In the above thread I chronicled how I acquired and then lost a dog I came to love in a very short time.
I don’t know if there is an acceptable length of time for mourning a beloved pet. But I’ve been to the shelter and have found a dog that I’ve decided to adopt.
“Chip” is a seven-month old dachshund that was surrendered to the shelter by his owners. It doesn’t seem he got a lot of attention or care, but he’s friendly and healthy. He can’t replace my other doggie, but by loving and rescuing another dog I hope to honor the memory of the one I lost.
One thing, he isn’t housetrained. Anyone got any tips on training him? Tomorrow he’ll be going to the vet to be neutered, before I bring him home. After that I’ll need to be very patient I suppose!
I’m thinking of renaming him. Chip is the name given him by the folks who surrendered him, after deciding it cost too much to keep him. He doesn’t seem to respond to his name well, so if I call him something new it shouldn’t be a problem.
It is difficult to train a dachshund puppy to keep it outside, so I’d imagine it will not be simple to train a fully developed dog.
ETA: I somehow read 7 months as 7 years. Disregard the above, keep working on him, don’t be surprised if it takes awhile but you can get him to where he has accidents only when sick.
Be patient, and correct as soon as possible after he makes an accident. You’ll have to determine the best way to scold him, but in general they don’t respond well to ultra-strict punishment.
First, I’d walk him every time he needs to go to the bathroom, rather than just let him out into the backyard. This is because when you go out, you’re going to take some treats with you. And not just any treats - his FAVORITE treats that he’d sell his little puppy soul for*. So every time he goes to the bathroom (and I mean EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. he takes a leak or poops), you’re going to make the biggest, happiest, ridiculous deal out of it that your neighbors will be calling the people in white jackets to take you away. Nothing but high praise and letting him know he just did EXACTLY what you wanted him to. You’re going to feel like an idiot, but it will work. You do that for two weeks, and your dog won’t want to pee anywhere else but outside.
And congrats! Dachshunds are fantastic, big personality dogs. I’m happy for both of you.
*If you haven’t discovered your dog’s go-to treat, that’s fine. I recommend finding some good quality low-sodium hot dogs (yeah, they exist). Cut them into nickel-thin slices. Put them on a paper towel on top of a plate, and microwave them for about 4.5 minutes. This will stink to high-heaven - but your goal is to dehydrate the hot dog slices into chewy nuggets of dog training wonderfulness. Keep them in a ziplock bag, and they’ll keep for a couple weeks.
I can’t help you with the dog-training (other than to encourage you to do so - untrained dogs make the baby Jesus wail uncontrollably), but I changed my cat’s name when I got her at around six months, and it wasn’t an issue at all. I mean, who names a calico cat Patches? That’s so clichéd!
I commend you for adopting a shelter dog.
I live one 20 acres and I have 5 dogs. Three are “rescues”. One (7 yo at adoption) from a horrible home and two (1 & 2 yo when adopted) from mildly neglectful homes.
Although it is ancedotal, I found all 3 rescued dogs to be much easier to “re-train” than the ongoing training of dog we got as a puppy or the one that was born and raised here.
They are SOOOOOO happy to be in a loving home that they all try their very, very hardest to do whatever you ask.
The other two, while great dogs, seem to feel more “entitled”. It is as if having never known deprivation or neglect (or abuse) , they just don’t try as hard. They don’t realize they are in doggie heaven.
Of course, all this could be the result of age, breed, etc. :smack:
Dachshunds are Special. As per a poem I read, they have a pinch of God in them, and the other dogs can smell it. Good luck, and be kind and gentle with your own Special little creature.
“Being the owner of dachshunds, to me a book on dog discipline becomes a volume of inspired humor. Every sentence is a riot. Some day, if I ever get a chance, I shall write a book, or warning, on the character and temperament of the dachshund and why he can’t be trained and shouldn’t be. I would rather train a striped zebra to balance an Indian club than induce a dachshund to heed my slightest command. When I address Fred I never have to raise either my voice or my hopes. He even disobeys me when I instruct him in something he wants to do.”
