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A Rare Moment of Sweetness

I understand that not everyone wants to see a dozen pictures of Oscar every day but I have a couple of friends who have recently lost pets and they tell me how much they love seeing pictures of Oscar and hearing stories about him. Also, I can go back years from now and see these pictures and I love that. I think you all know how much I love that little ball of energy and sharp teeth!

He was 10 months old Friday. We’re getting so close to the first birthday. Every time I say I expect him to calm down by then, a long time reader who has done doxie rescue for years says “He’s a piebald and he’s short haired . . he isn’t going to calm down til he’s 2 years old.” Every time I see that comment, I pray she’s wrong but I know she isn’t and I’m thankful for the warning.

At the end of almost every day, I am so thankful that we got Oscar . . for several reasons. First, someone who has never had a dachshund maybe would have taken him to a shelter by now. We have a friend who got a dog that was part dachshund and he was so wild and crazy, she couldn’t keep him. Oscar is a high energy dog and he is probably as hard headed and determined as they come. I have a squirt bottle next to my chair and I must use a different tone when I say “OSCAR!” and I’m getting ready to squirt him. He immediately starts blinking (even though I don’t ever hit him in the face with the water) but he rarely stops doing whatever it is he’s doing. He just takes the squirts and keeps on! Sometimes if it’s something he can run with, he’ll run behind the sofa as soon as I pick up the squirt bottle.

Second, if someone had gotten Oscar and they had small children, I doubt that would have been a match made in heaven. He plays rough! When he comes at you and he’s excited, even though he’s only 15 pounds, if we aren’t expecting it, he can almost cause us to lose our balance. Chad was probably 3 or 4 and we had a Great Dane. He was the sweetest dog but he was a rescue (as in showed up at our house and wouldn’t leave and we couldn’t find his owner) and had his long tail. He would wag his tail and knock Chad over. As Chad got older, he loved Rusty but when he was little, he did not want the dog near him and I can understand why.

Yes, some might have more discipline than we have but he is a dachshund and they are known for being difficult to discipline. He knows the meaning of NO. Sometimes/often, the benefit of ignoring our commands outweighs the value of listening to us. He is so potty trained. Even I can’t believe how good he does. It’s probably been four months or more since he had an accident in the house, other than the other day when I was gone for a few hours and he was happy to see me and I’m not considering that because he didn’t mean to do it and he was embarrassed. Yesterday we were outside and he goes right out and does his business like clockwork. I told Vince “I can’t believe how good he’s doing with going to the bathroom outside!” Vince said “You weren’t saying that six months ago.” No, six months ago, I was wondering if he would ever get trained and then it was like overnight . . he got it!

Yesterday while reading his DNA report, I kept researching and one question was “Are Dachshunds smart?” I think the answer was something like “Average. They’re #92 on the list of smartest dogs.” That’s not super smart! But the article went on to say they are actually much smarter but because they are so hard headed and determined to do what they want when they want to do it, that factors into their “smartness” assessment.

For now, I’ll enjoy the few seconds that he’s sitting in my chair with me and not trying to steal my floss or shred the chart.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. i grew up with common red/brown dachshunds and almost all were females. we did have one wire-haired male and he was so sweet. i think i liked him more because he was unusual. my mom always said of them they were so stubborn because they were german. being german herself, i guess she knew ;0) they were all great dogs, and all were named heidi. the male was named when we got him, papered and had a long name that included “daiquiri” so we called him “doc” and he was “my dad’s dog.” i’ve had fun reading your oscar stories and really like his interesting color.

    Do you remember if you could tell a difference in male vs. female personalities?

    • My first one was red – solid red and I was young and crazy and probably didn’t do so great raising him. I was single and that dog was pretty much my life for his first 8 or so years. Speck was the second one and he was black/gray/white dapple. He was hard headed and determined but he was sweet and loved sitting with me. That’s funny that all yours except the one were named Heidi.

  2. I love Oscar stories! I can’t get enough of them. So please keep on posting! He is such a cutie!! Reminds me of how Quincy acts. Quincy is doing great with his wheelchair! It is funny watching him run in it! But I am so glad he has accepted it and knows he can go outside and do his duty and come back in!

    • I’m so glad he got it and has accepted it. I’m betting he doesn’t even know he’s a bit different. Y’all take such good care of him.

  3. I grew up with a long-haired, beautiful dachshund, smartest dog ever, kind, fun-loving, and could be stubborn, yes, but decades later I still miss that dog.

    • I understand. I think I’ll always miss Speck. A picture of him popped up on my Facebook memories today and almost made me cry.

  4. A friend of mine has Bassets and they are extremely hard-headed too! She has a female named “Charlie”, but most of the time her name is “Bad Girl Charlie” or “No No Charlie”. LOL She has a male too, and he listens a tiny bit better than his sister.

  5. Yes, smooth coat and Pie Bald = stubborn with a very wild streak for a couple years. . My male longhair only listens to me. He’s a red brindle silver dapple. Irritates Toby to no end, especially when I tell Neuschie a command and he will listen. Right now only longhairs here as those are my favourites. Wired Hairs are the comedians of the Dachshund family as they have a terrier gene. My little cream girl is a submissive pee-er. Sweetest ever but very submissive. Keep the Oscar stories and photos coming. If I see an OSCAR heading I open it first. Then Funny Vince, then cooking. LOL

    • Until you told me this, I never knew their coloring and hair coat made a difference. After I did the research, I saw that longhairs are the least bull headed but I’m not a fan of long haired dogs.

  6. Love this photo of Oscar boy at the laptop! There is just something about that face and nose. Your Speck was a fine little guy, I’m sure, but Oscar just seems extra special through your comments and those expressions on his face. I swear I can see an expression that says, ” Oh I love doing things just to get into trouble!!! Keep those pictures coming. An always dog lover; my fav breed is the yellow lab, but I think a standard poodle might be a fun and intelligent dog as well, but my fav that is like a grandkid that you can enjoy and then send back home is Oscar! I can enjoy your posts and photos of him but I don’t have to live with him!

    • That’s a very funny comment and exactly right. Oscar is the one that’s funny to be around but more fun when he goes home. We do have so much fun with him but he is not the kind of dog, at least for now, that anyone would ever volunteer to keep at their home for a week.

  7. Me, I want to see a dozen pictures of Oscar everyday – LOL! We got a new little Pekingese in April after our beloved Peke Lilly passed away two years ago at 14. Savannah is NOT Lilly – ha ha! She has a totally different personality and seems to be a lot more rambunctious than Lilly was (or maybe I’m just not remembering the puppy years very well). She has calmed down a bit over the past few months and hopefully that will continue. I also hope she becomes more cuddly – she likes her space. But, we love her to bits and she is so darn cute!

    • Ah, thanks! I know some just aren’t interested in dog pictures but Oscar is such a big part of our lives, it’s hard to blog without including him.

      Sounds like your Savannah and Lily are/were a lot like Oscar and Speck. I also wonder if I’ve just forgotten how bad the puppy years were with Speck. Even when Vince and I are not at home, we’re constantly talking about Oscar and his antics. He’s worth every minute of the trouble he creates.

  8. Add me to the list of those who love seeing and hearing of Oscar and his antics. I live vicariously through this! I’m happy to say we will be getting another source of endless entertainment by next spring. (Have to get hubs through his next knee replacement next month first.) I’m so excited!

    • Great! What breed did you decide to get? Good luck on the knee replacement.

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