Blog

One week in 2018 brought the news that not one but two dachshund teams have made it to the finals of the ‘Obreedience’ competition at Crufts 2018 dog show in Birmingham, UK. We can’t have been the only people who did a double take on hearing this. Dachshunds have the reputation of being difficult - if not impossible - to train. Obedience is not the first characteristic that springs to mind for most people when thinking of this breed. Read on to find out what tips we picked up about obedience training your dachshund.

You’ve probably seen that dachshund - or sausage dog - walks are springing up all over the UK. Or maybe we all just notice them more now that the number of these group walks seems to be reaching critical mass. We always had freezing cold fun at our local - and some would say the original - #sausagewalklondon event in Greenwich Park. Read on for our mini report on the best walk we went on in London, and links to a sausage walk near you.

Do you know that you don't need to wash our dachshund raincoats if they get dirty? Usually you can just wipe them over with a damp cloth. Less washing means fewer microplastic particles in our waterways and oceans. Read on to find out more…

Do dogs really need clothing? Surely they’re born with their clothes on? Not all dogs are created equal when it comes to staying warm and dry. Dogs with longer and thicker fur have an insulation advantage. Some large, athletic dogs and dogs with thick dense coats or long legs seem to power through wet and cold weather, entirely oblivious. Dachshunds’ hairless tummies are only inches from the ground. They are famously reluctant to go out in the wet, despite their reputation for boldness. It's clear that a well-fitting dog coat can be extremely beneficial for certain dogs, including dachshunds, to protect them from the elements or perform some other function. Read on to find out more.

Our new dachshund snuggle sack is the perfect example of a customer-designed product. And it's a bit different to most other snuggle sacks. We know our dachshunds love using it, because they customised and perfected it! Read on to find out why every dachshund should have one of our new sacks for burrowing in comfort.

We reckon that anyone who lives with a dachshund (or two) relies on dog treats of some kind or another to achieve any sort of control and training. Our famously untrainable dachshunds can be trained with food incentives, and we think there’s a place for treats in dachshund diets, within reason. But what about dog biscuits, especially the kind of human-grade, beautifully-wrapped dog biscuits now available in delicatessens and at every farmers market in town? Dogs will eat almost anything, so what’s the point of artisanal baked products for dogs? Read on to find out more.

If you've never had a female dog before (technically a bitch, but I’m not going there) then you may be in for a bit of a surprise when she goes on heat for the first time. Being on heat (or being in oestrus) is the stage in a female dog's reproductive cycle during which she becomes receptive to mating with male dogs. Read on to hear about our recent experience with Pixel, our young dapple mini dachshund.

Like most dachshund owners, you probably stop to chat when you meet other dachshunds and their humans. It’s one of the many pleasures of living with a dachshund. A woman stopped to ask us last week whether our standard dachshund Sunny was trainable. To her relief we told her no, not entirely. “It’s not just me then!” she replied. Let’s be honest, those of us with a dachshund in the family don’t typically associate dachshunds with obedience. We deflect concerns about their lack of obedience with our loyal appreciation of their independence and strong character. Read on to find out more about disobedient dachshunds and how this relates to their level of working and obedience intelligence.

I love long distance running, and try to go out three times each week all year round whatever the weather. Running in adverse weather - heavy rain, extreme cold, during the first flakes of snowfall - adds an extra layer of challenge and wonder at nature to the buzz I get from the outdoor activity. Evidence suggests that some form of regular exertion is good for humans and also good for dogs. “A tired dog is a happy dog”, as the saying goes. Exercise is good for keeping weight down and so protecting the long dachshund back. So how practical is it for dachshunds and their humans to go out running together?

Last week, our standard dachshund Sunny and I took a long leisurely walk after lunch. The weather was awful, the ground underfoot was wet and muddy, but as we started out Sunny was having a great time with some intensive sniffing. I decided to make this walk all about sniffing, and let Sunny go entirely at his own pace. I wondered whether our goal of giving him a good long walk every afternoon - 45 to 60 minutes - acted to suppress his engagement with the odours around him, and the use of his professional scent hound nose.