of them.Get more info about them on www.sunsong.co.uk
Carole

Hi, I dont know anything about Dachshunds but we have a Bichon Frise puppy and her hair does not fall out AT ALL. I am surprised by this as I thought a small amount would fall out but it doesnt, even when we brush her. She is very friendly and lovely and extremely soft and fluffy.
Good Luck in your search.
Em x x

I have 3 mini dachsies, one of each type of coat. I find that the smoothes are equally as bad for shedding as the longs. The long hair is just easier to pick up, the smooth hair gets stuck into everything. I agree that the wires are by far the best for not shedding. However, if you haven't had dachsies before, you need to know that they are not the most trainable dogs in the world. They are extremely stubborn and are typical hounds, with minds of their own. Read up as much as you can about the breed before getting one. If you do decide to get one, you'll be hooked. They are little dogs with big characters, and they're full of attitude. I wouldn't be without mine.

Everyone thank you so much for your help. I'll definitely find out more about wire haired dachshunds. I'll take a look at Bichon Frises and Shih Tzu too! If anyone else has any extra advice feel free to post it

Thanks, Staffy

Hi Staffy
I just wondered if you ever did get the mini wire haired dachshund puppy and if you did are you pleased and how are you getting on. My husband and I are also hoping to get one so I am doing as much research on the breed as I can first and would love to get feedback from people who have them.

Hi Van,

We have a mini smooth hair daschund puppy who is now five months old. She is an absolute joy. I know everyone is biased about their own breeds but I have had no major probs with her yet. We picked her up at eight weeks, and she picked up the house training (which alot of people say takes them a long time to grasp!) quite quickly. The pees were very small!!!!

On our first walk out in the park, we let her straight off of the lead and as a result, she happily just follows our feet without going any distance away from us.

We absolutely love her, we have two children and she is really really good with them.

If you are serious, I wouldn't hesitate in telling you to go for it. Everyone stops me when we go out to say, OH, we haven't seen one of these for so long!!, and she loves the fuss!!

Be aware though, that litters are quite small, so you may have to wait a while. But I found the daschundshowcase.co.uk, and the Kennel Club site, really helpful and found my pup on there.

Any more questions, feel free to post. Kind regards, Julie

Hi Em
Just browsing the CD & saw you had a Bichon pup, we are due to pick ours up in 5 weeks, any advice.
Cheers Pauline

Hi Em
We are due to collect our bichon pup in 5 wks, any advice?
Pauline