How Many Puppies Can a Miniature Dachshund Have

Are Dachshunds Good With Other Dogs? (A Complete Analysis)

In the most straightforward sense: No! Dachshunds are not good with other dogs. This notion might come as a surprise to some of you because Dachshunds are sweet little sausage dogs that everyone loves.

We have seen many different breeds of animals fighting among themselves and refusing to coexist in peace with anyone else, and unfortunately, Dachshunds are one of those animals.

No doubt about the fact that they refuse to coexist with other animals, but most times, they refuse to coexist with other Dachshunds too. 

Most Dachshunds enjoy the sole attention of their parents and are inheritably drawn to defensive mechanisms when it comes to other animals and sharing attention.

In this article, we will go through the reasons why Dachshunds are not good with other dogs, what to do if you have to keep Dachshunds with other animals, and how you can teach your Dachshund to be calm and friendly with other animals.

We will also name some of the animal breeds that have shown a quick connection with Dachshund, and the pair might make a good pet duo for your house. 

Table of Contents

    Reasons Why Dachshunds Don’t Get Along With Other Dogs/Animals:

    Here are some common reasons that will explain why Dachshunds are not good with other dogs:

    Dachshunds Are Hound Dogs 

    The biggest reason why Dachshunds do not get along with other dogs is that they are from the breed of hounds. Hounds are a breed of dogs that are known for their ruthless defenses and angry nature.

    This breed is mostly kept as a guard dog, and it is in their inherent nature to provide safety to their parent and themselves. 

    Such dogs do not let anyone in, and their parent also has to spend considerable time with them to pass that fight or flight response. Because of these characteristics, they are defensive against most animals and thus do not get along with them. 

    Other than most animals, Dachshunds feel a need to be defensive around other Dachshunds as well because they sense aggression in each other.

    They cannot simply give up their guard and let the other Dachshund take our attention. This is natural for Dachshunds and makes them unlikely to be friendly and playful with other dogs or animals. 

    Personal Space 

    Dachshund loves their personal space. While most dogs love to be playful and touchy as a sign of their love and affection, dachshunds stay away from physical touches.

    This might be a different case when it comes to a Dachshund and their parent because they like to be patted and have their belly rubbed. 

    If a Dachshund somehow gets over his defense mechanisms and lets someone in, it might get disturbed. The personal space of a Dachshund might get crowded or breached by the other animals, which annoys and irritates them.

    This will only cause more aggression in the Dachshund which won’t be healthy for the parent, the other pet, or your Dachshund.

    Attention Seeking

    If you are a Dachshund parent, you would know how much attention and love a Dachshund requires daily. It is a full-time job to cater to the needs of a Dachshund and make them feel welcomed, loved, and reassured.

    are dachshunds clingy

    This is because if you do not make them feel this way, the Dachshunds will experience separation anxiety which is far worse for healing than just giving them time in the first place. 

    However, not all Dachshunds will quickly fall into feeling separation anxiety. The time may differ for all of them, but it is a very big point to look after. If the same sort of love and care is being showered on another dog or pet, the Dachshund will show aggression. 

    This aggression will take a toll on their normal behavior, and you will see a considerable change in their actions.

    You can, however, try to keep the love-giving equal, but it is highly unlikely that it would be perceived well by your Dachshund. 

    Size and Age of Dachshunds

    The size and age of a Dachshund play a very important role in his developing nature.

    If from a young age, your Dachshund has not socialized and learned to play or share with fellow pets or other animals, it will surely grow up to be defensive and aggressive towards other pets because he has not experienced this at an early age. 

    The size of a Dachshund is another important factor. Anything larger than the size of the Dachshund itself will be perceived as a threat. So naturally, it will not be playful with them and will cause turmoil. 

    Nature of Dachshunds

    All the reasons that we have read about till now point to one collective reason only. To summarize, the Dachshund does not get along well with other dogs because it is in their inherent nature as a hound dog.

    You cannot change the inherent nature of a dog, but you can certainly find a way around it or suppress it healthily. 

    How To Keep a Dachshund and Other Dogs/Animals Together?

    In the case that you need to keep your Dachshund with another Dachshund, another dog, or another animal without losing your sanity and peace, here are some points that will help you:

    • Try to keep the two pets at a distance at all times. Their eating and drinking bowls should be in separate places. Most importantly, their toys should be separate and away from each other’s reach. 
    • Try not to love one pet in front of the other. This creates a sense of competition and attention-seeking, which will only worsen things. 
    • Try to talk to them about their habits and reward them when they do something good and nice. 
    • After some time, when you have established that they will not be harmful to each other, try to make them participate in the friendly activity. 
    • Dachshund will become softer towards the other pet if he sees that it is not a threat, so try to show your Dachshund that. 
    • Take your Dachshund and the other pet out together so the Dachshund can focus on defending you against other animals rather than the one whose leash is in your hand. 

    Following these points, you will probably reduce aggression. 

    two dachshunds by the lake

    What Animals Are Dachshunds Friendly With?

    Any animal that does not threaten the Dachshund and its parents can be considered friendly by the Dachshund. It is as simple as that.

    This does not mean that the Dachshund will be all friendly with them, but it only means that they will not show any aggression towards them. 

    Their guards will still be up and maintain a safe distance while keeping their personal space and attention-seeking activities intact. They might ease on the fellow pets with time, but it is still a very big maybe. 

    Here is a list of animals that you can keep as a pet, and your Dachshund will not be bothered about it:

    • Rabbits
    • Chickens 
    • Hamsters
    • Fish 
    • Parrots and different House Birds 

    All the animals listed above have one thing in common, they are inherently domestic and do not pose a threat to anyone.

    Rabbits and hamsters are some of the most loveable and cozy animals that people keep. They pose no threat and therefore make great pairs with Dachshunds. 

    The same goes for different fish and house birds, but these can be tricky. Make sure the bowl of your fish is out of your Dachshund’s reach, and your bird’s cage is also closed and higher from the ground and out of Dachshund’s reach.

    Even though the fish and birds pose no threats, the Dachshund may be tempted by each one. 

    Final Words

    In this article, we went through the reasons why Dachshunds are not good with other dogs, we explored the possible suggestions for making it work between a Dachshund and other pets, and finally, we talked about some of the animals that will be best suitable to pair up with a Dachshund. 

    We now know that due to the inherent nature of a Dachshund and his lineage of hound dogs, they are naturally defensive and do not welcome dogs and other animals that may cause hurt or damage to themselves or their parents. 

    The best way to keep a Dachshund with another dog is to ease their transition in all ways possible and make sure you give adequate love and care to both pets. This will reassure them and make things easier. 

    In the end, we hope you found everything that you were looking for and had a pleasant read. 

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