Dog Owner Chat V. 5

[Boghound]

Flyball really would be fun to play with him, though I worry about him being able to clear jumps. He's got the spirit, but since his breeder wanted a "mini" Dachshund (ughhh) his legs are so frickin tiny. Poor bub likes to jump off my bed (just a mattress on the floor) but he can't ever get back up. We're going to get him some bed stairs eventually.

I've never even heard of Treibball but at a cursory glance, how fun! I'm definitely going to do more reading up on that.

I work at a boarding place and we have so many obese dogs come in. It's always so nice to see conditioned, fit, or even pet weight ones. We have a pair of little dogs that come in (total mutts, I can't even make an educated guess honestly) and their pet parent instructs us to feed them one can of wet food three times a day. It's SD Metabolic and it's like, a full size can, not those little wet foods you can buy. She's upset that they're not losing weight. I'm just?? For their most recent stay she cut down a can of wet food, and I was happy... only to find out she replaced it with 2x cans of chicken sausages EACH. They also get multiple treats at each meal. (Beggin strips & chewy milkbones) I feel like I'm actively killing those dogs every time I feed them but I can't exactly go against the owner's wishes. Poor little bubs.

[cornspurrd.]

Flyball really would be fun to play with him, though I worry about him being able to clear jumps. He's got the spirit, but since his breeder wanted a "mini" Dachshund (ughhh) his legs are so frickin tiny. Poor bub likes to jump off my bed (just a mattress on the floor) but he can't ever get back up. We're going to get him some bed stairs eventually.

I've never even heard of Treibball but at a cursory glance, how fun! I'm definitely going to do more reading up on that.

I work at a boarding place and we have so many obese dogs come in. It's always so nice to see conditioned, fit, or even pet weight ones. We have a pair of little dogs that come in (total mutts, maybe dachshund x supermutt? who knows) and their pet parent instructs us to feed them one can of wet food three times a day. It's SD Metabolic and it's like, a full size can, not those little wet foods you can buy. She's upset that they're not losing weight. I'm just?? For their most recent stay she cut down a can of wet food, and I was happy... only to find out she replaced it with 2x cans of chicken sausages EACH. They also get multiple treats at each meal. (Beggin strips & chewy milkbones) I feel like I'm actively killing those dogs every time I feed them but I can't exactly go against the owner's wishes. Poor little bubs.

Flyball jumps are set to the smallest dog that is on the team ( thats why teams with large dogs like to have a smaller dog on the team to make it a bit easier ) So your dog shouldn't have much trouble.

And thats really sad.. :(( Deacon gets 4 cups of dry food, mixed with water. He gets a bit extra food than my other dog, because my other dog isn't as active. ( he gets 2 cups ) Deacon burned off his food wayy too quickly on 3 cups and kept loosing weight. So we bumped it up to 4 and he's doing really good! He works for his dinner ( tricks and such ) throughout the day too. He only gets one cup of his food at night before bed, the rest is used for training. He also sometimes gets a milkbone stuck into his toy when he gets a bit bored - he enjoys that :)

[Boghound]

Oh that's actually amazing to know, thank you so much. 0: I'll definitely look into doing it with him in the future, then!

[cornspurrd.]

Yeah! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwVUGv605rc

I've always wanted a full flyball team of whippets. That would be so insane. But I read somewhere they only allow so many whippets per team? Not sure. But I wouldn't blame them - Whippets tear apart flyball like it isn't nobodys buisness.

[eleutheromania]

mini dachshunds are a thing and one of the two sizes they come in. by standard, they stand under 6in from the shoulder. standards 9in and above. so i don't understand the ugh part. flyball is set to the dog's size also in jumps, same goes with agility etc. i suggest you do get some stairs etc and don't let him jump from high areas as dachshunds are prone to IVDD. Loki stands are 9inch from the shoulder but his ground clearance is at maybe 4 inches? also depending on who the breeder was, watch out for the possibility of PRA if she didn't genetically test her dogs. if you do decide to spay and neuter, best to wait until a year at least in most cases [ studies regarding ivdd on this ]. minis are 12lbs and under. standards 16 up for future reference. dachshunds can excel in flyball, agility, scent work etc. i do suggest barn hunts if you have any in your area when he's old enough, they are hounds and love to track things.

[amsie]

any tips to make a dog more confident? had him for 16 weeks and hoped it was just
a puppy-phase. he's skittish and called atlas. he's almost 2 years old.
examples include: anything new. anything at all. most new toys he won't go near.
family members have to wait for me to come home and introduce it to him.

he also has separation anxiety to me. had it since the first day i got him - would
whimper whenever. walks are stressful as i have two dogs, atlas and pip. pips fine
walking on leads and whatever but atlas tugs and barks. honestly, a nightmare.
thinks he can take on two german shepherds, an alaskan malamute, cats and crows.

thing is - i don't know anyone with a dog. there are no puppy training classes near me
and most people tug away when they see a barking chihuahua. the nice people that
have let him near found out he isn't aggressive but doesn't know how to show his
excitement.

any help appreciated.

[eleutheromania]

try looking up absolute dog and his training games and such. i feel like the DMT [ i think ] would be a good game to play when he is being reactive on a leash. distract, mark, and treat. confidence-wise, you just have to keep exposing him to new things properly but don't force it. pretty sure they have tips on that also. also, try to walk him alone and work in a contained environment with little to no distractions for the beginning foundations of loose leashing walking. then slowly integrate distractions and move forward as he does better. youtube has a plethora of helpful videos regarding confidence and leash work, kikopups may have a few up on this topic.

[cornspurrd.]

^^
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OseD7TRwsPQ
this video helped alot with getting past a foster puppies fear stage.

[Boghound]

I'd imagine a team of whippets is a sight to behold tbh. That team of doxxies really is wrecking it, dang. I could see little Barn having fun doing this, for sure. I'll have to look into some local teams and see what the scene is like around here! (:

The ugh was from my personal general distaste for "miniaturizing" dogs. It's just not my cup of tea, even within standards. That and I don't think his breeder much cares about standards in general. None of her dogs are titled and bloodlines are't mentioned - just their colours and temperaments. (Looks like she took down all of her dams and only shows the sires publicly now?) Which, don't get me wrong, temperaments are very important when breeding dogs esp if that's what you're looking for. Her sole focus is on colour and making them tiny, though, so it seems. She has had "micro" dachshunds listed too.
I definitely discourage the jumping, no worries. He's gotten better about just sitting there and waiting for me to put him down once he signals; it's been a learning process but he's very quick. I was planning on waiting until 2 yr to alter him as I do with most of my dogs. I've always had larger dogs and that was my standard by them, but it's nice to know that dachshunds can be altered a little sooner if need be, thank you for the information! I'll also keep an eye out for PRA and do some reading up on it, I appreciate that too.

[eleutheromania]

ah. gotcha. miniatures came from breeding down standards. micro is an incorrect term definitely but i know russia has a kannichan size for dachshunds under 8lbs i think? its very hard to find dachshund breeders that title and do stuff with their dogs nowadays, most are 'pet breeders' though some actually do try their best to stick to standard even if they don't title. even genetic testing is difficult to find, even with some show breeders but its starting to become a little more common. being smaller they finish growing earlier but i myself wouldn't alter until later also. some also have reactions to lepto which is in the distemper combo so watch for that come shots, just in case. some do and some don't.

on the skinny dog topic, everyone thinks Loki is too skinny because you can actually see his waist, dachshunds aren't supposed to be round, though they also don't have much of a tuck as a breed. i swear i hate when people think that's an okay weight, then get shocked when their dog's back goes out or they get diabetes. of course when i tell them to pick him up, they're shocked how heavy he is. good ole 18lb bby.