Ways To Socialize Your Dachshund Puppy
Socializing your Dachshund is an essential skill for proper development.
The best time to socialize your Dachshund is between 10-16 weeks old. Later is Too Late!
But Wait! Your pup needs to be wormed and have his first vaccines before socializing with other dogs. Safeguard your pup from other dogs who are not vaccinated to protect them from dangerous diseases.
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Why Socialize Your Puppy?
Socializing your puppy will help them become familiar with new sounds, smells, and sights in a positive way. Correctly socializing your pup will prevent them from becoming frightened of other people or traveling to new places. Dogs who are not socialized at the correct age are often Fearful and Aggressive later in life.
Fact: One of the Top Reasons dogs are surrendered to a shelter is because of behavior problems.
Confession Time! Our dog, Bastian, wasn’t socialized as a young puppy. From the start, Bastian had his den mates… our Dachshund, Reno, and our German Shepherd, Artemus, to play with. They were his doggie family.
We didn’t reach out and meet other people with dogs because they were so good with each other at home. We didn’t realize how crucial it really was for us to take him out and meet other dogs that didn’t live with us.
So, when we introduced our new dachshund puppy, Eko, we made sure to socialize him as soon as we could.
Tips For Socializing Your Dachshund
Once your dog has been wormed and received his initial vaccines from the vet, it’s a good time to start introducing some new doggie friends.
Here are some great socializing tips to help your dachshund get along with others:
• Introduce New Friends
• Car Rides
• Walks on a Leash
• Introduce New Sounds
• Gentle Behavior
• Don’t Force a scared dog
• Reward for Good Experiences
Introduce New Friends
Introduce new people and animals gradually. Too much exposure to new animals or people can cause your dachshund to become overwhelmed. Plan small doggie play dates and introduce your dog to your neighbors (with or without dogs). It is important that your neighbors get to know your dachshund in case there is a time they wander into their yard.
Get Down to Their Level
When people are introducing themselves to your dog, ask them to get down to the dog’s eye level and let the dog approach them slowly. This allows the dog to make the decision if he wants to sniff their hand or allow them to pet his head.
Make sure young children have help petting your dog, sometimes being gentle doesn’t come naturally to kids. So help them understand kindness and respect towards your dog so they become friends.
Car Rides
Dogs love car rides. Even if it is just a brief ride to the park or to grandma’s house, allow your dog to tag along. When you are leaving the house, give your dog a command so he knows where he is going. “Time for a bye-bye ride“, etc… They will quickly love this command and associate it with going on a trip with you.
If your dog is prone to getting car sick, try shorter trips in the car and be prepared with some cleanup gear in case. Read more about how to prevent motion sickness in dogs.
Make sure your dog is safe and secure in the car for the ride. You can have them in their small travel crate, sit them on a passenger’s lap, or you can even buckle them up in a dog car seat belt.
Also, check with your vet to make sure your dachshund doesn’t have an ear infection. Sometimes this can cause inner ear dizziness which can lead to getting sick in a moving car.
Walks On a Leash
When you first hook up your new dachshund pup to a leash, he probably won’t have a clue what to do with it. He needs to learn that he is safe and secure on the leash.
Don’t pull too hard on the leash, this can hurt your dog’s neck, Be Gentle. Always secure the leash around your wrist. When a dachshund sees another animal, he may try to bolt, try your best not to let your dog loose.
I like to use a harness designed for dachshunds to help alleviate pressure on my doxie’s neck and back.
If you encounter another dog walker on your path, you can let the dogs sniff each other if they seem friendly enough, but keep in mind not all dogs are friendly.
If your dog seems scared, don’t force them to meet with the other dog. Just move them away from each other and hold on tight in case of an aggressive encounter.
Introduce New Sounds
Introduce some new sounds to your dachshund. Turn on the radio at a reasonable volume while you are home and when you are away.
Gradually introduce the sound of the vacuum cleaner. Allow your doxie to lay in a comfortable spot a safe distance away from the loud sound. Don’t chase them with it, it isn’t funny, it is terrifying to them.
While playing outside or on walks, listen for the fire engines or a distant passing train. Allow them to listen and let them know they are OK.
Gentle Behavior
Always treat your dachshund with kindness. They depend on you, their loving owner, to love and protect them.
Keep young children away from the dog if they are too rough or making the dog nervous. Allow your dog to escape and find a safe place to hang out.
Now, don’t coddle your dog too much. They are allowed to have their own unique experiences, just keep watch and keep them safe.
Keep socialization experiences positive ones. Whether it is a quick introduction with your neighbor or attending a puppy play date, make sure things stay safe and positive.
One bad experience is hard to erase from any dog’s mind, always keep watch and protect your dog. It can seem like hard work at times, but you will have a much better-behaved dog on your hands if you do things right.
Don’t Force a Scared Dog
If there is ever a situation when your dog acts scared towards another animal, person, or place, don’t force them. Dachshunds have a special intuition that allows them to keep themselves guarded against others.
It may be just a new face to them. Allow them to make the decision to allow the friendly introduction or skip it.
Forcing your dachshund into a frightening situation will cause them to become skittish and defensive. They could develop harsh instincts like biting when they feel threatened, which is a big problem.
When they are actually threatened, they do need to defend themselves.
Reward a Good Experience
When a child does a good deed, like behaving in the grocery store, it is a great opportunity for the parent to reward the child. This will reinforce that good behavior going forward. Well, the same is true for your Dog.
Reward your pup for a good puppy play date experience. If they got along with the other dogs, give them a treat. This a positive behavior incentive to continue being an obedient dog.
Did you know that it can cost thousands of dollars in vet and behaviorist fees to fix the problems caused by a lack of early socialization?
Dachshund Traits
Dachshunds have a unique disposition and a bold attitude. Here are some common traits to keep in mind when Socializing your Dachshund.
Roaming:
Always keep your Dachshund in a fenced in yard or tied to a lead to prevent them from wandering off. They are scent hounds, they follow their nose wherever it may lead.
Dachshunds are born hunters. They love to chase after other animals. Make sure they have a comfortable collar or body harness, proper license, and name tag (or microchip) to identify your dog.
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Ruling the Roost:
Dachshunds are brave and feisty dogs. When raising a dachshund, you will learn that they follow some of your rules and maintain a few of their own.
Understand that some dachshunds believe they dominate over other dogs, no matter their size.
In the past, my husband and I had a large German Shepherd and two male dachshunds. My dachshund, Reno, had to be the one to eat his dinner first. Our Shepherd had to wait until Reno was finished with his meal before eating or he had to eat in a different room. Reno was the alpha dog, and he was the smallest of the bunch.
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Digging:
These dogs just love to dig. They will dig in the dirt, dig their blankets to make a comfy dog nest, dig the couch or chair to make a cozy napping spot. Dig, Dig, Dig!
Put down a blanket on their spot of the couch or chair to help prevent any rips in the furniture.
Fence up your beautiful flowers or vegetable gardens to protect them from backyard digging.Note: Digging helps your dog’s nails stay trimmed down, so digging is actually good for them.
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Barking:
The dachshund breed was created to hunt. Chasing, digging, and barking are all part of that special heritage. When dachshunds are excited about something, they will bark!
They will bark when they are irritated or want more attention. They will also bark if the children are playing too rough, or when the husband refuses to do the dishes (true in my house).
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To raise a well-behaved dachshund, it takes lots of love, care, and plenty of patience. If you work at being consistent with routines, you will have a well-established relationship with your dog.
Your doxie will love you no matter what. You will have frustrating days and you will have days when you can’t live without them. Cherish these special times of building a strong friendship with your furry companion. Time is precious, live life to the fullest each day.
How often does your Dachshund have play dates with other dogs? Let us know in the comments below.
Are Dachshunds Hard To Train?
When your dog is about six months old, he will be ready to learn some basic verbal commands. Have some fun with basic training commands like “come”, “sit”, “lay down”. Here are some easy Puppy Training Commands to learn early on.
Helpful Links
References:
- Lunis, Natalie. 2009. Dachshund the Hot Dogger. New York, NY: Bearport Publishing Company, Inc.
- Schweitzer, Karen. 2010. Our Best Friends the Dachshund. Pittsburg, PA: Eldorado Ink.
Hi our dachshund puppy is now 17 weeks old and is brilliant with all other aspects of her training she is potty trained and have taught her simple commands such as to sit, lie down and paw. We have socialised her with family and friends with their dogs from a young age, however Unable to go to puppy classes due to covid. Recently she has started excessively barking at strangers when we take her out on walks Do you have any tips on how to control her barking it’s not making walks enjoyable at all!
Thankyou any help appreciated!
Hi Sam, she sounds like a great little dachshund. Great job on the socializing and successful potty training! Yes, the barking on walks does tend to be annoying. My puppy, Eko, does the same thing…and we are still working on this, he is over a year now. With covid, it is hard to get these poor pups around others.
Begin the “less barking” training in your home. When your pup barks at someone outside the window or door, thank her, then lead her away into a quiet room where she can’t see them. Help her to learn that she is great at alerting you of another person’s presence, but you only need a couple of barks and it then needs to stop.
At the very bottom of this barking post, there are some more ‘quiet training tips’ and and couple of helpful videos that have been helping me with my own doxie pup:
https://www.dachshundstation.com/why-dachshunds-bark-all-the-time/
Under Helpful links, there are 2 YouTube videos that can help with training.
I adopted two 6 year old female dachsunds from a hoarding-puppy farm. They are fine with me, but socializing them has proven to be very difficult. They hide, run, bark, shake and generally freak out. I am looking for any suggestions.
Hello Nancy, I’m so glad that you have adopted these doxies that needed a home. That’s great that they are comfortable with you. Yes, socializing them at this age and with their background will be harder and may take longer than other dogs. It’s ok, they have a very good excuse why they feel and act this way. Take each day one step at a time with them.
I would start with ‘new sounds’ in the house and outside the house. Garbage trucks, microwave beeping, etc… When the sound occurs, remain calm, sit and be with them, offer small dog treats. Have them understand that the sound will not hurt them, it is ok to stay cool and calm when it occurs. This will take time, and that is ok.
When I was puppy-sitting a Goldendoodle (large puppy), he heard a garbage truck down the road while we were on a walk and he literally climbed me like a tree! I sat down on the sidewalk with him held him, let him look at the cause of the noise and tried to calm him down. When we saw other garbage trucks, we kept our distance, looked at the noisy truck for a few moments, and then walked away.
Take them on a hike in the woods or a park where there aren’t a lot of other dogs or people (weekdays would be best). Walk them in the woods, allow them to sniff around and listen to the noises outside. They can experience lots of positive new things in nature. Reward them after, on the way home.
Give a brief positive experience, give a small treat and praise for reward is the pattern you can try. I know we can’t control every situation to keep it positive, but keep at it.
Gradually start to introduce them to your friends and family, 1-2 people at a time. Have them come over and let the dogs approach them when they are ready and comfortable. Have them offer small treats and praise.
Do the same with a friend that has a dog that has a ‘similar playstyle and personality’. Dog parks are probably not the best idea for them. I hope this helps, here is a nice video from McCann Dogs about Socializing that is really helpful: https://youtu.be/YVvd8RrRjRA
Well my dear, our little Wire haired came to us at about 6months from the breeders. Our son got the sisiter of him a month earlirer. It was a bit of a rescue mission as sdaly the breeders are very old and I am 75! Things had got on top of them etc. Our boy was the quietist of the litter when we visited it early December last years. So the delay was us moving bacl home due to flooding and our old Basset hound having to be put to sleep. We rescued one of these in the Army in Germany and she was to die for. But this boy has moved into us home and just loves us and is `almost` dry if we follow him with a laser! But from day on some 12 weeks ago he is very fearful of any person near or far. He is on calm dry food vet recomemded and at times some wet food all for puppies. But how to stop the barking and growling without using a horsewhip on him???Best wishes. Rev. Dave peachell. Norfolk. UK
Hello Dave,
So sorry to hear about your Basset Hound. Happy to hear that you have adopted a dachshund. I have heard that the breed ‘attitude’ is very similar… ha ha.
My dachshund puppy also has a barking problem with other people and dogs when we go out for walks.
Don’t use any physical punishment, it won’t help, it makes things worse. Your pup needs a safe “time out” place like a puppy playpen or kennel when people come over to visit so he feels safe and the people stay safe.
Socializing a dachshund starts at the puppy age, but it also continues as they get older. If you have some friends with dogs, you can try to have small dog play dates to start getting the puppy used to others. It does take time and patience.
They also have dog training sessions at pet stores that are a really big help for not only training, but also socializing the dogs during the sessions. Consult the vet on the barking or anxiety if your doxie still needs some help.
Here are some Reasons why dachshunds are BIG Barkers, and how to stop it:
https://www.dachshundstation.com/why-dachshunds-bark-all-the-time/
I hope this helps you. Good luck with everything.