Oleander

We have many Oleander bushes/trees around the house and we’re always cleaning up after flowers and leafs that continually fall off.  When we play outside with the dogs, we throw the ball in the opposite direction of the Oleanders towards the Sago Palm.  Some symptoms that your dog may have eating parts of an Oleander are:

• Severe vomiting
• Abnormal heart rate
• Weakness
• Shock
• Death

Sago Palm

Our single Sago Palm lies at the end path where the ball lands.  I didn’t even know that this plant was dangerous to our Dachshunds.  Sago Palm toxicity may include:

• Vomiting
• Bloody stools
• Liver failure
• Stomach lining damage
• Death

Tulip and Daffodil Bulbs

The Dachshund is a good digger with strong front legs that were breed to root out Badgers in Germany.  I often worried that our dogs would dig a hole and get out under the fence.  But they never have and have not “rooted” in our Tulip and Daffodil patch.   Lucky for us, these bulbs are toxic to dogs and may cause:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal pain
• Abnormal heart rate
• Changes in respiration

Azalea

Odie and Molly always eat the grass/weeds around one of our many Azalea bushes.  Who knows if they’re eating part of the Azalea while chomping down on a leaf?  At least they don’t have these symptoms:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Neurological signs
• Heart arrhythmias

We often wonder why our dogs occasionally get sick.  Perhaps our yard is not “pet safe” as we thought it was.  You may want to check around your house to see just how safe it is for your pet.  Please visit http://petpoisonhelpline.com or talk to your Vet for more information.

Over the ten years that we’ve had our dogs, we’ve tried just about every vacuum on the market and the only two that have survived the test of time are the Oreck and Dyson Vacuum cleaners.  The amount of money we wasted on the cheaper (well known named) brands easily would have paid for our more expensive vacuums we own today.

We fell in love with our Dyson canister from the moment we got it home.  It has incredible suction and keeps the dirt and dust inside the canister instead of spreading though out the house as you vacuum.  The only problem is that the air driven bush does not work well for pet hair on our medium pile carpet.  The power cord was too short making it difficult to cover some of the rooms in our house.  Eventually we gave it away to my mother who lives in a small apartment and suffers with COPD making it a perfect vacuum for her.

We didn’t know how dirty our carpets were until we cleaned them with the Oreck XL.  The hypo-allergenic filtration system keeps the dust and dirt in the bag so it doesn’t go spewing back out into the room.  The bags hold an incredible amount of dirt so you don’t have to empty it so often like you do in bagless systems.

The light-weight design is perfect for the stairs, but again, it is designed to work on low pile carpeting.   You can get a really good workout on your biceps and triceps with this vacuum.  Even though this is probably the best vacuum for dog hair – and we continue to use it to clean our stairs — the upper body strength it takes to clean our caused us switch back to Dyson.

The Dyson Animal upright is what we use to clean our carpets every week.  The short comings of the canister were eliminated with a 25’ power cord and a motorized brush that even picks up the baby-fine fur that Molly sheds.  The large wheels make vacuuming nearly effortless and are the main reason we can vacuum our house in less than fifteen minutes.

The main problem is with Dyson is that it is a bagless system and you have to empty the canister outside.  (Remember to stand up wind when you drop the contents into the trash.)   But other than that, it is a really good vacuum for our carpet.

So which vacuum is best for cleaning pet hair?  The Dyson Animal and Oreck XL are the best vacuums that we’ve ever owned for cleaning up after our Dachshunds.  Unlike cheaper vacuums, the exceptional quality of these brands will last for many years even though the prices are substantially higher.  But do you really want to sacrifice when buying the best vacuum for pet hair?

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F/S Dyson DC17 Absolute Animal Bagless Upright Vacuum US $349.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 19:03:39 PDT Add to watch list

Is it normal for a dashund to shiver? Not only when it is cold outside but when he’s on your lap.  I heard it’s a sign of back problems. Thank you in advance.

Thanks for the question! First off, I’m not a Vet, and if you have any medical questions about your pet, you should seek the advice of a Veterinarian.  Your Dachshund may have injured himself or may need other medical attention.   Your Vet will perform an examination with perhaps an x-ray to determine if your pet has back problems.

However, from my experience with my Three Dachshunds, shivering is often an indication of pain or distress.  It may or may not be related to a back problem.

Odie is a short-haired and the girls are long-haired.  Odie frequently sleeps underneath a blanket because he is cold.  It could be the middle of the summer and he still requires that extra warmth to keep from shivering.  This is why we buy dog sweaters for him.

One hot summer night, Odie came out of the covers to lie on top of my chest shivering as if it was the middle of winter.  It turned out that his stomach was upset because his dog food didn’t agree with him.  After I took him outside to potty, he was back to normal.

Odie also shivers when he goes for a ride.  He seems a little nervous and insecure.  Most of his rides have ended up at the Vet due to his back problems so he tends to get scared when riding in a car.

On the other hand, when Chloe injured her back in the past, she shivered when you gently pressed along the side of her spine.  She also gets very tense and tightens her back muscles when you pick her up.  She does not shiver despite her problems when laying on my lap.

So is there a definitive answer why Dachshunds shiver?  The most common cause is to illness or injury. But the only way to tell is to have your Vet examine your pet for the distress that is causing your dog to shiver.

We would like to help, but we already have three cute Doxies and my wife would just kill me if I got another. But if you’re in the Atlanta area, please contact DREAM.

I really enjoyed her articles especially, “How to Puppy Proof Your Home.” I found that keeping our Daschunds in confined areas when they were puppies really helped protect them.

This is especially true with Molly who was always chewing on electric cords and our expensive coffee table legs.

1. It’s not chew proof – Doxies like to chew on things
2. It’s cheap – Doxies like really expensive things
3. It’s not the right size – Doxies are long but small
4. It’s not washable – I wash their beds more often than they get baths.
5. It doesn’t suit your dog – All Doxies sleep under the covers, they’re cold natured.

Needless to say, we have a nice urine stains in the room making it somewhat embarrassing to have guests stay in that room.

I just got a link request from PetStainRemoval where they are offering a free sample of their urine removal solution they want you to try. You apply it to the spot and 1 to 8 hrs it’s gone! With three Dashunds, I’m sure I’ll need the gallon solution to clean up that guest room.

But for many dachshund owners, they cannot afford the cost of surgery which leads to putting down their favorite doxie or leaving him paralyzed for life.

Check with your Vet to see what plans are offered.

You want a pet health insurance plan that will meet your financial needs as well as be accepted by your local veterinarian.

Reading Tinu’s blog over the past two years has given me insight on how to SEO Three Miniature Dachshunds – even if it’s an insignificant blog about three special Dachshunds – whom I love dearly. Because of her, you found that Lost Dachshund Site on Yahoo.

Thank you Tinu, you’re #1.

Chloe, Odie, Molly and Howard