Diseases and care
Dachshunds have good health and a good average lifespan of 12-15 years. In the absence of congenital pathologies, problems in wire-haired dachshunds appear in old age. The main problem is “swimmer’s syndrome”, which develops against the background of obesity or injury. The symptoms of the disease are similar to osteoporosis: it is difficult for the dog to walk, it staggers. Dachshunds are also susceptible to other diseases:
- heart failure;
- urolithiasis disease;
- pathologies of intervertebral discs;
- joint dysplasia;
- cataract;
- Occasionally, allergic reactions, hormonal imbalances and diabetes may develop.
Decorative dwarf dachshunds have poorer health, in addition to problems with the spine and joint dysplasia, they have epilepsy. Small dachshunds are susceptible to viral diseases, which can be protected against with vaccinations.
Proper vaccination and active walks can increase the life expectancy of your dachshund by 2-3 years. Animals suffering from epilepsy or joint damage usually do not live past 10 years.
Education and training
The good-natured, owner-oriented Wirehaired Dachshund is not difficult to raise. The most important thing is that you need to start training from the first day the pet comes into your home. The puppy must immediately understand who is in charge in the house; later it will be much more difficult to overcome the pet’s willfulness and leadership habits.
You can teach basic commands to a one-month-old puppy. Say commands clearly and loudly. For following the command, you need to reward the animal: first with a treat, then switch to praise.
It is advisable that the puppy learns the commands “fu” and “come” even before the first walk.
Dogs intended to participate in hunting are trained by experienced trainers at special sites.
Types and color options
On the face of dogs, the hair is elongated, forming a mustache, goatee and expressive eyebrows. The dense “fur coat” is resistant to dirt.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with Turkey breeds photos and descriptions
More often, representatives of this species display a single-color or two-color color. But dogs also come in brindle, marbled, spotted, hare, boar, brownish-brown, and pepper-and-salt colors. The red German Dachshund also comes in different shades, from light orange to fawn. A miniature dog is most often one-color: brown, black, reddish, sandy, or two-color: black/brown with dark red markings. Less often – grayish with spots like tiger stripes.
Mini-hunters demonstrate one common quality for all species - the thickness and healthy shine of the coat.
Is it possible to replace trimming with a haircut?
Scissors have a negative effect on the fur - they make it soft and fluffy. The procedure stimulates the growth of new hairs with similar characteristics. The procedure is also used to quickly restore the coat if done once every two weeks. That is why haircut and trimming are two different procedures.
If a dog with such a specific coat is cut, it may lose its properties forever
Health and characteristic diseases
Dachshunds have fairly good health, but sometimes they suffer from swimmer's syndrome. This disease exists only in dachshunds and has features of human osteoporosis. It occurs from obesity, when the animal has difficulty walking, or from falling on the floor on its stomach at an early age and on a slippery surface.
Also a common disease of the musculoskeletal system in dachshunds is a defect of the discs between the vertebrae. This develops pinching of the spinal cord and paralysis. The disease shows its first symptoms at age five. The disease may be accompanied by paralysis of the hind limbs. In this case, contact your veterinarian immediately.
Did you know? There is an assumption that animals similar to dachshunds existed in ancient Egypt, as well as among the Assyrian peoples. This is confirmed by the depiction of dogs with long bodies on the walls of the pyramids and in sculptures.
Dachshunds sometimes develop idiopathic epilepsy at two years of age. The attacks are accompanied by impaired coordination of limb movements and vomiting. In difficult cases, involuntary urination and tremors may occur. The dog is thirsty and feels weak. Wire-haired animals can develop distichiasis and trichiasis.
During illness, skin secretion increases, which is caused by dysfunction of the thyroid gland. Dogs of the analyzed breed may have a pathology that manifests itself in blue coat color. This can happen if two marbled dachshunds were crossed. Their puppies can be albino or just naturally blue-eyed. Such crossbreeding also leads to deafness. For this reason, it is better to breed a marbled dog with representatives of a breed of a different color.
How does the process work?
It is better to entrust the first procedure to a professional groomer. After carefully studying the work of the master, as well as receiving the groomer’s recommendations, you can treat the dog yourself. The algorithm for plucking hairs is simple, but such labor-intensive work requires patience and some preparation.
Before trimming a pet at home, first of all, it is necessary to prepare a workplace (table, cabinet) and tools. The pet does not need to be bathed before the procedure.
Step 1. put the dog on the table;
Step 2. Carefully comb the pet’s body along the hair growth path with a slicker brush and a sparse comb;
Step 3. You need to carefully separate the tangles with your fingers and try to comb them with a flat comb;
Step 4. It is better to start plucking hairs from the back of the head, or from the back, gradually moving towards the tail;
Step 5. if the groomer plucks the hairs manually, a small strand should be held with the index finger and thumb, then removed with a slight tug in the direction of hair growth;
Step 6. if plucking the guard hair is carried out using a knife, in this case the strand should be picked up with a tool held in your hand, and fixed with your thumb (with the fingers of your free hand you need to hold the skin next to the area being treated) and make a sharp jerk;
Step 7. After treating the back and sides, you should start plucking the hairs on the hips and shoulder blades.
It is better to pluck dead hairs on your pet's head manually, without using a knife, after combing your pet's head with a comb. You need to carefully remove dead hairs on the face and head. After completing the hygienic stripping procedure, the pet must be bathed in warm water, and after drying, remove any protruding hairs manually or with tweezers.
Examples before and after:
Haircut or trimming: what are the differences?
Proper care of an animal's coat is practiced mainly by breeders of champion dogs who take part in exhibitions. Other owners believe that a haircut can get by. It's a delusion.
Cutting the hair at the base does not solve the problem, but makes it worse. The guard hair, which makes up the bulk of the upper cover and needs trimming, consists of two parts, the lower one is thin and soft, the upper one is dense and hard. Shaving off the top leaves a thin root structure that continues to grow.
Over time, dogs that are clipped lose their coat quality. Growing hair looks like fluff, gets dirty faster and becomes tangled. After cutting, the hair structure is not restored. With proper care, that is, by contacting a groomer, it is possible to slightly change the top coat, but it is impossible to completely reverse the process.
Short-haired dogs of wire-haired breeds do not take prizes at exhibitions and, in general, differ from their counterparts in worse appearance.
It is recommended that hair care for cocker spaniels, Yorkies, schnauzers and other representatives of hunting breeds be left to specialists from the first days the animals live in the house.
It is important to understand that cutting is a cosmetic procedure, and plucking is a hygienic procedure.
How to do trimming yourself at home
Required Tools
When trimming, only professional tools should be used. Thanks to this you will be able to achieve excellent results:
- Table. It should be comfortable for the pet and the specialist when performing the process.
- Use a set of metal combs with different teeth.
- A slicker brush helps to comb the wool well. The length of the teeth should be from 5 to 10 cm.
- Knife. His choice should be given special attention. It is recommended to use a set that includes tools for different areas of the body.
- Special stones are used for the procedure for puppies. With their help, it is also possible to correctly complete the procedure for an adult dog.
- Powder or crayons to improve gliding.
- Latex fingertip for groomer.
Trimming knife
Preparation
The master also evaluates the condition of the animal’s fur. It should not be washed before starting the procedure. First remove the undercoat using a furminator. For breeds with hard hair, it is also possible to use hard massage brushes or slicker brushes.
It is important to remove tangles first. They are removed using a special tool. Scissors are used only as a last resort. The beauty procedure is recommended for adult dogs after changing their first coat.
If the pet is too worried, then the specialist gives him the opportunity to sniff all the instruments.
Pedigree large puppies are trimmed from six months
The need for trimming for a dog
The extent to which it is necessary to remove the old coat can be determined by understanding its structure. In dogs, especially hunting breeds, during the process of evolution, the fur was divided into two layers. The lower one, adjacent to the skin, is soft and thick, protects from cold, parasites, and moisture. External - forms a kind of shell that reflects the attacks of winds, sharp branches and opponents.
Since pets are not exposed to aggressive environmental influences, the outer coat remains intact. Over time, it rolls down and turns into a dense, airtight cocoon. If the animal is not trimmed, after a few weeks diaper rash begins to appear on the skin, redness, itching and irritation occur, and infectious diseases caused by pathogenic flora develop.
With proper care, the dog's coat becomes clean and acquires a healthy, shiny appearance. Blood circulation in the skin improves, positively affecting all body systems and the pet’s mood.
Characteristic
Wire-haired dachshunds are characterized by a thick coat and an undercoat that lies close to the body. These dogs usually have pronounced mustaches, beards, and eyebrows. The pet can be black, gray, chocolate-white, marble. The long-haired animal has the same color, and the wire-haired animal can be any of the indicated colors. The pet can be up to thirty centimeters tall (male) and up to twenty-five centimeters (female). The ideal weight for a dachshund is seven kilograms.
Did you know? The dachshund is recognized as the symbol of Germany. And the German dachshund Waldi was chosen as the symbol of the Olympic Games in 1972.
