[michaelgnocchi81]

Hi everyone!

I’m going to be bringing home a mini dachshund puppy in a couple of weeks and I want the best for her. I’m so grateful for the ratings on this site and forums but I’m still not sure what to feed her as a puppy than as an adult.

I was hoping for some suggestions from people or from dachshund owners themselves.

Thanks 🙂

[theBCnut]

My piece of advice is not about what you feed but how much. As a vet tech for many years, the most common reason we saw for having a dachshund put down was overfeeding. Please, please, please, always keep your dachshund light and athletic. Thin and strong will keep her back in good shape. Consider finding a book on yoga for dogs and training her to do yoga moves for core muscle strength. You are in for so much fun!! Congrats on the new puppy!!

[michaelgnocchi81]

Thank you pattyvaughn for the response! One thing I’m going to have to do is train myself to not over feed her. I know they can easily put on weight because their so small and of course can lead to their back problems. I’m nervous but excited as she’ll be my first dog and I just want the best for her 🙂

Do you recommend any food I can give her during clicker training? Something that won’t put weight on her?

[theBCnut]

If it has calories, it can put weight on so just adjust her meal size. My dogs work the hardest for real meat treats, so I’ve been using freeze dried dog food for treats. The one I’m using is called Vital Essentials and my dogs are crazy for it.

[suesue2013]

I had both my Dachshund females 5 & 6, NOT related on Natural Balance for 4 years and they both are now diabetic and I am convinced it is the Natural Balance. They are on Vet Diabetic food and taking shots twice a day, each. Be careful with the little girl. Bob

[michaelgnocchi81]

Sorry for what you and your girls are going through, Bob. Thanks for the heads up about Natural Balance though.

[ZeeAndPalmer]

Enjoy your new little doxie! I have two rescued doxies, ages about 6 and 7 years, and every time we go to the vet they comment on how great their weights are. I am careful about the amount of food they get, but it’s the treats that add up! Mine LOVE carrots, fresh or canned UNSALTED green beans, and ooooo blueberries! I went to a dachshund race event a few weeks back and was stunned at the number of grossly overweight, unhealthy dogs I saw there, and these people purportedly knew how to care for dachshunds! Now I understand why my vet loves me so much 🙂
I have fed Wellness Super5Mix Small Breed for most of their lives; the smaller one is now on PUrina JM (joint mobility) food (I am not a Purina fan but the vet visited the company and recommends it highly – she IS less creaky in the hips since we switched) – I am considering a switch/addition to either Taste of the Wild or Innova EVO – it’s been suggested that a slightly higher protein level with different protein and carb sources would be beneficial. Still studying!

[ZeeAndPalmer]

Oh also, despite my dogs’ great weight and body size, my small girl still went down in the back last winter. Dachshunds are STUBBORN and INDEPENDENT, and even though we keep gates on the stairs and ramps by the bed, she still jumped and ran – and it caught up with her. She’s almost 100% after surgery 6 months ago, but it was an expensive journey. Looking back, other than carrying her everywhere, there’s really no way we could have prevented it – doxies go their own way.
Good luck with the training and try to minimize the factors that you know will contribute to problems, and deal with the problems when they occur 😉

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