OT Puppy

My husband and I adopted a daschund mix puppy a couple of weeks ago. She's 6 months old, and we also have a 1 1/2 yr old chihuahua mix. She doesn't want to seem to let him eat, and she keeps taking his toys (even though she has the same). Does anyone have any suggestions? Otherwise I'm afraid we'll have to get rid of her too. She's veyr sweet, she just seems to be very selfish. Kim

Hi Kim, I also adopted a daschund/husky yes husky mix and my girl gets into everything. My other dogs are large breeds so this is my first experience with a small dog (she looks like a daschund with steel blue eyes) for the last week she has been climing over the fenced in area and running free so now we will not be able to allow her out there to play anymore. I wish I could gice you some advice but the one thing I do is that I feed my dogs seperately in the laundry room since my big dogs would wolf down the little ones food. You can try that. Toys are bit rougher to make them play nice with. Good Luck,

The only thing is we don't feed at certain times, we just leave the food and water out. Our chi is very picky and only eats when he feels like it. I'm becoming more and more concerned that we're just gonna have to find a new home for the daschund.

Hi kim I have been a certified veterinary technician for 15 years and my advise is to feed them seperately....don't leave food down for them and let them work out the toy issue...there may be some snapping growling and snarling this is normal as dogs are pack animals and have to establish a pecking order. Dachshunds are usually very dominant and this doesn't shock me that she wants to take over the household. It is just the pack working out the alpha. Even though the chihuahua has been there longer the doxie may be the alpha of the pack and this is okay dogs don't get there feelings hurt about this...Let them work it out it is very important that you don't interfere or it will go on forever. You should make it a point to always greet the older dog first and then the puppy, this will show him that he is still top dog to you but when it comes to them they have to work it out and although it is stressful to you it is quite normal dog behavior to them. Good luck and let me know how things are going. Good luck it will get better Kirsten

Thanks so much! That actually makes me feel better. We really don't want to giver her up, she's just so sweet and we know she's trying. We're going to feed them seperately and set designated times. I think this will help in the housebreaking for Lucy too. Now we just have to worry about kennel cough. She brought it home from the shelter, and gave it to my chi. I took them to the vet and they were on oral antibiotics for a week. She seems better but he is still coughing and sneezing. I may have to him back. N E who...THANK YOU!!! Hugs Kim

kim I wanted to address the fact that you free feed and forgot in my previous post. Chihuahua's are notorious for being snackers and picky eaters but feeding twice daily at set times is important for any dog. This regimine not only aids in digestion but also keeps their weight down. Both the Doxie and the Chi are prone to obesity and both to back problems that are due to obesity. I know how hard it is when you think you are depriving them from food believe me, I have 5 cats and have had to make myself feed twice daily it was not easy but you know what? They may have missed a few meals but they soon got a hang of the schedule and actually eat much better this way...There was no way I was passing my eating habits on to my animals. Good luck and feel free to contact me if you need any help or support. Kirsten

Chihuahuas and daschunds are a handful but they are the cutest little things! My husband bought me a miniature chihuahua (applehead) as a post-op gift and i love her, she is the sweetest little thing. She is 4 months old now and my cousin came to stay with us with her 2 yr. old daschund who just had two male puppies...they get along playfully, but I have noticed that they are a bit rough and DEFINITELY stingey. Dachies are chewers (the daschund pups chewed through our water line over the weekend), so just keep an eye on the little angel LOL. The thing that has finally been helping is crate training separately. I have just noticed that daschunds are MUCH harder to train and much more aggressive with it comes to toys and food. I also get the harder chewier and noisier toys (with squeakers in them) for the daschund and the softer plusher toys and tennis balls for the chihuahua. I hope this helps and good luck, they are a joy when they are trained! Phoenix

Thanks, my chi hates noisy toys, so maybe we'll get a squeaker toy for her and she'll leave his alone. It's so funny, because they are the total opposite of each other. He's quiet and she's obnoxious, etc...anyway...You're right about them being chewers too, she's forever wanting to chew on everything in site!