I’m interested in getting a dachshund, but I did some research because I wanted to be sure I could give him or her a good home, and some concerns arose.

First off, I’ll be able to check in on the dog frequently as I’m a college student, so my classes are relatively spaced out, so it’d be easy to go back and forth between school and my place to take the dog out to walk, pee, etc. as well as generally spend time with him or her, and I figure by in a couple of years when I’m working she’ll no longer be a puppy and be able to be on her own for longer, so the timing would work out.

However, I kept coming back to a couple of concerns, and I wanted the opinions of people who already own a dachshund on whether or not my situation is suitable for a dachshund.

One issue is I read dachshunds are big barkers; this is not an issue personally, but I live in an attached house, and I'm worried about neighbors, both now and in the future, if I ever move.

I also hear they are specifically difficult to pee-train, which I’m okay with; I’m willing to put in the work; however, I foresee a couple of issues that could make this frustrating. One reason is that I live in an area that rains/snows in winter, which I’ve heard dachshunds can be sensitive to. I will try to immerse him or her early on, but it's the weather; there's only so much I can do. Also, my area has a lot of coyotes and such at night, which, in my experience with family dogs, results in them not peeing outside (I understand it from their perspective; I just don't see a real solution). Obviously, I would stand there with him or her with lights on, but I’ve never found this to help in my experience. I’m concerned the combination of these issues could make pee training last a nightmarish amount of time.

Another issue which I’m worried about is their prey drive. I live in the woods. I’m concerned that he or she will ignore recall commands (in my experience, even well-trained dogs do this sometimes) and chase after the rabbits or other small animals, which we have a LOT of. I thought about an invisible fence, but I read that if they go fast enough, they can run through it, and I live in the kind of place where I would not be able to find the dog if he or she were to run off into the woods. My solution would be to keep the dog on the leash when he or she is outside, but I have a good-sized yard, and it’d be nice to play with my dog outside.

Lastly, if I could let my dog off the leash without him or her chasing after animals, I would still have a digging issue. My yard is a shared space, so I can't have my dachshund tearing up the yard. I understand the need to keep an eye on him or her in these situations, but if the dog starts digging, it doesn’t matter if I pick him or her up to prevent it; the yard will still be screwed up by the time I’m there.

These issues have led me to a weird standstill because I really want a dachshund, and I understand dogs bark, dig, and chase other animals and that it takes time to train them. These are parts of having a dog; I get that, so I’m worried that if I get a dachshund under these conditions, he or she would not be happy. What do I do? I know some dogs can be trained to fix or work around these issues, but some dogs can't be trained not to bark, dig or chase other animals, etc., and if I hope that my dachshund can learn these things and he or she can't, what do I do, I can’t pay for the lawn to be fixed endlessly, let him or her pee inside forever, force the neighbors to not care about barking or prevent the dog from chasing animals when she’s off the leash? Is it selfish of me to get a dog with these restrictions? Is it better for me to wait until my situation potentially changes? I’m sure other people have these problems too. I’m not the only dog owner who lives in an apartment near wildlife or a place with crappy weather; what do they do? I’m trying to be proactive in asking these questions now rather than when I already have the dog (which I see many people do), so please don't bite my head off if I said something wrong here!

Now that it's warming up outside my apartment has been getting silverfish again 🤢. Frankie is the premiere silverfish hunter though and he can spot them from across the apartment! Him and my husband work as a tag team, Frankie subdues them and my husband scoops them up with a tissue and flushes the demons down the toilet. Anyone else have doxies with excellent bug hunting skills?

He's probaly about 10 to 12 yo... curious as a puppy but grumpy like a. Old man.

Her name is Guppy because she LOVES water. She's my little fishy 🐟

I wish they had captured his eyes a bit better but for a 19 year old boy, he looks pretty good!!

Freshly washed weiner