A true story about dachshunds

“Relatives hinted: wouldn’t it be better to euthanize. But Gerda was so young…”

Gerda came first. And it was a rash purchase: the children persuaded me to give them a dog for the New Year. We took her five-month-old from a friend of her daughter, a classmate’s dog “brought” puppies. She was without a pedigree. In general, Gerda is a dachshund phenotype.

Photo: from the personal archive of Julia

What does this mean? That is, the dog looks like a breed in appearance, but without the presence of documents, its “purity” cannot be proven. Any generation can be mixed with anyone.

We live outside the city, in a private house. The territory is fenced, and the dog has always been left to its own devices. Until a certain moment, none of us particularly bothered ourselves with any special care for her, walking, feeding. Until trouble happened. One day the dog lost its paws. And life has changed. Everyone has. 

If it were not for special circumstances, the second, and even more so the third pet would never have started

The second, and even more so the third dog, I would never have taken before. But Gerda was so sad when she was ill that I wanted to cheer her up with something. It seemed to me that she would have more fun in the company of a dog friend.

Photo: from the personal archive of Julia

I was already afraid to take a tax on the ad. When Gerda got sick, she read so much literature about the breed. It turns out that discopathy, like epilepsy, is a hereditary disease in dachshunds. Absolutely all dogs of this breed are susceptible to them if not properly cared for. It is more likely that the disease will manifest itself if the dog is from the street or mestizo. Still, I wanted to make sure, and I was looking for a dog with documents. I couldn’t step on the same rake again and again. In Moscow kennels, puppies were very expensive and were beyond our means at that time: a lot of money was spent on Gerda’s treatment. But I regularly looked through private ads on various forums. And one day I came across one thing – that, for family reasons, a wire-haired dachshund is given. I saw a dog in the photo, I thought: a mongrel mongrel. In my narrow-minded view, the rough-haired does not look like a dachshund at all. I had never met such dogs before. I was bribed by the fact that the announcement indicated that the dog had an international pedigree.

Despite my husband’s excuses, I still went to the indicated address just to look at the dog. I arrived: the area is old, the house is Khrushchev, the apartment is tiny, one-room, on the fifth floor. I go in: and two frightened eyes are looking at me from under the baby carriage in the corridor. The dachshund is so miserable, thin, frightened. How could I leave? The hostess justified herself: they bought a puppy when she was still pregnant, and then – a child, nights without sleep, problems with milk … The hands do not reach the dog at all.

It turned out the dachshund’s name was Julia. Here, I think, is a sign: my namesake. I am for the dog, and I went home faster. The dog, of course, was with a traumatized psyche. There was no doubt that the poor thing was being beaten. She was so frightened, she was afraid of everything, she could not even take it in her arms: Julia pissed from fear. It seemed that she did not even sleep at first, she was so tense all over. About a month later, my husband says to me: “Look, Juliet climbed onto the sofa, she’s sleeping!” And we breathed a sigh of relief: getting used to it. The previous owners never called us, did not ask about the fate of the dog. We didn’t contact them either. But I found a breeder of wire-haired dachshunds, from his cattery and took Julia. He admitted that he keeps track of the fate of the puppies. I was very worried about the little one. He even asked to return the dog to him, offered to return the money. They did not agree, but posted an ad on the Internet and sold the baby for “three kopecks.” Apparently it was my dog.

The third dachshund appeared by accident. The husband kept joking: there is a smooth-haired one, there is a wire-haired one, but there is no long-haired one. No sooner said than done. Once, in social networks, in a group helping dachshunds, people asked to urgently pick up a 3-month-old puppy, because. The child had a terrible allergy to wool. I didn’t even know what a dog was. Took her away for a while, for overexposure. It turned out to be a puppy with a pedigree from one of the most famous kennels in Belarus. My girls are calm about puppies (I used to take puppies for overexposure until the curators find families for them). And this was perfectly accepted, they began to educate. When the time came to attach her, her husband did not give it away.

Photo: from the personal archive of Julia

I must admit that Michi is the most trouble-free of all. I didn’t gnaw anything in the house: one rubber slipper doesn’t count. While they were vaccinated, she went to the diaper all the time, then she quickly got used to the street. She is absolutely non-aggressive, non-confrontational. The only thing is that in an unfamiliar environment it is a little difficult for her, she gets used to it for a long time.  

The characters of three dachshunds are all very different

I don’t want to say that smooth-haired ones are correct, and long-haired ones are somehow different. All dogs are different. When I was looking for a second dog, I read a lot about the breed, contacted breeders. They all wrote to me about the stability of the psyche of dogs. I kept thinking, what’s the psyche to do with it? It turns out that this moment is fundamental. In good kennels, dogs are knitted only with a stable psyche.

Photo: from the personal archive of Julia

Judging by our dachshunds, the most choleric and excitable dog is Gerda, smooth-haired. Wire-haired – funny gnomes, spontaneous, funny dogs. They are excellent hunters, they have a very good grip: they can smell both a mouse and a bird. In the long-haired, the hunting instinct is sleeping, but for the company it can also bark at potential prey. Our youngest aristocrat, stubborn, knows her own worth. She is beautiful, proud and quite difficult and stubborn in learning.

Championship in the pack – for the eldest

In our family, Gerda is the oldest dog and the wisest. Behind her is leadership. She never gets into conflict. In general, she is on her own, even on a walk, those two rush about, somersault, and the eldest always has her own program. She walks around all her seats, sniffing everything. In our yard, two more large mongrel dogs live in enclosures. She will approach one, teach life, then another.

Are dachshunds easy to care for?

Oddly enough, most of the wool comes from a smooth-haired dog. She is everywhere. Such a short one, digs into furniture, carpets, clothes. Especially during the molting period it is difficult. And you can’t comb it out in any way, only if you collect hair directly from the dog with a wet hand. But it doesn’t help much. Long hair is much easier. It can be combed out, rolled up, it is easier to collect long hair from the floor or sofa. Wire-haired dachshunds do not shed at all. Trimming twice a year – and that’s it! 

The misfortune that happened to Gerda changed my whole life

If Gerda had not fallen ill, I would not have become such an avid dog lover, I would not have read thematic literature, I would not have joined social groups. networks for helping animals, would not take puppies for overexposure, would not be carried away by cooking and proper nutrition … The trouble crept up unexpectedly, and completely turned my world upside down. But I really wasn’t ready to lose my dog. When waiting for Gerda in the vet. clinic near the operating room, I realized how much I became attached to her and fell in love.

Photo: from the personal archive of Julia

And everything was like this: on Friday Gerda began to limp, on Saturday morning she fell on her paws, on Monday she no longer walked. How and what happened, I don’t know. The dog immediately stopped jumping on the sofa, lay and whined. We did not attach any importance, we thought: it will pass. When we arrived at the clinic, everything began to spin. Many complex procedures, anesthesia, tests, X-rays, MRI … Treatment, rehabilitation.

I understood that the dog will forever remain special. And it will take a lot of effort and time to devote to caring for her. If I had worked then, I would have had to quit or take a long vacation. Mom and dad were very sorry for me, they repeatedly hinted: is it not better to put me to sleep. As an argument, they cited: “Think about what will happen next?” If you think globally, I agree: a nightmare and horror. But, if, slowly, to experience every day and rejoice in small victories, then, it seems, it is tolerable. I couldn’t put her to sleep, Gerda was still so young: only three and a half years old. Thanks to my husband and sister, they always supported me.

Whatever we did to put the dog on its paws. And hormones were injected, and massaged, and they took her for acupuncture, and she swam in an inflatable pool in the summer … We definitely made progress: from a dog that did not get up, did not walk, relieved herself, Gerda became a completely independent dog. It took me a long time to get a stroller. They were afraid that she would relax and not walk at all. She was taken for walks every two and a half hours with the help of special support panties with scarf straps. It was on the street that the dog came to life, she had an interest: either she would see the dog, then she would follow the bird.

But we wanted more, and we decided on the operation. Which I later regretted. Another anesthesia, a huge stitch, stress, shock … And again rehabilitation. Gerda recovered very hard. Again she began to walk under herself, did not get up, bedsores formed, the muscles on her hind legs completely disappeared. We slept with her in a separate room so as not to disturb anyone. At night I got up several times, turned the dog over, because. she couldn’t turn around. Again massage, swimming, training …

Six months later, the dog stood up. She certainly won’t be the same. And her walking is different from the movements of healthy tails. But she walks!

Then there were more difficulties, dislocations. And again, the operation to implant a supporting plate. And again recovery.

On a walk, I try to be always close to Gerda, I support her if she falls. We did buy a wheelchair. And this is a very good way. 

Photo: from the personal archive of Julia

The dog walks on 4 legs, and the stroller insures against falls, supports the back. Yes, what goes there – with a stroller Gerda runs faster than her healthy friends. At home, we do not wear this device, it moves, as it can, on its own. She makes me very happy lately, more and more often she rises to her feet, walks more confidently. Recently, Gerda was ordered a second stroller, the first one she “travelled” in two years.  

On vacation we take turns

When we had one dog, I left it to my sister. But now no one will take on such responsibility for caring for a special dog. Yes, and we will not leave it to anyone. We need to help her go where she needs to go. She understands what she wants, but she can’t stand it. If Gerda crawls or goes into the corridor, you must take her out immediately. Sometimes we don’t have time to get out, then everything remains on the floor in the corridor. There are “misses” at night. We know about it, others do not. On vacation, of course, we go, but in turn. This year, for example, my husband and son went, and then I went with my daughter.

Gerda and I developed a special relationship during her illness. She has confidence in me. She knows that I will not give her to anyone, I will not betray her. She feels when I just enter the village where we live. Waiting for me at the door or looking out the window.

Many dogs are great and difficult

The most difficult thing is to bring a second dog into the house. And when there are more than one, it doesn’t matter how many. Financially, of course, it is not easy. Everyone needs to be kept. Dachshunds definitely have more fun with each other. We rarely go to the playground with other dogs. I do what I can for them. You can’t jump above your head. And now I have a job, and I have to take care of the children’s studies, and household chores. Our dachshunds communicate with each other.

I also pay attention to mongrels, they are young, dogs need to run. I release from cages 2 times a day. They walk separately: kids with kids, big ones with big ones. And it’s not about aggression. They would love to run around together. But I’m afraid of injuries: one awkward movement – and I have another spinal …

How healthy dogs treat a sick dog

All is well between the girls. Gerda does not understand that she is not like everyone else. If she needs to run around, she will do it in a wheelchair. She does not feel inferior, and others treat her as an equal. Moreover, I did not bring Gerda to them, but they came to her territory. Michigan was generally a puppy.

Photo: from the personal archive of Julia

But we had a difficult case this summer. I took an adult dog, a small mongrel, for overexposure. After 4 days, terrible fights began. And my girls fought, Julia and Michi. This has never happened before. They fought to the death: apparently, for the attention of the owner. Gerda did not participate in fights: she is sure of my love.

First of all, I gave the mongrel to the curator. But the fights didn’t stop. I kept them in different rooms. I re-read the literature, turned to cynologists for help. A month later, under my strict supervision, the relationship between Julia and Michigan returned to normal. They are happy to have each other’s company again.

Now everything is as it was before: we boldly leave them alone at home, we don’t close anyone anywhere.

Individual approach to each of the taxes

By the way, I am engaged in education with each of the girls separately. On walks we train with the youngest, she is the most receptive. I train Julia very carefully, unobtrusively, as if by the way: she has been very intimidated since childhood, once again I try not to injure her with commands and shouts. Gerda is a smart girl, she understands perfectly, with her everything is special with us.

Indeed, it is difficult…

I am often asked if it is difficult to keep so many dogs? True, it’s difficult. And yes! I’m getting tired. Therefore, I want to give advice to those people who are still thinking about whether to take a second or third dog. Please, realistically evaluate your strengths and capabilities. It is easy and simple for someone to keep five dogs, and for someone it is a lot.

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