You are probably thinking that we’re crazy, but I’m afraid you are wrong and that after our three go onto their happy hunting ground to chase kitties in the life after, we won’t be getting any more puppies.

It’s not like we don’t like Dachshunds, we just want to enjoy our later years without the companionship only a Dachshund can give you — lots of love and puppy kisses.  Plus, if our Dachshunds live up to their full potential of 25 years, we’ll be into our retirement age.  It’s just getting a little late in our life to get another dog.

I believe the root of the problem is that, like children, they’re sort of tied to you.  With three of them, it makes it difficult to get away on a vacation without adequate planning or having a house sitter over for a week or two.

Once we get down to one or two, I believe that we will take an extended vacation with our lucky dogs, whichever are the last two surviving.  I know that is kind of grim, but traveling with three of them is nearly impossible and I don’t even want to think about which two are the lucky dogs.

So I can only imagine what life would be like without our Dachshunds.  Pretty sad since they are fantastic companions.  But at some point in time future we are going to see some cute Dachshund puppies and have to remind ourselves that he is for another nice young family who can give him a good home.

Their usuual schedule is right when we wake up — or when they wake us up — right before we go off to work and the many times during the evening when we’re home.

But what about when it’s raining. Schedules are all messed up and dachshunds are afraid of getting wet and simply run outside to get muddy paws and not do the business they’re suppose to.   I end up wet ’cause I have to go outside with them to make sure that they actually did something.  Multiply that x3 and I get the wettest because you know they have to go out one-by-one…

So how do you know when it’s time to let your dogs out when it’s raining?  It’s so simple, you just check the WunderMap Radar Weather Map for the 3doxies and you just wait until it’s not raining over your house.

Today it was 5:18AM when there was a large pocket of blue-gray skys with a slight mist that the radar was not picking up.  We had to move fast and Miss Sleepy Head Chloe was not going to get out of bed.  No way.  Odie who was up 1/2 hour early did the in and out thing since he was just at the tail end of the rain.   He managed to hold it until the front passed by.

I cannot vouch for Molly but she can hold on for a while… and for the looks of it, she’ll have to wait for a least another hour to potty until this next front passes by…

What makes a really good bed for dogs to sleep in?

Dogs naturally sleep in a curled position with their nose tucked between their legs for warmth and security, so a round bed should provide the most comfort for them.  They also like to lay with their back next to something for the additional snuggly warmth and security.

This is why Odie loves to sleep under the covers of our bed curled up in a ball behind the back of our legs.  It is truly wonderful for him, but literally a pain in the back for us.   We had to banish Chloe from our bed because she sleeps on top of the covers next to the edge and I’ve pushed her off the side more than once with my restless sleeping habits.

Keeping this in mind, which beds – besides our bed – do our dogs like?

Donut Dog Beds

If you don’t know what a Donut Dog Bed is, it’s simply a big round pillow shaped like a donut.  The donut forms a circular pillow rim with an attached bottom.  The “donut hole” is a rounded pillow that lies in the center of donut.

We purchased one of these for Odie after he injured his back and was recovering from his paralysis.  The low soft rim was easy for him to get in and out of even when he had little use of his hind legs. We keep it nearby the fireplace and all three our dogs routinely sleep in it during the day.

Lounger Dog Beds

The Lounger Dog Bed is an oval with sides that are about 8” high.  We place a blanket on top of it and they curl up under the covers.  Some Loungers come with pillows but our Dachshunds have no preference and will sleep on top and under the pillow depending on how silly they are.

As part of our 2010 “get the dogs out of our bed” resolution, we bought two new loungers from Costco.  For about $20 each, the Kirkland Signature brand is one of the better dog beds that we’ve found.   Molly loves her new comfy bed and prefers it to sleeping on the couch.

Dirty Clothes Laundry Basket

Yes, Chloe loves to sleep in the dirty clothes laundry basket.  We use a grey laundry basket to carry our dirty clothes downstairs to the laundry room which Chloe promptly hops into and falls asleep.  She’s been doing this since she was a puppy, but now that she’s older, she has trouble getting into it and starts whimpering for someone to pick her up and put her into “bed.”

We placed one of Lounger Beds next to the laundry basket and now she uses it as a foot stool to hop into her bed.  So much for retraining her…

The main problem is Odie. Getting him to sleep in his new bed will become a chore.  Even if we remove the stairs from the bed to help our dogs get up into it, he can still jump up where Molly and Chloe cannot.   I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of crying, but that’s how they ended up in our bed in the first place.

It’s really simple; just group your three Dachshunds together, take a family picture of the puppies, upload the photo and order the cards.

Simple. About as simple as herding cats.

Chloe likes to sleep all day; Odie likes to play all day; Molly likes to hide behind my desk where she come out for air.

I can trick them all together for that once-in-a-lifetime Christmas pose by blowing through a squeaker from one of their dog balls, but all I get is a bunch of scattered brained Dachshunds looking for a stupid ball.

They know it’s coming from my mouth and they think I’m chewing on their ball.  But when I get down to shoot picture, they lick the camera or worse, my mouth.

Not a pretty sight or a picture that I can print for the Christmas Cards I’m planning to send out.

Vintage Christmas Card CHILD & DOG 1960s Dachshund US $5.94 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 19:14:51 PDT Add to watch list

Dachshund w/ Holly 1912 New Christmas Note Cards US $12.45 End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 10:38:52 PDT Add to watch list

Dachshund Dog w/ Beanie Cap New Christmas Note Cards US $12.45 End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 10:38:54 PDT Add to watch list

Dachshund Puppy REICHERT 1915 New Christmas Note Cards US $12.45 End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 10:38:57 PDT Add to watch list

Dachshund Dog & Kittens 1911 ~ New Christmas Note Cards US $12.45 End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 12:04:53 PDT Add to watch list

Dachshund Dogs CARL REICERT ~ New Christmas Note Cards US $12.45 End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 12:04:56 PDT Add to watch list

NEW Pkg of 6 Red Dachshund Christmas Cards US $7.97 End Date: Tuesday Aug-03-2010 21:22:20 PDT Add to watch list

According to Chloe’s Vet, Dr. T., Deramaxx is a non-steroid anti-inflammatory pain medication which reduces the swelling and pain.  Since Dachshunds are a small dogs, about 12mg is the approximate dosage.

Typically, Deramaxx is used to relief arthritis problems in older dogs, but it has been working quite well for our Dachshunds with back problems.

We’re still observing Chloe for a few days to make sure that she didn’t rupture a disk, but for now the Deramaxx is working and she’s a happy camper cause she’s getting all the special attention for being sick.

She started off the day by trying to onto the couch only to bounce backwards twisting her back and hitting her head on the coffee table.

She was well enough to go to PetSmart to get a new ball where she managed to play with it in the car until we got home.  Then her little sister took the ball away…

By night time, Chloe was hunched up in pain.  She had one more Dermaxx which seem to get her through the night.  She’s still having some problems this morning and is going to the Vet.

The new PetSmart store well within walking distance and I can only imagine how often they’re going to get a new ball as a reward.

The store is very clean and outfitted with lots of oops stations.  I can never understand how dog owners let their dogs pee and poop in the store, but it does happen.  I guess they just get excited about all the toys, treats and other dogs running around marking their territory.

The store was surprisingly empty, but it’s a brand new shopping center and PetSmart hasn’t done much advertising to announce the opening.  There was a little dachshund puppy named Andie joyously and curiously inspecting the squeaky toys I was testing.  (Of course I picked the loudest toy!)   Andie approved of the selection so we bought a set of three.

Our Doxies Like the Newbury Park PetSmart and can’t wait to return.

The first time Chloe when to work, she peed on the carpet on top where another Take Your Dog to Work Day dog previously peed. Apparently she’s housebroken but not office broken.

Then while I’m trying to work, she just had to sit in my lap which basically made it impossible to work. Eventually she settled down and slept at my feet until…

Someone poked their head in my cube and she let out one fierce bark. The sound of it was magnified 10x because she was under the desk so she must have sounded like a really big dog.

Odie was the same way. He would climb into my lap an try to sleep. He was worse than Chloe since his boney legs really start poking into you after a while. Too bad he doesn’t have a little more padding like Chloe.

The President of the Company I was working for at the time had several Dacshunds and just had to take Odie for a walk around company to show him off. I went to pick Odie up a little later in his office only to find that Odie left a nice little doggy sausage for me to cleanup.

So today is Take Your Dog to Work Day. It’s Molly’s turn. It should be interesting. Dachshunds are not office broken.

His recorded message, said “If this is truly a pet emergency, please call …”

It was obvious that Molly was in distress; her right eye swollen shut. We were outside most of the afternoon working in the backyard. Did she get something in it? Was she stung by an insect?

Is this truly an “emergency?” Thinking back, when Chloe was stung by an insect, it was simply Benadryl and baby aspirin. The problem I had was that I couldn’t remember the dose. And Molly didn’t have the allergic “swollen face” reaction like Chloe had.

Yes, this was an emergency. We drove Molly over the the Thousand Oaks Animal Hospital to have her examined. Of course, as soon as we get there, her eye opened up and I’m starting to get embarrassed for my over reaction, especially …

When all the dogs coming in we’re real emergencies. A dog fight here, a stabbing there. I’m starting to feel like I’m at the County Hospital.

It took about an hour for them to see Molly. The first thing they asked was “does she need to be muzzled?” Strange question coming from a Vet. Yes. Her eye is painful and you want to examine it. You want to take her rectal temperature? Yes, like you, she hates things getting inserted in it. (And she certainly hates dryer sheets getting pulled from it.)

She’s running a fever. Good that’s a start. Her body is fighting an infection. The Vet drops local anesthetic into both eyes. Says he’ll back in 5 minutes. Fifteen go by. He’s now looking at the paw of the stabbed German Shepard puppy which got in the way when it’s owner dropped a knife from the kitchen counter top.

He comes back with a technician. Apparently I’m not doing a very good job at holding Molly, cause she’s violently trying to escape my hold. The technician does a great job and the Vet finally tells us that he needs to put in one more set of drops in 15 minute intervals, and then put in a stain to examine her eyes for any scratches or debris.

Exactly what I needed to hear. They do the last set of drops, wait. Stain. Wait. Come back and examine Molly’s glowing yellow stained eyes. One more test… Tonometry to test the pressure and Molly goes off to the back room for the test and comes back 15 minutes later.

We wait around for another 45 minutes to check us out of the Hospital. The receptionist starts going over the Dr’s instructions for the medicine. except that the Vet never came back to tell us what was Molly’s problem. The Dr. is on the phone. Wait another 15.

Tentative diagnosis: anterior uveitis OD, idiopathic. He doesn’t know if it was blunt trauma or bacterial. He treats her for the inflammation, pain and an antibiotic; two different drops and one pill for pain and inflammation. Start treatment tonight.

After 4 hours, it’s nearly the next day by the time we get home from the Thousand Oaks Animal Hospital. We’re all tired, but Molly is really good and lets me put the drops in her eye. She didn’t need a muzzle after all.

Cafepress is a very interesting site. I found out about it about a year ago when I wanted to create some coffee mugs for my business. You simply upload an image, place an order and you get coffee mugs. Of course, once you create the product you can then sell them to customers directly from the sight.

When I find the right pictures, I’m planning to create a few “Dachshund” mugs of the Three Doxies. Perhaps a dachshund t-shirt of Molly would be a real sweet gift I can make for my wife. (She just loves Molly to death.)

Now, back to my original thought; the ad said “One Dachshund is never enough.” Whomever, came up with that slogan had to get that idea from Three Dachshunds.com. I don’t know how many times I’ve told my wife that “three dachshunds is never enough,” but she’s threated me with divorce if I ever looked at another Doxie.

So now I just collect all sorts of Dachsund things from coffee cups to paintings. I just know I’m going to spend all my time and money at cafepress.com.