Owners who are frustrated with their Dachshund’s behavior often seek help from a dog trainer. The owners have usually been living with the problem for a long time, have reached a point of despair, and want or need a solution. now.
There are two main ways that dog trainers can help: they can train you themselves and then show you how to continue the training at home, or they can help you train your dog yourself from the start.
Two things these strategies have in common is that you have to do some or all of the training yourself, and they require time and money.
I’ve been immersed in the world of dog training for the last few years, and I believe the biggest obstacle to lasting behavior change is owners being unwilling or unable to devote sufficient time to successfully implementing a behavior modification plan.
But what if your Dachshund’s behavioral problems aren’t a training issue at all? What if training is only a temporary band-aid fix and the problem comes back in another way or gets worse because the underlying issue hasn’t been addressed?
What if you could change your dog’s behavior without any training at all?
Let me explain.
1) Cheating may actually be a medical problem
Dogs don’t have the words to tell us when they are sick.
At first, the problem may be minor and your dog may appear fine on the outside, but then start to show signs of ill health through his behavior.
Think about the time you get a headache or wake up with a headache and then you might get short-tempered or annoyed with someone at the grocery store.
Dogs can also become irritable when they’re unwell – they may bark more, be misbehaving on a lead or start licking things incessantly.
When a dog’s mental or physical health deteriorates, it may start to growl, bite, become aggressive, or behave in ways it never did before.
If you notice a change in your Dachshund’s behavior, especially if it’s sudden, the first thing you should do is take your dog to the vet to rule out any underlying medical problems.
Your vet will perform a thorough physical exam of your dog, listening to his lungs and heart to look for any abnormalities. The next step is usually a full blood test to “check” how your dog’s organs are functioning.
If you or your vet still suspect that something is wrong with your dog, your vet may order x-rays or a more extensive diagnostic test to rule out orthopedic issues that wouldn’t be detected by a manual exam.
Normally, if no abnormality is detected, Unlikely Your Dachshund’s behavior is due to poor health.
However, if a vet can detect and address any health issues, your dog may return to normal behavior. Behavioral problems solved without training!
If the underlying medical causes have been ruled out and your dog is still behaving badly, you will need to move on to the next step in the “Hierarchy of Solutions to Bad Behavior.”
Unfulfilled desires manifest as mischievous behavior.
A Dachshund’s “needs” refer to automatic and compulsive behaviors that are biologically, genetically and historically learned.
In other words, these are things that Dachshunds are compelled to do and need, whether they live on a farm or in an apartment. These are things that they automatically “want” to do. I literally can’t help it.
What do Dachshunds need?
Recently, I Family Dog Mediation® Professional CourseIt is based on the LEGS® framework developed by dog behavior expert and applied animal behaviorist Kim Brophy.
Kim developed the LEGS model to help people understand how and why dogs think and behave the way they do, focusing on four key elements.
- and othersLearning – What is our dog’s learning history?
- pictureEnvironment – What kind of environment does our dog currently live in?
- GBehavior – What have our dogs been bred to do? What feels inherently good to them?
- SElf – Who is this dog and what makes him unique?
I don’t want to get into the science behind this or the finer points of how to apply this framework (if you want to talk to me about your Dachshund, give me a call), but here’s what’s important to know:
Your dog is Essential needs This is determined by biological impulses, breeding objectives, individual personality and experience.
Putting aside the debate over whether Dachshunds are more like scent dogs or terriers, it is important to realize that the breed combines characteristics of both and retains some traits from each breed group.
The genetic instincts of the Dachshund “The impulsive and emotional nature of pursuit.” (Smell dog) and “very They are impulsive and instinctive towards small animals.” (Terrier).
Do you now have a new perspective on your Dachshund’s behavior? No wonder he gets all worked up around squirrels or wants to chase cats.
Additionally, common behavioral characteristics include:
- Scent dog: Socialmoving, fun, Impulsive,dramatic.
- Terrier: Dynamic, Independenthyperactivity, Single-minded personality.
So there you have it: to me, these characteristics pretty much sum up the essence of a Dachshund.
A Dachshund’s natural instincts include mental/physical/instinctive needs and social needs.
- Mental/physical/instinctual needs – Predatory instinct (especially the orientation, pursuit, grasping and biting, killing and biting, and dissection parts) Predation Sequence), and physical activity (driven primarily by their history as hunting dogs).
- Social needs – Socialization with other dogs and humans (they often lived in small dog groups and formed strong attachments to their owners/handlers when hunting).
For your Dachshund to feel happy, you need to give him the right outlet to satisfy these natural instincts.
Dachshunds today are primarily kept as pets, and many of them live in urban areas, severely limiting their ability to satisfy their own needs.
That’s where you come in!
2) Meeting your Dachshund’s needs to prevent him from becoming mischievous
The second way you can bring about positive change in your Dachshund’s misbehavior without training is through lifestyle enrichment.
Enrichment is an umbrella term for the concept of allowing animals to appropriately release their inner instinctual needs. For more information on this practice and how it applies to pets, read my article on the history and premise of dog enrichment.
I wrote an article listing breed-specific enrichment activities for Dachshunds and briefly explained what needs each activity meets, so I won’t go into detail here. how In this article, we will introduce some ways to meet the needs of your Dachshund. why.
You need to understand that: If you don’t give your Dachshund the proper means to have his needs met, he may become frustrated or anxious and find ways to get his needs met on his own, which often clash with yours.
Many of the things we consider “bad behaviors” may actually be a dog’s way of getting its needs met – in other words, the dog isn’t trying to do something bad, but rather to improve its own well-being because its owner isn’t giving it an appropriate outlet.
The problem is that the behaviors our dogs use to get what they want often aren’t to our liking. We may perceive them as annoying, frustrating, and sometimes even dangerous.
We often try to suppress or, worse, punish these behaviors without realizing that they actually serve an important purpose for our dogs.
These actions include:
- Pulling the lead
- Excessive barking
- Chewing, digging, and other destructive behaviors
- Go in the trash
- He doesn’t come back when you call him (he’s more interested in smells than you)
By simply enriching your Dachshund’s life – expanding their “world” and providing them with satisfying activities – you can improve their behavior without any training at all.
Enriching your dog’s life won’t eliminate behavioral issues or the need to consult a trainer, but it will definitely make a small difference.
lastly
Training may be your first thought when trying to correct your Dachshund’s bad behavior, but training may not solve the problem — at least not permanently.
Why spend a lot of money and time right away asking someone to “fix” your dog or instruct you on how to fix it yourself, rather than trying to address the root of the problem first?
The first step is to take your Dachshund to the vet to check for any underlying medical issues that may be causing your dog to be irritable, anxious or acting out, so your vet can rule them out or treat the symptoms.
If no underlying medical cause can be found, owners should consider what the opportunities are for their Dachshund to have their instinctual needs met in a healthy and appropriate way.
Ignoring our dog’s instincts doesn’t make them go away, it just makes them act strangely, leaving us frustrated and confused.why My dog is always doing *bad things* that we don’t want.
If after trying these two methods your Dachshund still exhibits behavior you don’t like, be sure to seek help.
Living with feelings of frustration and helplessness can damage your relationship with your Dachshund.
It can also severely limit your life with your dog, as it can be too difficult to take him out in public or you can be too scared or embarrassed to have guests over.
You don’t have to live like that!
