Everyone dog owner has their favorite breed of dog, whether they own one of them or not. Mine is the Miniature Dachshund. I have owned Doxies for the last fifteen years. They have been like my kids and I couldn't ask for a better dog. They are great with children, my own and everyone else's. Let me give you a little history of the breed and then I will tell you about mine.
Dachshunds, meaning “badger dog” in German, were first bred in the early 1600's in Germany. The idea was to create a fearless, elongated dog that could dig down into badger burrows and fight vicious badgers to death. Dachshunds are a lively sort with a friendly personality and a keen sense of smell. They first became popular in the United States in the early 1900's.
When you think of Dachshunds you think of short legged, long bodied dogs in red/brown, or black and tan. A few years back after we lost our first Mini Doxie to pneumonia at the age of eleven, we were looking for another one to add to the family. That was when I discovered that Dachshunds come in more colors and color combinations than any other breed of dog. You can find your usual reds and blck and tans of course. You can also find them in black & cream, blue & cream, blue & tan, chocolate & cream, chocolate & tan, cream, fawn& cream, fawn & tan, wheaten, wild boar, black, chocolate, & fawn. You can find them brindle, dapple, sable, brindle piebald, double dapple, & piebald. Then you've got long hair , short hair, smooth, and wirehaired. I have seen some of these colors and they are absolutely adorable. I have a black piebald and a red.
Not only are these dogs adorable and colorful, they are great family dogs. Every one of the Doxies I have owned has been great with my kids. They are also very protective of us. The red one in the picture above comes to my youngest son's rescue whenever he thinks that someone is playing too rough. He only does this with adults however and has never been mean to any kids that have come to the house. As you can see in the picture, these two are spoiled rotten! I have found that even though these guys only weigh about 8 pounds, they are bed hogs. They have their own bed to sleep in at night because they like to share your pillow and they have a way of pushing everyone else to the edges of the bed.
We got our first mini Dachshund about fifteen years ago. He was 8 weeks old and was a little bigger than my hand. He went everywhere with us. As he grew up we found that he had quite a personality. He loved opening presents, not to tear the paper up, but to get the present inside! As he got older, he helped me raise a couple of orphaned kittens, became a great friend to our boys, and loved going camping. We now have two mini Doxies and they each have their own personalities and are as different as night and day. Lou is a little more laid back but still enjoys climbing up on a play set and going down the slide whether the kids are on it or not. Copper, well, Copper is a goof ball. He smiles, dances around, uses his front paws like hands and moves his head and front paws around like he's trying to answer you when you say something to him. Copper is also younger than Lou and more on the playful side.
I personally believe that if you want a small dog that will be good with kids and be a loyal companion, the Miniature Dachshund is the breed you are looking for. Yes, these puppies can be expensive, and you do need to make sure they maintain a healthy weight, as well as prevent injuries to their backs, but the companionship they offer is worth every minute of it.
