So far... General Chat

..."It" has hidden somewhere a turquoise plastic food bowl, and even having gone round the place on my hands and knees with a torch looking under every possible place, the bowl is still missing. But I caught "It" in my bedroom with an identical bowl - red this time, after the food had vanished into a by-then rotund tummy. I now have to wait in the kitchen for the two seconds needed for that food to have been scoffed.

"It" not only pulled down one of the shower curtains in my ensuite, but the rail with it. I put the "gate" across the bedroom doorway as I did to stop Pereg from getting in there during the day, but as one side is against the wall and the other slots into a gap beside a cupboard and a large bin of cat litter, "It" can get under another cupboard and go round the gate. So I have to think of another way.

Now I have had to move my long-handled dustpan and brush set from where it was in the kitchen as "It" was dragging through the back room it into my bedroom. Pity as it was very handy where it was and now I have to move something to get to it.

Oh, as for my Crocs... when "It" wakes up - any time between maybe 4am - 6am I hoik "It" out of the crate, carry it into the salon and put it on the puppy pad and make "It" stay there until it pees. I then go back to bed for a bit more sleep, leaving "It" to "Its" own resources, only to find my Crocs missing from the side of my bed. One is usually in her bed, the other end of the bungalow and the other one is "hunt the Croc" time.

This morning when I surface little miss innocent was in "Its" bed but all the toys from the bed were scattered all over the floor, the [plastic] bed had been dragged into the middle of the floor and somehow the mattress had been turned over so she was on the black side of it and not the pretty patterned side.

Now I know that "It" is growing but where it gets the strength from I will never know. And how come "It" can jump so high? Another week and the couch will be within reach.

BUT... "It" has learned what "come" means, what "sit" means - nearly learned what "stay" means - except when I put the food dish down then it is get-my-hand-out-of-the-way-quickly before it is mistaken for food! Also learned "move" when I switch my chair on, so gets out of the way.

Oh, but what a little darling when sleeping!

sounds like you got your hands full with little Tikva

You are definitely correct on that Tina - her latest is to scrabble up the pee pad in her crate to sleep on. I had been putting a brand new floor cloth in her crate which fits it perfectly, and then a pee pad which nearly covers the cloth, with her crate toys at the end. So as the pee pad has been scrabbled up to sleep on, if she needs a pee she does it on the cloth.

As from tonight there will be two pee pads overlapping each other so I will see what she does then. Usually she squeaks to wake me to let me know she needs to pee, but if I am not quick enough...

Apparently Daxies are rather difficult to house train and she had been fairly good using the pee pad in the salon next to her bed most of the time, but she has reverted back to thinking that she can pee anywhere when she needs. And after having poo'd on the pad in the salon quite well recently, she has now gone back to pooing on the door mat. Luckily her pees are easy to mop up although she thinks the mop is something to hang on to and swing around on, and her poos are quite firm so easy to pick up.

But why oh why, when she is fast asleep in her bed, does she have to wake up and follow me as soon as I move anywhere? I cannot even go to the loo without her joining me!

Try 6 sleeping dogs that suddenly beat you to the bathroom or cloakroom, they can shift from 0 to 60 in less then a second as soon as anyone dares to move out of the family room.

Guess what Tikva brought to me today [hinting that it was dindins time] - one turquoise plastic food bowl! I have absolutely no idea where she had hidden it as I thought I had checked every last square metre in the bungalow, but she knew where it was!

A slight word change. Now "move" means get outta da way, and "mind" is used for when I am going to move my chair or am taking something hot out of the microwave - or am carrying a mug of hot coffee, and she seems to know that they mean different things.

Now... if only she would keep those needle teeth away from my legs [and arms if she gets a chance] and stop trying to hang onto my clothes...

The needle teeth will start falling out around 7 months until then your leggy is a chew toy,

Seriously a sharp yep & firm NO should help Tikva to understand legs are not to chew on.

Tina - I have tried the yelp, the NO, and just about everything else. The problem is that it was "take her now" with the unspoken "or else" when she was far too young to have left her dam and siblings, so she did not learn how to behave properly.

I have hand-reared puppies before, some from birth, but I always had the older girls and other pups around so once they were old enough to mix, they were taught proper puppy behaviour.

Tikva did not even know how to play, whereas Ziva, who was supposedly a month old [still too young] but more like six weeks, would play happily until she flonked down wherever she was. Ziva was fully weaned and went straight onto raw whereas Tikva, who did not even have any teeth, had to be bottle fed with puppy milk substitute, and yet she would climb back into her bed when she was tired after a little run [more like stagger] around.

I would have preferred to wait an extra few weeks - it all happened so quickly though. I lost my beloved Pereg on 1 April - Ziva was brought to me on the 19th and the last I saw of her was on 1 May when I had to go into hospital. I was taken to see Tikva on 2 June when I was told she was three weeks old, with the thought that I would have to wait at least another two weeks before I could have her [they want to get rid of bitch puppies asap] and yet just three days later it was take her now [unspoken "or else"] when she was so young, but what could I do?

Take the risk of her being dumped as Baby Ziva was within a couple of days of me being in hospital?

Tikva is a happy puppy. She has learned how to play. Is happy in her crate and sleeps nearly all night. OK so she pees in her crate on the pee pad but wakes when she wants to poo - on the doormat as usual. I used to let her roam around while I got more sleep but this morning put her back in her crate after she poo'd and she slept again until gone 9am. By which time I should have been up.

Also I can put her in her crate [she jumps in] while I go across to the macolet or, as has been too often lately because of this skin infection, while I go to the doctor.

She's learning fast & will be a super little dog when she's gone pass the puppy stages xx

Tikva is definitely learning fast - it is just in between now and when she has learned that is the problem!

I know her dam is a standard doxie and her sire is "a little dog from across the road". Probably a minpin. Having checked on Google Images I can see both in Tikva and she seems to have the traits of both. But what is important is that she is happy. Bdooly nuisance at times but happy, and apart from house training she is doing rather good for her age.

And she is cute!

Baby teeth start falling out at 16 weeks (give or take a few days either side) and that's usually when the nipping starts to dwindle away.

What does she do if you look away and play statues for a second or so when she looks like starting to nip at you Malka? I've usually found it the most effective way to let 'em know you don't appreciate it

@Chris B - not so easy playing statues when I am in a chair and the little booga can climb up onto my feet and then my legs. But she is worth it - funny little girl that she is.

I keep having to remind myself that she was far too young to have come here and had no dam or siblings to teach her puppy behaviour. It is not just the nipping but the grasping my ankles - trying to pull my toe-post Crocs off - grabbing my clothes etc. But she will learn. She is still very young and still learning what is and what is not acceptable.

And when those needle teeth attack I have to remind myself that she had been too young to learn puppy behaviour from her dog family, which she never really got to know. But I know that if I had not taken her when I did, she would have ended like most unwanted puppies do - even my Ziva who was supposed to be looked after for a couple of days while I was in hospital.

Tikva will learn but I know it will be a slow process. She is a cross between two stubborn breeds and I have to give her time. Cuddles for her mean "yippee - arms to nip" although I do my best to get on the floor and play with her. And she does love her toys. She has Pereg's toys plus new ones I have bought for her, and she has finally learned how to play with them.

Now, if I can only convince her that puppy pee pads are for peeing on and not dragging around to be played with....

Incidentally, I have just weighed her. No more putting in a bowl on my kitchen scales and my bathroom scales, although digital, will not work as she will not keep still. So I weighed myself, then hoiked her up and weighed both of us, and I think she weighs about 1.8 kilos. And this was before she had had any breakfast, which at nearly 9.45 am she has yet to ask for.

Strange puppy - she is happy with just three meals a day at not quite 10 weeks old. But she is growing, she is seemingly healthy, and will sleep through the night until she needs a poo, her last meal being a [human] baby cereal mixed with a [human] baby powdered vegetables, mixed fairly thickly with some of her baby milk and some mineral water. She will pee on the pad in her crate but will not poo. That is usually reserved for the doormat - or anywhere. This morning her pee pad in her crate needed changing but once I had let her out after her initial wake-up call [which is when she wakes needing a poo] she actually did it on the pee pad in the salon, then came back into her crate for more sleep for both of us.

I do not understand this puppy.

How is that cute adorable lovely little Tikva doing Malka xxx

Cute, yes. Adorable yes. When sleeping that is.

Awake I have a getting larger but still very small mini monster whose idea of fun is to destroy the under fabric of the couch, piece by piece - it is the outer/under fabric which covers the wooden frame, if you understand what I mean. Oh and destroy my sanity, what little I have left.

And my feet and my Croc toeposts, the latter mainly when I am on the throne but she will also try to hang on to them if I am moving on my crutches. And do not ask about clothes within her reach...

So Tikva is learning to play with mummy Malka lol sounds like one very happy content little puppy xxx

Tikva thinks that mommy is a toy to play with - she is not really interested in playing games with me but she definitely has certain favourite toys and plays happily with them by herself.

She is proving very difficult to house train but we will get there - eventually.

Strange little puppy. I can see the Doxie in her but with a shorter back, longer legs, which are thinner than a Doxie, and smaller ears. But both her front legs and rear legs are set Doxie width apart as she has a wide chest. Very small waist though and except when she has a belly full after eating she has a high tuck. Her head is also growing in width but still far shorter than a Doxie in length. And she does not have turned out feet like a Doxie.

She has a long, thin, whippy tail like a Doxie - and she skitters about at full steam ahead. When she is not eating or sleeping of course! I wish she would stay still enough for me to take some photographs.

A lap-dog she certainly is not, unless I want my arms, chin and/or nose bitten, but she will grow out of that. Hopefully. And she is fitting in with my weird time clock of sleeping so that is OK - but it means that I cannot feed her at specific times. Seems to be suiting her though so I am not arguing about that.

Yeah, I reckon I will keep her!

Tikva has certainly fallen on her paws & is going to enjoy living with you Malka , as for the house training some puppies just take longer, I know a JRT puppy that is still living with his mum & is still not house trained (pup is now 8 months old) has for my hooligans they were totally house trained at 6 weeks old, it all depend on the puppy in question xx

Guess who has been to the great outdoors? All by herself? OK, only part the way up the ramp and on enough of the yard to have a nibble at some long dead weeds - and then came in to pee on the doormat. SIGH

I found some thin lightweight cord, made a loop one end to fit on the big clip Pereg's rope tether used to clip onto the thingie just inside the door - found an old lightweight leash [think it was LO's] and tied the cord to the holdie-wotsit, then clipped it onto her harness.

It is a start and gets her used to going outside - Avner is getting me some longer cord as the bit I have is not really that long - but she is learning that there is life outside. I cannot take her out on either of my scooters or my chair with her sitting on my lap, because she will not keep still - apart from chewing my chin and nose. Hopefully the carrying case I have bought will turn up soon so she can then "explore" the Moshav from my lap.

Definitely a strange puppy. She is very vocal but does not bark, but when she hears the ice-cream van instead of "singing" as LO and then Pereg did, she HOWLS. She also tends to walk about with her nose to the ground as if she is a scent dog.

But she is happy, she loves her food [except for kibble] and is doing great on frozen chicken necks and half chicken backs. I would prefer that she did not take them into her bed to eat, but until Nir can sort out some sort of puppy gate to keep her in the kitchen and yet make it easy for me to get in and out, there is not much I can do.

I used a washing line on one of my previous dog when he was a puppy to give him freedom in garden, when I at to remove my old fencing & put new fencing up plus it also kept him out of trouble but let him have a run about too x

Hmmm, @Malka.
Nose to ground. Howling rather than barking. This all sounds rather familiar to me, it looks like she's going to take after the Hoouuund side of her parentage.
And yes, Dachs can be hard to housetrain, particularly in rainy weather. Have you considered popping her in a puppy pen outdoors? I always worry about the possibility of them chewing through fabric based lines, and she is far too small for a cable.