Dogs and kids seem to have a natural connection, provided you have picked the right dog breed. One of the biggest concerns people have when bringing a pet into a household with kids is deciding which breed of dogs would be suitable for the family.
In case you are wondering if dachshunds would be the right choice, read on to find out!
Like most other dogs, dachshunds relate to pack structure. For this reason, they also like being a family dog. Dachshunds are known for their intelligence, loyalty, and lively nature. Generally, they do well around children, especially when children are mindful of interacting in the right way.
A pet parent needs to introduce a dachshund to a kid and prepares them beforehand. With a few positive interactions, both can end up becoming good friends.
Continue reading to find out how to acclimatize kids and dachshunds for each other’s company.
Are Dachshunds Good With Children?
- Are Dachshunds Good With Children?
- What Your Child Must Know Before Interacting With a Dachshund?
- Are Dachshunds Good With Babies?
- How to Prepare Dachshunds for Introduction to a Baby?
- Are Dachshunds Good Family Dogs?
- Some Common Personality Traits of Dachshunds
- Last Few Words on Are Dachshunds Good With Kids
Dachshunds are usually great around kids, as long as they are trained well, and they know you are in charge. They prove to be a loyal, affectionate, and fun company for your children. Give your dachshund enough time after the introduction to grow comfortable around kids.
With the right training and precautions, your dachshund will behave around the kids in the house. Some might even be friendly right from the start. The key is to take it slow, make the interactions positive, and allow the dog to accept them at its own pace.
If you feel that your dachshund is growing uncomfortable due to the presence of a child, give it a break. After it becomes calm and comfortable, try again.
A Dachshund that has grown comfortable with children proves to be a great company. They are very playful and a lot of fun for doing outdoor activities with. It loves to play games like hide and seek.
Make your kid hide treats for him to find, and both of them will enjoy the game. Other activities that your kid can engage in with your dachshund are playing ball, chase, or passing an obstacle course.
It is important to remember that when your kids have their friends over to play, they must know the rules of interacting with the dog. They must be aware of the do’s and don’ts of playing with a dachshund.
Watch this video before bringing a dachshund into your family.
What Your Child Must Know Before Interacting With a Dachshund?
As mentioned earlier, dachshunds are protective. So if they feel threatened, they can be aggressive as well. In normal circumstances, they are great around children they know. However, you need to be careful and watchful when your kids have their friends over.
If a dachshund is scared or physically hurt, it might fight back to defend itself. So if other children, who are not familiar with how to interact with your dachshund, can trigger the dog to fight back.
A child who does not know how to interact properly might tease the dog with a toy or an object. This can irritate the dog. Regardless of the breed, any dog in such a condition is likely to exhibit aggression and anger.
The things that you need to teach your kid to avoid such circumstances are as under:
The first thing you should teach your child about this interaction is to pet the dog gently. Rubbing them in the opposite direction that the fur grows can irritate the dog. So, teach your kids the correct way to rub their back gently.
Dachshunds were bred to hunt small games in the past. This gives them the prey drive that causes them to chase, nip, or yank. Fast and sudden movement of children around them can trigger their prey drive.
As soon as your children are old enough to pick up the dog in their arms, teach them how to pick it up carefully. Dachshunds are especially prone to neck or back injuries due to their body structure. So, it’s important to support the back and rear end of the dog when you lift them.
Children have small arms and are often clumsy to hold a dachshund properly. It is best to teach them to sit down then take the dog in their lap if they want to hold it.
It is also important to teach your kids that dogs are not pull toys, especially to toddlers. Teach them not to pull your dachshund’s tail or any other part of their body. Pulling the tail or ears can hurt the dog, and it might react aggressively. If it gets scared, it might also nip or growl to defend itself.
You also need to teach your kid the signs that show that the dog wants to be left alone. This is important for both the child’s and the dog’s safety.
If your child continues to bother the dog, despite your dachshund showing warning signs, it can be dangerous. Few warning signs that a dog will show before going into fight mode are growling, struggling to escape, or bearing its teeth.
If the dachshund feels that it cannot escape the grasp of a child, it might take to biting to get away. Therefore, it is important to teach your child how to read the body language of your dachshund.
Once you have taught your child how to read the warning signs, teach them to leave the dog alone while it eats or sleeps. It is important to teach kids to show empathy towards animals and know when they should not disturb the dog. Dachshunds can get startled if they are woken suddenly. So tell your child not to go near its bed when the dog is asleep.
Similarly, teach your kid to leave the dog alone when it is eating. Children should not play with a dog’s food. This action can make the dog assume that the child is taking away its food so that it might growl or nip.
Are Dachshunds Good With Babies?
Dachshunds are generally good around babies, and they tend to get comfortable with them with a few interactions. However, like with any other dog, you must never leave a baby alone with a dachshund. Since this breed is prone to jealousy, it’s best not to leave the baby even in the crib. If you have to leave the room for any reason, put the dog in a crate first.
How to Prepare Dachshunds for Introduction to a Baby?
Dachshunds like to be the center of attention in the family, and this can trigger jealousy in the presence of a child. For parents who are expecting a baby, they need to do some training before the arrival of the baby. If your dachshund has never had an extended encounter with a child before, it is time to prepare him now.
Here’s how you can prepare a dachshund to introduce it to a baby.
The first task at hand is to introduce your dachshund to his new setting. It needs to experience how his home will be like after a baby arrives. Play videos or sounds of a baby crying or laughing and show him it’s normal.
With every passing day, increase the volume slightly and play the sounds more frequently. This will keep him from being startled when your baby’s crying raises the roof.
The next step is to familiarize your dachshund with the physical presence of a child. You can get help from a friend with kids. Discuss with the child and parents how to communicate with your dog.
If your dachshund is new to this experience, it is best to work out slow greetings and proper introductions. Another tip is to keep him on a leash when you introduce him to a child.
Once you have introduced them, gradually make the interactions more frequent. You can also take your dachshund to a park to make it comfortable around children.
Another thing you can do to familiarize your dachshund with a small human is to get down to its level. Sit down on your knees or crouch in front of your dog to make them comfortable with interacting with a child.
Positive reinforcement will be of great help to make your dachshund associate positive interaction with good behavior. Every time your dog behaves calmly during an interaction with a child, reward it with a treat. When you take your dachshund for an interaction with a kid, keep treats handy, and reward generously.
Since the chances of your dachshund misbehaving around a baby is only when he feels jealous, you should start with the root cause. Every day set aside plenty of time to play and interact with your dachshund.
Give it enough attention, so it does not feel you are neglecting it when the baby finally arrives.
Dachshunds have plenty of energy to exhaust, and this can be a problem when a baby keeps your hands busy. If you do not allow your dog an opportunity to burn energy, it will be excited around the baby, which can be risky.
Ensure that your dachshund gets plenty of exercise daily to solve this problem. For a miniature dachshund, 30 minutes are enough, while for a standard-sized dachshund, an hour would be appropriate.
You can also take help from a friend or a dog walker to take your dog outdoors for exercise.
You want your dachshund to be gentle when it interacts with your kid. For this reason, you need to teach your dog new commands, like ‘gently.’ Reward it only when it takes treats gently from your hand. This training will make him gentle around other people.
Before introducing your dachshund to a baby or child, you must know about its temperament. Especially if you have rescued him or adopted it from another family, be sure that it is safe to introduce it to a child.
Even if you are sure about your dachshund’s temperament, never leave it alone with a baby in the house.
Watch this video on how well dachshunds get along with babies.
Are Dachshunds Good Family Dogs?
Dachshunds are great as family dogs, but like with any other breed, how they do with kids depends on the individual personality. Some might adore kids, while others prefer to keep their distance. Dachshunds might do great in a house with kids, but there are a few things you should remember. A dachshund is more likely to be friendly with kids if you take care of two factors:
- Introducing the child and dachshund when at least one of them is at a young age.
- All the kids in the house are prepared and taught how to interact with a dachshund in the right way.
The first factor is particularly effective, as this gives a chance to the dachshund to grow together with the child. It learns to live in the presence of a child and understands the child’s behavior. Both of them get a chance to learn the necessary social skills from each other.
Introducing a baby to a dachshund is much easier than introducing a child. Dachshunds are generally more curious about babies than older children, so they make more of an effort to get along. Moreover, babies tend to move less than a young child, and they also interact less. This makes them less scary for dachshunds as they have to be less alert.
By the time the baby grows into a toddler and becomes more interactive, the dachshund has already learned to understand their behavior and presence. Hence, they are more tolerant of them.
Similarly, if you brought in a dachshund as a puppy, they are new to the world. Encountering with a child at your home is likely their first experience. They have not developed any biases, and they are learning about a child’s behavior from the beginning.
So, there would not be much trouble in familiarizing them with each other.
Some Common Personality Traits of Dachshunds
Dachshunds have an exceptionally charming and lively personality. They are eager to join in on everything and have a lot of energy despite their small size. Additionally, they are sharp, loud, and make excellent watchdogs. They like being in pairs, but they also do great by themselves. However, they are not comfortable around strangers.
Before adopting a dachshund, you must be aware of all the pros and cons. Therefore, it is important to mention their negative traits, as well. Dachshund’s stubbornness often makes them challenging to house train.
But once they are trained, they are very protective and loyal. They also tend to be jealous and possessive of their owner. This trait has to be discouraged from the beginning to prevent them from developing bad habits.
The overall temperament of dachshunds relies on their training and social environment. A well-trained dachshund is most likely to be a loving and cheerful company in your house. To sum up their personality, the following are some traits that you should expect in your dachshund:
- Affectionate and loyal
- Barkers and watchdogs
- Chasers and playful
- Diggers and territorials
- Stubborn and possessive
- Protective and intelligent
- Funny and energetic
The fact that they are barkers and make great watchdogs tells us they can also show signs of aggression sometimes. Especially, if something startles annoys or makes them jealous, they can nip or growl. The best way you can prevent this behavior is through proper training.
You must also show them that you are in charge right from the first day. Dachshunds need to know that you are in control. Only then they’d be happy to obey your commands.
Watch this video on some traits of dachshunds.
Last Few Words on Are Dachshunds Good With Kids
Dachshunds are incredibly loving and loyal dogs. They seek affection and enjoy making bonds with their family. Your dachshund is more likely to be comfortable around your kids if you introduce it to them as a puppy. With that, you must also bear in mind that every dog has a different personality. Not every dachshund will exhibit the same traits or temperament.
That said, dachshunds can be trained to be kid-friendly and tolerant. One major issue that you need to take care of is that dachshunds have fragile backs. So, before initiating their interaction with kids, make sure that the kids know the right way to interact with them. With a little effort on your part, you can cherish the moments of watching your pet and kid grow together.
