Is Your Dachshund A Door-Dasher?

About half of Dachshunds that dash out of doors do so because they are frustrated by captivity. The others are often leader types and either trying to get into the house to socialize with their owners or to continue their social contact by attempting to leave with the owner. Whatever the basic motivation, the act can be both financially and emotionally costly. Such door-dashing has seriously injured children and elderly people, caused premature birth in pregnant women, resulted in injury and death of the dog and, in many cases, causes an automobile accident when a motorist swerves to miss the Dachshund.

When the problem involves a dog that dashes merely to get out there to run about the neighborhood, avoiding its owners’ pleas to return, the pet is usually unruly in other circumstances as well. These cases often involve an independent, self-oriented (spoiled) Dachshund. Other factors may involve an early history of unrestricted outdoor activity, followed by restriction because of some problem that has arisen outside (fighting, car chasing, etc.).

Some cases involve continuous frustration relative to neighborhood activities, such as the dog’s “fretting” behind a gate or at a window. Depending on the excitability of the animal, it may develop the same type of stereotyped behavior seen in fence-running dogs. Simple freedom-dashing may be tension relieving in itself, or the escaped Dachshund may have a frustration target, such as passing cars, playing children, mail carrier or other animals.

Correcting The Problem

1. Approach the door or gate. (Of course, the door-dasher will be close by.)
2. Given an inward-opening door, abruptly open it no more than 2 inches and abruptly close it. An outward-opening door should be opened no more than an inch and then closed very quickly, or the dog may push through or get a pinched snout.
3. As the door is closed, the owner must abruptly move away from it at least 8 feet and praise the dog for following, after which the owner should be encouraged to remain still for at least a minute. If the dog remains at the door, steps 1, 2 and 3 must be repeated until the dog retreats along with the owner.
4. Step 3 must be repeated until the Dachshund stays away from the door when the owner approaches it and when the door is opened. When this occurs, the door should be opened a full foot. If the pet dashes, the door should again be slammed shut and Step 3 applied with this larger opening.
5. Step 4 is repeated until the door can be opened to its normal exit width, with the dog staying at least 8 feet away from it. When this is accomplished the owner must stay inside, close the door, return to the dog and praise it quietly. Then the owner should remain in the house, going about some other activity for at least half an hour before repeating the procedure.
6. When the dog stays away from the door on the initial approach, the owner should then proceed outside, close the door and stay away for at least 15 minutes, after which she should return as nonchalantly as possible

If this method is applied daily for a few days, most Dachshunds begin to ignore the comings and goings of their owners. dogs that are extremely tenacious in their efforts to dash through a door ahead of people often have a long history of frustration about barriers, or are highly motivated by a strong stimulus on the other side of the door.

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Does Punishing My Dachshund Really Work?

Punishment is the use of an adverse stimulus on your Dachshund in order to reduce the probability of a problematic behavior in the future. Punishment is generally considered to be only marginally effective in dog training due to the time gap between behavior and reinforcement. An example of punishment might be: An owner comes home to find some shredded paper on the floor. He angrily proceeds to drag the Dachshund to the mess and both verbally and physically reprimand the dog for the mess.

This dog will almost certainly be afraid of his owner’s actions. This Dachshund dog may show subordinate behavior or even aggression as a result of the forceful nature of the punishment. The dog may not make the association between the act and the punishment. The timing between events makes it extremely difficult for the dog to make a connection.

Punishment should be avoided whenever possible. Those who have used punishment as a training tool often say it rarely works out, admitting that the technique may not teach the Dachshund anything and may very well cause conflict in the relationship between the dog and its owner.

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Do Not Rush Your Dachshund Puppy’s Socialization Process

The big buzz word these days is socialization. Many owners are in a hurry to socialize their puppy. Nowadays, owners go through great lengths trying to socialize their puppies by placing them in every possible situation, such as walking them down every busy street, taking them to street fairs, meeting lots of different people, and meeting different dogs. Yes, a Dachshund puppy becomes more confident when properly socialized in the city, but it must be done slowly and in small increments. Some situations are just too stimulating and challenging for a puppy.

There is no need to walkDachshund your Dachshund puppy down the busiest downtown streets if you can’t control her from jumping and pulling toward people on side streets. By working on side streets first, you can more easily move to the challenges of busier streets. It’s also not wise to go rushing young puppies - under four months of age - to the park to meet other dogs. A young puppy will merely be in the way as big and more assertive dogs try to play together. There may be a more suitable area in the park where other puppy owners gather together.

The best place to start the socialization process is in your home and on your own block. Your puppy will have adequate opportunities to meet strangers when guests visit you or when meeting the neighbors on your block. As you may have heard before, the best place to socialize your puppy is by enrolling her in a puppy kindergarten class.

Stress Of Meeting New dogs

Most owners think it’s cute when their Dachshund pulls them along to reach another dog. An owner will often say, “My dog just wants to say hello.” But they don’t realize they are creating a stressful situation for the other dog. From my own personal experience, my dog Indy does not like other dogs pulling on their leash or racing up to her to get in close to sniff her. In the dog world, this is viewed as aggressive behavior - not respecting one’s space. When this happens, simply give a polite “Good day” greeting to the owner and quickly move on.

Some puppies cower or pull away when a strange dog approaches. If your dog begins to cower, use leash control to your advantage. A cowering puppy is showing submission. Move her away from the strange dog by stating the “Back” command. As you walk backwards, you open up more space between you and the other dog. This will make your puppy feel more safe and give her a chance to regain her confidence.

Never hold a Dachshund puppy in your arms when a dog moves in an aggressive manner toward her. By holding her in your arms, your puppy becomes an accessible stationary target. Tell the owner how you feel about this aggressive dog. It may be the dog’s nature to be aggressive, but it isn’t right for a city environment. I believe owners need to be told when their dogs are too aggressive. If they hear it enough times, maybe they’ll right the situation by taking their Dachshund in for training and spare other pups from being frightened.