Hello, my name is Terri, and I live in MD with two Dachshunds and 3 cats.
My older Dachshund is Annie, who just turned 16- she was my aunt's dog, and when my aunt moved in with us for a while when Annie was about 1, Annie never really left. Initially she was "shared", but she's been my dog only for a long time now, though I send her to visit my mom almost every day when I go to work because she hates being crated/kenneled and can't be trusted free in my house alone.
My younger Dachshund is Buster, he's 8 and I've owned him since he was 4. He was a rehome through my work (vet clinic) because his owner lost her home and couldn't care for him anymore. I brought him home with the intention of testing his house manners and contacting dachshund rescue about him, but within about an hour I was hooked. I was still living with my parents at the time, and we had 4 other dogs between us, but I would have regretted it forever if I had let him slip through my fingers, he was the perfect fit!
I've also had a couple APBTs, my favorite breed; and we had a Cocker (one of the nicest I've known), and a Chihuahua mix- I've decided to keep my dog quota at 2 from here out though, so hopefully no new dogs for a good while yet. I also have 3 cats, one tuxedo DSH (5 y/o), one black DLH (4 y/o), and one lynx point siamese mix (3 y/o).... have totally met my cat quota, no more bringing home orphaned litters of kittens from work for me!
Annie use to be pretty well trained, but has become rather unconcerned with following the rules in her old age. She was a retrieving fool in her younger days- she still likes to play ball/fetch here and there (but is easily distracted), and roughhouses with Bus regularly. She's kind of aloof, but relatively tolerant of people, and dog aggressive, but trained to ignore them well enough that she was able to get her CGC. I dabbled in tracking and obedience with her, but we stopped due to my work schedule, though we still do a bit here and there just for fun.
She was very high energy as a young dog, but these days she's more about finding a warm spot to take a nap. She use to be an avid swimmer, but in her old age, she only wades unless it's over 90!
Bus is mainly my "fun" dog... I've had him for 4 years, and don't think I've ever had a formal obedience session with him. I spent a ton of time building his toy/tug drive, as he was pretty "soft" when I got him, and he's a monster now. He's pretty reliable off leash, but can be impulsive (especially around water/food/toys), so I err on the side of caution. Has picked up enough functional obedience that he's easily controlled (good recall, sits, stays, walks nicely on/off leash, outs off toys/tugs), but he's definitely lacking the refinement for competitive obedience at this point in time.
He's really a nice dog, great with people, and appropriate with other dogs, he's just quick to capitalize on people letting him get away with bad behavior, and cute enough that a lot of people do! I had him certified to do pet therapy work within a year of getting him, and he took up visiting at a local senior center when my old APBT had to retire due to old age/bad health. He's been visiting there for about 1.5 years now, and seems to like it well enough, though I think he'd rather be playing ball and acting like a hooligan- he's a good sport.
He loves the water, and will fetch just about anything. He's also a master digger, which means plenty of trips to the beach so he can dig the sand to his little hearts content- the tide fills it right back in when we leave. He was severely overweight when I got him, and pretty low energy (that was the only thing I didn't care for, as I've always had more active dogs), but as the weight came off, his energy shot through the roof- and he needs a good round of fetch and/or run with the bike most days to keep him sane. If well exercised, he's got a surprisingly good "off" switch- I can play ball with him, barking, slinging spit, jumping all over; then put the ball up and tell him we're done and he'll go lay down. When Annie was younger, she never really settled down unless she was exhausted, so he's a pleasant change.
In closing, here are some pics
Annie
In '10
In '12
Bus
In '10
In '12
Both in '11
My older Dachshund is Annie, who just turned 16- she was my aunt's dog, and when my aunt moved in with us for a while when Annie was about 1, Annie never really left. Initially she was "shared", but she's been my dog only for a long time now, though I send her to visit my mom almost every day when I go to work because she hates being crated/kenneled and can't be trusted free in my house alone.
My younger Dachshund is Buster, he's 8 and I've owned him since he was 4. He was a rehome through my work (vet clinic) because his owner lost her home and couldn't care for him anymore. I brought him home with the intention of testing his house manners and contacting dachshund rescue about him, but within about an hour I was hooked. I was still living with my parents at the time, and we had 4 other dogs between us, but I would have regretted it forever if I had let him slip through my fingers, he was the perfect fit!
I've also had a couple APBTs, my favorite breed; and we had a Cocker (one of the nicest I've known), and a Chihuahua mix- I've decided to keep my dog quota at 2 from here out though, so hopefully no new dogs for a good while yet. I also have 3 cats, one tuxedo DSH (5 y/o), one black DLH (4 y/o), and one lynx point siamese mix (3 y/o).... have totally met my cat quota, no more bringing home orphaned litters of kittens from work for me!
Annie use to be pretty well trained, but has become rather unconcerned with following the rules in her old age. She was a retrieving fool in her younger days- she still likes to play ball/fetch here and there (but is easily distracted), and roughhouses with Bus regularly. She's kind of aloof, but relatively tolerant of people, and dog aggressive, but trained to ignore them well enough that she was able to get her CGC. I dabbled in tracking and obedience with her, but we stopped due to my work schedule, though we still do a bit here and there just for fun.
She was very high energy as a young dog, but these days she's more about finding a warm spot to take a nap. She use to be an avid swimmer, but in her old age, she only wades unless it's over 90!
Bus is mainly my "fun" dog... I've had him for 4 years, and don't think I've ever had a formal obedience session with him. I spent a ton of time building his toy/tug drive, as he was pretty "soft" when I got him, and he's a monster now. He's pretty reliable off leash, but can be impulsive (especially around water/food/toys), so I err on the side of caution. Has picked up enough functional obedience that he's easily controlled (good recall, sits, stays, walks nicely on/off leash, outs off toys/tugs), but he's definitely lacking the refinement for competitive obedience at this point in time.
He's really a nice dog, great with people, and appropriate with other dogs, he's just quick to capitalize on people letting him get away with bad behavior, and cute enough that a lot of people do! I had him certified to do pet therapy work within a year of getting him, and he took up visiting at a local senior center when my old APBT had to retire due to old age/bad health. He's been visiting there for about 1.5 years now, and seems to like it well enough, though I think he'd rather be playing ball and acting like a hooligan- he's a good sport.
He loves the water, and will fetch just about anything. He's also a master digger, which means plenty of trips to the beach so he can dig the sand to his little hearts content- the tide fills it right back in when we leave. He was severely overweight when I got him, and pretty low energy (that was the only thing I didn't care for, as I've always had more active dogs), but as the weight came off, his energy shot through the roof- and he needs a good round of fetch and/or run with the bike most days to keep him sane. If well exercised, he's got a surprisingly good "off" switch- I can play ball with him, barking, slinging spit, jumping all over; then put the ball up and tell him we're done and he'll go lay down. When Annie was younger, she never really settled down unless she was exhausted, so he's a pleasant change.
In closing, here are some pics
Annie
In '10
In '12
Bus
In '10
In '12
Both in '11
