questions about dashunds aka weenie dogs..?

Question

today i get a dog and i need to know what is good quality dog food? how often should i take it to vet if it is not sick? and anything you can advise me on will be appreciated. thanks

Answer 1

Dachshunds are prone to spinal problems, and this is only worsened by obesity.

Buy a quality dog food- I do not buy the stuff you get at the grocery store. Some good brands I recommend:

Flint River
Natural Balance
Blue
Solid Gold

I would call the vet you plan on taking your dog to. He/she will tell you when his shots will be due.

Please, please, PLEASE do not buy from someone who is selling the puppies to go home when they are 6 weeks old. Wait at least until they are 8 weeks old, and be sure to offer fresh water and recommended amount of dog food (on the side of the bag) for your dog's size and age.

Petco sells the Natural Balance, Flint River can be ordered, Solid Gold is at "non-chain" pet stores, and Blue can be purchased at PetSmart.

High quality food= less poop, less stinky dog smell, and less likelihood for allergies.

Purchase a crate (a petstore employee should be able to assist you). It should be small, but no so small that the dog will be cramped. You may make potty trips at 3am, but it won't be forever. He won't be able to hold it for a while.

There are a number of great books out there.

You would really be better off reading up and knowing this stuff before you get the dog. Also- rubbing their nose in thier mess is not a great way to potty train a dog. It needs to be on time, after meals, when he wakes up, before bed. Playing will also help them potty.

Start reading on crate training and potty training TODAY.

Answer 2

If a dog isn't sick it needs to go to the vet once a year for it's shots. Unless it's a puppy, in which case it needs to go once a month until it's about 6 months old. The vet will give you a schedule on your first visit. You should make a visit with your vet within a week or so of getting the animal home just to have the vet give the animal a once over to get all the info and basic health info. You should never wait until the new animal is sick to take it to the vet. It will be much harder for them to diagnose the problem if they've never seen it before.

As for food, get puppy food if it's a puppy and adult food if it's an adult. Stay away from wet food, it causes tooth decay and can cause the animal to vomit or have diarrhea. Look at the ingredients on the food. If the first things are corn or corn meal and some type of by-product it is crap. Those are only fillers and will provide your dog with little nutrition and just make him poop more. Always make sure that the first ingredients are a real food (chicken, rice, etc). That is how you'll know it's a good quality food. I like Natural Balance, Castor and Pollux, and Royal Canin.

Answer 3

Sounds like you have some good advice here to start you off. I love our Doxie! He's the sweetest little dog!

Innova dog food came highly recommended from our vet and we have fed all our dogs on it for about 7 yrs now. It's a good quality dog food with a bit of a higher price tag, but worth it IMO.

Always remember they can have back issues and so it's best to put them on a feeding schedule (twice a day) rather than free feeding. You don't want your dog to get over weight as this can increase the risk of slipping a disc in the back (which is very painful and can sometimes result in permenant paralysis).

Don't let your dog climb large flights of stairs or jump up on furniture if it can be avoided. These are also things that can contribute to back issues and it's best if you carry them up steps or help them up onto furniture (we do this with ours).

They have a HIGH prey drive and so with ours, we can't let him play with the typical stuffed doggie toys, as he virtually destroys and shreds them in minutes! We have to give him the more sturdy stuff, like kongs.

They can also be prone to ear infections due to the type of ears they have. Be sure to discuss this with your vet so that he can explain to you what to look for. We had to start putting a bit of cotton ball in our doxie's ears at bath time (not deep, just enuf to hold and keep the water from getting down in the canal) and since we began doing that, he's not had an infection.

Good luck with your new dog! They're very needy and love to be with their owners, and such a wonderful breed!

Answer 4

For starters, any time you purchase or adopt a dog, you should bring it to your veterinarian for a basic physical exam. This will give you a good starting point for knowing the dogs general health.

If it is a puppy, you need to find out about the vaccination status and what vaccines are needed. Beyond that, if a dog is healthy they should have an annual physical exam but do not need vaccines every year. A physical exam just ensures that your dog is in good health.

In addition to this, your dog needs to be on some form of flea/tick prevention and heartworm prevention. There are a variety of products that you can use. For heartworm prevention I recommend either Heartgard or Interceptor. For flea/tick prevention you should use either Frontline Plus or Advantix (but if you have cats, DO NOT use Advantix). If you are somewhere where ticks are not a problem, then you can use Revolution. Revolution protects against heartworms and fleas, in addition to other intestinal parasites. I actually prefer it for my chihuahuas because the dosing range is smaller.

As for good quality foods...there are ranges. With dog food, the price does relate to the quality, but the super premium foods are starting to come down in price. In your case, the super premium will not be as expensive because of the size of your dog.

Foods: Eagle Pack Holisitc, Wellness, Wysung (my personal favorite), Royal Canin, California Natural, CHicken Soup for the Dog, Timberwolf, Abady (ridiculously expensive and hard to find), and...there are more, but i'm going blank.

You should also take your dog to some sort of obedience or puppy kindergarten class. It's good for your dog, no matter how small, so learn basic manners and how to behave around other animals.

All dogs should be crate trained, even if they will eventually have run of the house. It makes housebreaking easier, is safer for puppies, and makes it easier if she/she has to stay at the vets.

Please spay/neuter your pet if it has not already been done. There are significant health benefits and it does not change their personality.

Also, teach your dog to let you brush his/her teeth. Dental health has a significant impact on your dogs overall health. Start by getting your dog use to you rubbing a gauze square over their teeth...begin with the front teeth and as he/she gets use to it, move back. Keep in mind that you need only brush the outside, so do not need to crank open their mouth. Slide your finger/tooth brush on the inside of their cheek (bristles facing teeth of course). This makes it less invasive. And ONLY USE dog tooth paste.

Lastly, a great place for dog products that is pretty inexpensive: www.petedge.com You're going to need toys in different shapes and sizes, tooth paste etc....

I think that's a good start...Puppies for Dummies is actually a pretty decent book so you may want to take a look

Answer 5

Very important here....this only applies if your dog is a puppy, or quite young. 1 year old max. If you have a butcher in your area, have him cut up some beef neck bones for you. About 1/2 inch thick. Boil or microwave these in a big bunch, then store them in your refrigerator. Give your puppy one of these a day. They are very healthy in every way....great for their coat, great for the teeth. Give your dog regular dry dog food as well. If you start this routine when your dog is young, you can continue until that dog is ready to meet it's maker. Do not do this if it's an older dog....mostly because if they're not used to it, the bones could cause a problem, but if you start the dog out like this, it's great. Your dog will never get tartar buildup on it's teeth, no bad breath, and a healthy coat. If your dog is an indoor/outdoor dog, I also recommend NOT bathing the dog. Maybe once or twice a year at most. Dog will clean themselves. Most dogs get smelly and skin problems simply because people bathe them every few weeks and their natural oils, etc get removed. Remember, these are animals, not humans. You can love them like a member of the family, but remember, to keep them as healthy as possible, you have to remember they are physiologically different from you and have different need. Also...rawhide is bad for dogs. Very bad for their stomachs and intestines. Trust me on this. I've had dogs all my life and my vet was even skeptical of how I do things. After 30 years of seeing my amazingly healthy dogs, she's a convert. Good luck!
Per the previous post....dogs do not need their teeth brushed if you feed them correctly, as stated above.

Answer 6

There could still be another puppy inside her. This is one of the main reasons why dogs should see a vet immediately after having puppies. But I wouldn't expect a Backyard Breeder who calls Dachshunds "weenie dogs" to know that. My advice to you would be to pack up the momma and the pups and take them to the vet.

Answer 7

I had a "weenie" dog when I was little, and my mom has two now. We always feed them Purina One (yes it's a little expensive, but the bites are small, which they seemed to like). The one I had when I was little lived to be 17 years old, despite the fact that she had bad back problems. We took her to the vet once a year for shots, and she was always pretty healthy.

It's best not to let them jump too much or go up and down steps a lot. It puts a lot of strain on their backs. Mine slipped on icy steps when she was 3 and hurt her back. The doctor told us to put her to sleep, but instead we gave her medicine and kept her from jumping and going up and down steps, and she lived to be 17. Once in awhile her back would start to hurt and we'd have to give her a pain pill, but she got better fast.

Well, hope this info helps! Enjoy your new dog!

Answer 8

The first thing you do is take it to the vet for a thorough checkup and any papers you got with the dog. Your vet will record what vaccines the dog already had and give him any if he needs them. Most vets send out postcards when a dog is due for vaccines etc. Your vet will advise you on food.

As far as doxies go, they should really stay on one floor of the house because climbing stairs can be bad for their backs.

Answer 9

i just love those little weenie dogs!! i also have one, Juice Fruit, hes 3 years old, his coloring is dapple, dark brown, light brown and Grey running through his whole body, hes good little man. sorry, about the dog food. do a search on the Internet and find out whats a good dog food. i didn't know this but mostly every single dog food has something bad about it, good luck

Answer 10

ithink iams is the best.they wont go as much when you feed it to them.their crap dont stink as bad either.it is expensive but in my opinion worth it.i am a breeder of dachshunds.also you can deworm and give them all the shots yourself except for rabies.you can get it all at farm and fleet.you should take them too the vet once a year.make sure to get it on a heartworm pill and a flea /tick med too.