Hi Everyone,
This is Soni here and we just got ourselves a cute lil mini
dachshund(his name is ToniK ). Hes about 3 months now and we got him
a month back.
I havea couple of queries and I hope the group helps me out ..
Thanks in advance
here goes ..

1. My wife and me head out to work by 10 and we get back by about 7.
Hes ALONE at home the whole day. By the time we come back ,the poor
baby has no place to relieve himself but the house and hence the whole
house becomes his playground!! What do we do??


2. Will this fact that we're not at home afect him in any way? I take
him out for a good hour in the morning provided it doesnt rain and at
times depending on our timings take him out in the night too ..If we
dont go out, I see to it that I play with him through the evening at
home. Is this enough? Or do we need to hire someone to stay with him
the whole day ( please let this be the last option).

3. This is my problem but since this is my first pet , I tend to lose
my temper at times when he relieves himself at home though the door is
open and he can go out. I am trying to maintain my composure but at
times when the whole house is clean and he does it, i tend to lose it.
(This was for my benefit, I had to tell someone)

4. When do i buy him a leash and what kind should I buy? Should it be a
body leash or the normal one?

"hangar18" said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

1. My wife and me head out to work by 10 and we get back by
about 7. Hes ALONE at home the whole day. By the time we
come back ,the poor baby has no place to relieve himself
but the house and hence the whole house becomes his
playground!! What do we do??

Restrict his access within the house. He's in a brand new area
without the support of his mother and siblings and is probably
overwhelmed.

While you're gone, either use a crate or fence off an area in an
easily cleaned area of your house, like the kitchen. Crating
vs. a restricted area have advantages and disadvantages, so go
with whichever method works best for you and with which you can
be the most consistent.

While you're home, he needs constant supervision as well as
being put on a strict schedule for going outside. When he does
pee or poo outside, he needs to know that he did the right
thing, so praise him (or whatever works well with him).

2. Will this fact that we're not at home afect him in any
way? I take him out for a good hour in the morning provided
it doesnt rain

Rain doesn't matter. He gets wet and so do you. At this stage,
it's important that you accompany him - both so you're
absolutely sure he's gone and so that you can praise him when he
has.

and at times depending on our timings take
him out in the night too ..If we dont go out, I see to it
that I play with him through the evening at home. Is this
enough? Or do we need to hire someone to stay with him the
whole day ( please let this be the last option).

He's going to have to at least pee while you're gone, so if you
want him to be properly housetrained, he must be let out during
the day. A neighbour? Dogwalking service?

3. This is my problem but since this is my first pet , I
tend to lose my temper at times when he relieves himself at
home though the door is open and he can go out.

You must put this puppy on a schedule - he hasn't yet figured
out how to tell you that he needs to go out, nor does he
understand your open door policy. You need to take him outside
when you think he needs to go. With a puppy with such a tiny
bladder, you'll be right 100% of the time.

I am trying
to maintain my composure but at times when the whole house
is clean and he does it, i tend to lose it. (This was for
my benefit, I had to tell someone)

You obviously know that losing your temper doesn't help. All
you're really teaching him is to be afraid of you and, depending
on your timing, to pee and poo where and when you can't see him.
This works against you in all sorts of training issues.

4. When do i buy him a leash and what kind should I buy?
Should it be a body leash or the normal one?

Someone who knows Dachshunds and their neck/back issues will
answer.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

You should really ask theses questions to the breeder of this dog. They
are responsible into guiding you thru theses areas.

"Rocky" wrote in message
...

Rain doesn't matter.

Ohhh rain absolutely matters to some members of the breed. Their bellies
are too close to the ground for excursions in wet, tickly, grass I
recommend a very large umbrella if the pup is one of those "I'm Melting! I'm
Melting!" types where rain is concerned.


--
Tara

"hangar18" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi Everyone,
This is Soni here and we just got ourselves a cute lil mini
dachshund(his name is ToniK ). Hes about 3 months now and we got him
a month back.
I havea couple of queries and I hope the group helps me out ..
Thanks in advance
here goes ..

4. When do i buy him a leash and what kind should I buy? Should it be a
body leash or the normal one?

I recommend using a harness for walks and other excursions away from hom and
a collar for id tag purposes. It doesn't hurt to use a collar only but
don't yank on the leash or go this route with a dog who pulls alot.

I agree with everything Matt (Rocky) said in his reply. I would add that
this is a breed known for its independence, intelligence and stubbornness.
Start your basic obedience training NOW and establish an extremely clear
policy on housetraining (in a non-harmful and non-violent) by doing whatever
is necessary to help the pup pee in correct places during the day.

Praise him heavily when you go outside, praise just to be outside, praise
when he potties and use a keyword like "potty" so he knows why you're happy
with him. When he eliminates be very happy in your "good boy potty!" then
give a yummy treat. Min. Dachshunds are incredibly smart and they are
*fast* learners. He'll catch on quickly.

I know he's cute and due to his size it won't seem like he can possibly
cause too much trouble but do the basic training anyway. He will go through
some rebellious-teen-like phases between now and the age of 2 and you need
to make sure he has a good understanding of the house rules and what
commands mean.

--
Tara

On 15 Aug 2005 21:41:04 -0700, "hangar18"
wrote:

1. My wife and me head out to work by 10 and we get back by about 7.

Based on everything I've heard/read this is too long to keep a 3 month
puppy alone. They cannot physically hold it for more than 4 hours.

3. This is my problem but since this is my first pet , I tend to lose
my temper at times when he relieves himself at home though the door is
open and he can go out. I am trying to maintain my composure but at
times when the whole house is clean and he does it, i tend to lose it.

I would think it is nearly impossible to housetrain your puppy if he
is unable to go outside when he NEEDS to eliminate, which is at least
every 4 hours at his age.

The puppy has no idea why you are angry. Given that he gets zero
attention during the day, losing your temper is probably encouraging
him. Negative attention is better than no attention.

I found this out with my puppy. Her negative behaviors are reinforced
by any agitation on our part. We now try our best to just ignore her
when she is doing something we don't like (and we know she is doing it
just to get attention). We learned this from other dogs. Our puppy was
very excited to play with these dogs. When they had enough they simply
walked away. It drove our puppy crazy that she was being ignored, but
it worked. She calmed down.

DaveR wrote:
On 15 Aug 2005 21:41:04 -0700, "hangar18"
wrote:

1. My wife and me head out to work by 10 and we get back by about 7.

Based on everything I've heard/read this is too long to keep a 3 month
puppy alone. They cannot physically hold it for more than 4 hours.

3. This is my problem but since this is my first pet , I tend to lose
my temper at times when he relieves himself at home though the door is
open and he can go out. I am trying to maintain my composure but at
times when the whole house is clean and he does it, i tend to lose it.

I would think it is nearly impossible to housetrain your puppy if he
is unable to go outside when he NEEDS to eliminate, which is at least
every 4 hours at his age.

The puppy has no idea why you are angry. Given that he gets zero
attention during the day, losing your temper is probably encouraging
him. Negative attention is better than no attention.


ITA with the whole post. Basically it will be impossible for you to
reliably housebreak this puppy if you are not there, or someone doesn't
come to let the dog out every couple of hours. A good doggy daycare
would be a good option. Personally, I would never get a puppy if I
worked 8 plus hours a day, unless I had a plan where someone could be
with the pup. It's not fair to the pup to be alone for that long, and
because the dog is wandering around the house unsupervised, it could be
deadly.

"Tee" said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Rain doesn't matter.

Ohhh rain absolutely matters to some members of the breed.
Their bellies are too close to the ground for excursions in
wet, tickly, grass I recommend a very large umbrella if
the pup is one of those "I'm Melting! I'm Melting!" types
where rain is concerned.

Having a dog who doesn't like rain when he needs to pee (but is
fine when it's time to play), I understand.

My "rain doesn't matter" was directed to the owner, though.
I've gotten soaked and frozen too many times to count. And I
won't relate the "gotta go NOW, boss!" midnight nekkid
excursions one must sometimes do when one has dogs
("Shrinkage! The air was cold!"). I digress. Perhaps the OP
should hold an umbrella over his pup?

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.