Different dog breeds have been bred for different reasons. Some have been developed to be very in-tune to their humans’ every need — working in close partnership to herd livestock or retrieve game, for example. Some have been developed to be strong, protective working dogs. And some have been developed to curl up and look pretty on the laps or in the sleeves of royalty. Dachshunds (like most 
Hounds) have been developed to think for themselves. Traditionally, the best Dachshunds were the ones that could follow scents without constant supervision, that could go into badger dens and corner badgers on their own, and that could bark to alert their human companions that the prey was cornered. It was man and Dachshund against badger or rabbit or wild boar.
Watching a Dachshund field trial is a great way to observe the Dachshund’s independent nature in action. In Dachshund field trials, Dachshunds compete in pairs to follow the scent of a rabbit. (The rabbit isn’t caught or killed; usually, it isn’t even seen by the dogs.) When the dogs catch the scent, or line, of the rabbit, the handlers aren’t allowed to intervene in any way to direct the Dachshunds. The dogs must trail the scent all on their own, followed by the watchful judges who determine which Dachshunds are most capable of following the trail.
In other words, Dachshunds — even the Minis — were made to perform reliably and intelligently without too much human intervention. Therefore, the best way to get through to a Dachshund so that she can learn your house rules and what you desire from her is to learn how to speak her language.
Dachshunds Can’t Obey What They Don’t Understand
If only you could tell your Dachsie, “Listen here, Gertrude. When you feel the urge to eliminate, please let me know ahead of time and I’ll let you outside.” Or, “This is the deal, Otto. When I say ‘Sit,’ you plant your rump on the ground and stay there. And when I say ‘Come,’ you run right over here as fast as you can. If you do, I’ll really like it a lot.”
Sadly, dog training isn’t that easy. But it isn’t too hard, either. The first thing you have to realize is that your Dachshund doesn’t speak English. Okay, sure, you know that. But have you really considered what it means? It means that your Dachshund isn’t being defiant the first time you say “Sit” and she just stares at you with a look that says, “What planet are you from?” She just doesn’t know what you’re talking about. Her mother didn’t tell her to Sit. How is she supposed to understand? And, even if your Dachshund has learned “Come” in the living room, she may not understand that when she smells a juicy squirrel dashing through the park and runs madly after it and you shriek “Come!” hysterically that you expect the same response as you did in the living room. (And no matter how much you practice, your Dachshund may still chase that squirrel, so keep her leash on outside!) Teaching your Dachshund what behavior you expect when you say certain words takes work and plenty of consistent practice. It also takes a certain degree of showing before the telling alone will work. Never hold a grudge against your Dachshund. After a few seconds, your dog will have no idea what you’re angry about. Dogs live in the present, and they only know that you’re angry. If you decide to punish your pup for chewing your shoe by keeping her locked up for two hours or by ignoring her all day, your punishment will be ineffective and even destructive, because your Dachshund will learn to fear you or avoid you rather than listen to you.
Communicating with Your Dachshund
How do you talk Dachshund? First, you have to see the world from your Dachshund’s point of view. Imagine that you’re a Dachshund, scampering around about 8 inches off the ground. You’ve suddenly been uprooted from the home you knew, and here you are in a strange place with a strange creature who towers above you and keeps uttering strange, undecipherable sounds. The creature seems very nice, offering food and petting you. The voice sounds well-intentioned, and sometimes you get treats.
But sometimes the voice gets mad, irritated, and scary. Sometimes the creature appears dangerous, waving his or her arms wildly and yelling. Sometimes the yelling seems to be at you, but you can’t imagine why. You want to do whatever will make the creature talk nicely, and you sure want some more of those treats. If only you knew what to do to elicit that behavior from your creature! Oh well, you may as well go on exploring your new environment, relieving yourself when you have to and chewing on whatever you find that looks tempting. After all, this is what dogs do; you don’t have any other instructions at least none you can understand. To get through to this uneducated and independent-minded little Dachshund, you have to be very specific in your rewards. The moment she does something good, praise her, pet her, even give her the occasional treat. When she’s naughty, redirect her to the right activity (hand her a chew toy, move her to her outdoor bathroom, and so on) without making any fuss. Ignore her until she does the right thing again and then heap on the praise. Now she’ll get the message. Don’t just praise your dog when she does something you ask her to. Also praise her when she does something well or right when you didn’t ask. Constant positive reinforcement of good behavior is integral to developing a good relationship with your Dachshund. If you spend the whole day yelling “No!” and “Bad dog!” but never rewarding your Dachshund for the things she does right, she won’t learn the self-confidence that’s so important to a well-trained and happy pet. And she certainly won’t learn what you want her to.
Staying calm and upbeat
If you want to relate to your Dachshund, the most important thing you can do is stay positive. Getting angry when your Dachshund eats your loveseat or leaves a puddle on your antique quilt is understandable, but it won’t do any good. Leave the room, get angry, get over it, come back, and resolve not to let it happen again, because (and you may not want to hear this) the whole thing was your fault anyway. Dachshunds aren’t malicious. They don’t hold grudges. Your Dachshund isn’t trying to wreck your stuff or disobey you. When she does something wrong (wrong according to your rules), it’s only because she didn’t understand that the behavior is unacceptable.
If you’re always (or at least usually) calm, positive, upbeat, and happy when teaching your Dachshund the rules, as well as the fun things you and she can do together, she’ll get your meaning much more quickly. Dachshunds are all about reward. What can they do to get one, and what can they do to get another one? It’s that simple. Yelling isn’t a reward. A slap on the rump isn’t a reward. Rubbing her nose in an accident is most certainly not a reward. But a treat? A pat? A walk? An enthusiastic “What a good,
sweet, darling little puppy dog you are!”? Now those are rewards that allow you to relate to a Dachshund.
and mental stimulation. Breeds of the Herding Group often implement a shared technique called nipping to be able to control larger, more difficult herds or packs of animals. The Herding Group contains 20 Dog Breeds in total: Anatolian Shepherd, Appenzeller Mountain Dog, Australian Cattle Dog, Austrian Kelpie, Australian Shepherd, Bearded Collie, Beauceron, Belgian Leakenois, Belgian Malinois, Belgian Sheepdog, Belgian Shepherd, Belgian Tervuren, Belgamasco Shepherd, Border Collie, Bouvier des Flandres, Briard, Canaan Dog, Collie, Dutch Shepherd, English Shepherd, Entlebucher Sennenhund, German Shepherd, King Shepherd, Komondor, Kuvasz, Laekenois, Maremma Sheepdog, McNab, Mudi, Norwegian Buhund, Old English Sheepdog, Polish Lowland Sheepdog, Polish Owczarek Nizziny, Polish Tatra Sheepdog, puli, Pyrenean Shepherd, Schipperke, Sheltie, Shetland Sheepdog, Shiloh Shepherd, Swedish Vallhund, Welsh Corgi-Pombroke, Welsh Corgi-Cardigan.
The nose of the Scent Hound represents it is most key attribute. Spitz Hounds are most easily identifiable by their pricked ears, a tail which curls up and over their back, and a ruff seen around their neck. A total of 23 breeds belong to the Hound Group: Afgan Hound, Basenji, Basset Hound, Beagle, Black and Tan coonhound, Bloodhound, Borzoi, Dachshund, English Foxhound, Greyhound, Harrier, Ibizan Hound, Irish Wolfhound, Norwegian Elkhound, Otterhound, Saluki, Scottish Deerhound, Whippet.
tend to be good-natured, tolerant, keen to please and quick to learn. These Breeds are widely known for being both mentally and physically on-point. Many were originally developed for use as bird dogs. Strong points include a high level of intelligence and an inherent natural love for running and swimming. Sporting Breeds generally make excellent hunting companions, and require a high level of exercise. A total of 26 Breeds belong to the Sporting Group: American Water Spaniel, Brittany, Chesapeake Bay Retriver, Clumber Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, Curly-Coated Spaniel, Curly-Coated Retriver, English Cocker Spaniel, English Pointer, English Setter, English Springer Spaniel, Field Spaniel, Flat-Coated Retriver, German Shorthaired Pointer, German Wirheired Pointer, Golden Retriver, Golden Setter, Irish Setter, Irish Water, Spanel, Labrador Ritriver, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrever, Spinone Italiano, Sussex Spaniol, Vizsla, Weimaraner, welsh Springer, Spaniel, Wirehaired Pointer Griffon.
children. Dog Breeds of the Terrier Group have historically been bred to hunt vermin and other small animals on farms and rural estates. The Terrier Group contains 27 Breeds in total: Airedale Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Australian Terrier, Bedlington Terrier, Border Terrier,Bull Terrier, Carin Terrier, Dandie Dinmount Terrier, Glen of Imal Terrier, irish Terrier, Jack Russel Terrier, Kerry Blue Terrier, Lakeland Terrier, Manchester Terrier, Miniature Schnauzer, Norfolk Terrier, Norwich Terrier, Rat Terrier, Scottish Terrier, Sealyham Terrer, Skye Terrier, smooth Fox Terrier, Welsh Terrier, West Highland White Terrier, Wire Fox Terrier.
Breeds of the Working Group were originally bred to assist their human-counterparts in performing labor-intensive tasks. They generally own a large, physically robust stature, with strong points including a high level of intelligence that has historically allowed them to specialize in guarding, sled-pulling, or helping to transport materials or other goods. This typically includes search-and-rescue dogs. This Group contains 25 Dog Breeds in total: Akite, Alaskan Malamute, Anatolian Shepherd Dog, Bernese Mountain Dog, Black Russian Terrier, Boxer, Bullmastiff, Canis Panther, Doberman Pincher, Dogue de Bordeaux, German Pincher, Giant Schnauzer, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Komondor, Kuvasz Mastiff, Newfoundland, Portuguese Water Dog, Rottweiler, Saint Bernard, Samoyed, Siberien Husky, Standard Schnauzer, Tibetan Mastiff.
represent smaller versions of their larger-Breed counterparts. Toy Breeds are popularly kept as pets or companion animals in apartments or homes with small or non-existent yards. A total of 21 Breeds belong to this Group: Affenpinscher, Bolognese, Bolonka, Brussel Griffon, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Chihuahua, Chinese Crested, English Toy Spaniel, Havanese, Italian Greyhound, Japanese Chin, Maltese, Manchester Terrier, Miniature Pincher, Papilon, Pekingese, Pomeranian, Poodle, Pug, Shih Tzu, Silky Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier.