Hi there, My Fiancé and I am looking at getting a baby daschund and I've heard that they can be barky. I can't have that where I live, so I was wondering if a calm "light spray of water in the face" method is considered effective, and if it's too mean to do to a younger dog?

Yes Dachshunds can be ''barky''. The spray in the face is a common technique. It is acceptable, but much of the dog world is moving toward more positive methods.

One very important thing is to carefully select the puppy.

Finding a good breeder and purchasing a puppy that will make a good pet is very difficult. Almost nobody is intentionally breeding dogs to be nice pets. Most of your so called reputable breeders are breeding for show or something. They may say the puppies they don't keep for their purpose make great pets, but the truth is that the parents were selected for other than health and temperament. Often they keep the puppies in the kennel too long and they miss the important early socialization puppies need to live in the house with people.

Next are the disreputable breeders. They breed any 2 registered dogs they can lay a hold of looking only at the money they can make selling them to pet stores. Pet store puppies are easy to find, but difficult to socialize into nice pets, perhaps difficult to even keep alive. You will not get what you pay for at a pet store.

One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue
Dogs. These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home
To be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them. You may
Find a rescue near you starting at
American Kennel Club - Breed Rescue The rescues charge a fee to help cover their expenses, but is much less than the price of a puppy plus all its medical expenses the first year.

www.petfinders is good too, but don't do the retraining and screening a good rescue does.

I agree with labman. We all know how cute puppies are, but it can be quite overwhelming if you haven't had one in a while. Training takes up a lot of your time and they don't learn overnight. It is a long process. If you aren't home enough to correct the barking, you might be well served to find a small dog that is older through the sources labman has suggested. If barking is the main issue, make that clear to the adoption agencies. There are so many great dogs that are thrown away. You might find an older one whose owner has died and there was no one there to take care of him/her. You have a much better chance of finding the right fit for your household by adopting a pet rather than taking a chance with an "unknown" or untested quantity such as a puppy can be.

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Originally Posted by enithermon

Hi there, My Fiance and I am looking at getting a baby daschund and I've heard that they can be barky. I can't have that where I live, so I was wondering if a calm "light spray of water in the face" method is considered effective, and if it's too mean to do to a younger dog?

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I have two miniature daschunds and water is not the answer! This will only make your dog afraid of you or water which is not a good result, my female is barky, my male is not, and I have found the most responsive training is clicker training or (and these cost a bit) ultra sonic collar (approx £80 - £100) These work my setting off a sound that only dogs can hear and do not like. It is a response to the dog barking. And I must say daschunds are the loveliest little dogs and excellent companions, they are so loyal so if their master does not like something. i.e the barking they will correct it.