For the past year I cook the Dachshunds chicken and pumpkin dog food.  It is extremely healthy for them and has enough fiber to help with the anal glads which Odie has a problem with.

It is a real simple recipe where I place two frozen chicken breasts purchased in bulk from Costco and add in a half-pound of frozen squash and cook on high for about 15 minutes.

The food comes out steaming hot and takes about 5 minutes for it to cool of before the dogs can eat it.  So I prepare it and leave it out on the counter top to cool but Chloe starts barking and Odie starts whining and Molly eventually chimes in.

It’s not too bad of a dish if you add some salt and pepper for yourself.

It’s been raining here in Dachshund land for the past four days… and you need to make every effort to find the right time to let your dogs out to potty…

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…

If this is a true statement – “Small Dog Beds are for Dachshunds” – why do our dogs chose to sleep in the largest bed in the house?  It’s because, it their bed and not our bed. So, this year, we’re planning to “wiener” our Dachshunds from our King sized bed into their own individual small dog beds.

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.

We receive an email from a reader with a Dachshund that shivers:

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.

It’s a few months to Christmas, and I’ve decided that we’re going to send out Dachshund Christmas Cards.   Doesn’t this sound like a great idea?

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.

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It seems that our Dachshunds go through a lot of dog balls.  Perhaps it the constant chewing on the yummy plastic or latex that makes them only last a few days, but the real culprit is Molly.  She simply destroys the ball trying to get that little squeaker out.

I always bought a pair of dog balls when we only had Chloe and Odie, but now with the third one, I usually end up getting three balls.  Of course, they all want the same ball regardless if there are two or three new balls to play with, so now I only get one for them to fight over.

Since these toys do not last very long, I buy the cheapest ball from PetSmart.  The 99 cent plastic ball is very durable and lasts longer than more expensive latex balls.   Plus, Molly does not rip the plastic balls to shreds.

We have to be really careful with latex balls since Molly will eat the pieces of rubber that she chewed off to get to the squeaky center.

This means that we have to supervise her when she is playing with latex dog balls.  No more than a few minutes or so and the ball goes back up on the shelf until it’s playtime again.

This makes the ball last about a week while the plastic ones are ignored lying on the carpet.

I’m somewhat surprised that they don’t like to play with tennis balls.  Tennis balls are a little harder to handle with a smaller mouth and don’t have that squeaky factor.

Occasionally, they get a rubber dog ball to play with but those don’t last very long with Dachshunds.  A couple of chews and they split down the middle or a huge chunk of rubber vanishes or is left behind on the carpet to clean up.

Now if I can train our dogs on how to use a dog ball launcher like “Jerry the Dachshund,” I could get more work done.  But where’s the fun in that?

You never know what’s going to happen when you’re minding your business and all of a sudden you’re broadsided by a SUV and its rear bumper is crunching down on the top of your hood.  Miss June bug was lucky she was not hurt — other than her cute Lexus IS Station Wagon — but it hit close to home since Chloe usually has her head hanging out the window while we take our weekly ride traversing the same path MJB took.

The pleasant ride down Olsen Road, left onto Moorpark and through windy Norwegian Grade to get some fresh country air.  (I know MJB is wondering how I safely navigate the Grade with a dog on my lap with its head out the window.  Let’s just say it takes a lot of practice and slow driving.)  You never would expect that an accident would occur in the peaceful suburbs of Thousand Oaks.

Chloe, our “riding dog,” truly is accustomed to and an expert at sitting on your left leg while taking in the 40 MPH breeze with her dog goggles on.  The countless rides she enjoyed to her favorite Fast Food — always friendly to the Mc Donald’s cashier — may have to end because she just won’t ride buckled up.

We have a dog seat belt harness — somewhere — purchase because Odie was constantly jumping back and forth from the passenger seat to my lap when he was going to his weekly obedience training at PetSmart.  Somehow he would manage to wiggle out of it by the time we were speeding along on the freeway making it impossible to readjust the belt before hopping onto me.

Odie is somewhat better now that he’s more obedient, but he still hates riding in the passenger seat.  Molly simply likes to ride in the back seat running back and forth from window to window barking at every stranger.  These two Dachshunds are not riding dogs.

But all you have to say is “are you a riding dog?” and she gets more excited than, well, you know what.   I know that a seat belt may save her life someday, but I don’t think she will understand why.

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Chloe is doing much better after taking her 1/2 dosage of Deramaxx 25mg. Last night I gave her the same dosage of Deramaxx after she twisted her back trying to jump onto the couch.

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.

Yesterday we celebrated Chloe’s 10th birthday.  Despite the grey showing around her muzzle, she is still young for a dachshund.

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.

We switched our dachshunds over to a new homemade pumpkin and chicken dog food recipe. Chloe – who is very finicky – just loves it.

The main reason we switched to this diet is to bulk up Odie’s poops so it will help him express his anal glands naturally.

It’s very simple to make.  I just pick up frozen chicken breasts from CostCo and a small can of pumpkin.  Two breasts are defrosted in a microwave for about 20 min and then cooked about 7 minutes on high until done.

I slice the breasts into small pieces and add a can of pumpkin.  It makes about 6 servings for a small dog a miniature daschund.  Total cost runs around $0.75 per serving which is cheaper and far better than normal dog food.

Our sleep was interrupted this morning with a loud “clunk.”  Usually that means that I feel asleep watching TV and the remote slipped off the bed and hit the wood part of the sleigh bed.

Last night we weren’t watching TV and the remote was safely on top of the night stand, so what hit the side of the bed?

You guessed it right, a Dachshund.

Chloe has been having a difficult time finding a “safe” place to sleep on our bed.  She usually sleeps on our son’s bed so there’s be plenty of room for the four of us.  But with the summer break, he’s been staying up late and Chloe been with us during the night.

It’s not really all that bad since the two girls sleep at the foot of the bed and Odie in between us, but I had a nightmare  and end up kicking Chloe hard enough to make her yelp out of her sleep.

I typically don’t react to the dream state and it was a weird dream coming back from LAX on a bus through some of the less desirable neighborhoods. When some thugs decided to pull a knife, the reflexes kicked in an Chloe got the brunt of it.

Since that “Freddy Kruger” episode, Chloe moved from the foot of the bed to edge of the bed and out of kicking distance.

But apparently, she doesn’t know that I also like to knee “Freddy” in the groin and she went sailing off the bed landing 3 feet below with a “clunk.”

I picked her up and she went to the safety of the center of the bed.  At least that’s what she thinks for now…

June 20, 2008: Today is Take Your Dog to Work Day. But when you have three Dachshunds, which one do you take? Both Chloe and Odie have been to the office before and it proved quite embarrassing.

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.

Today we’re taking a walking down to Krispy Kreme to Celebrate National Donut Day to get four free donuts; one for Chloe, Odie, Molly and of course a donut for me.

Not that I let them eat the whole donut, but my Dachshunds sure have a taste for the the warm glazed donuts just out of the oven.

The funny thing is that when the four of us go for a walk, Chloe, Odie and Molly go in different directions. But if you say “lets go get a donut,” they’re headed off intently to get their donut.

So today is Dachshund Donut Day, take a walk with your doxie down to your favorite Donut shop and celebrate it with him.

Spending Saturday night in a Thousand Oaks Animal Hospital is something everyone should avoid. Not that we had much choice, but what could we do? Our Vet closes shop on Saturday around 1 PM and it’s well past that into the evening.

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.

I often wonder what my Dachshunds do all day at home when we’re off at work or shopping. But it seems to me that Seattle dog portrait artist Nancy Schutt has inside information on what Chloe, Odie and Molly are doing when we’re away.

I received a very clever email from Nancy asking if I would consider reviewing her new site. Normally, I turn down such requests, but since she said she was a dog portrait artist and attached a few of her wiener dog paintings, the least I could do is take a quick look.

I love art, especially wiener dog art. My home office is covered with all sorts of Dachshund paintings and drawings. My first peek at her painting simply got me laughing! Here’s a picture of my three dogs on our good sofa; Molly on top looking out the window; Odie on the foot stool; and Chloe getting ready to run to the door to greet us.

I just had to see her site…

Besides being a really good dog portrait artist, Nancy demonstrates abstractness with a keen sense of dog humor. I rolled out of my chair laughing at Schooooch Pooch (my name) where a dog is enjoying his ride a little too much across a very expensive carpet.

I enjoyed visiting Nancy’s site. See paints really Good Dog Art!

Yesterday I was at the Thousand Oaks Post Office to pick up my mail and a poster with a Dachshund, along with several other dogs, caught my eye. I picked up my mail and came back to read that next week (starting May 18th) is National Dog Bite Awareness Week.

It’s was strange that a picture of a Dachshund was prominently posted in the upper left hand corner of the poster. I had to ask myself “do Dachshunds bite?”

Now, being owner of three Dachshunds, I have to admit that I’m biased. But like all dogs, Dachshunds do bite.

I don’t think that Chloe would ever bite anything. She is the most passive loving dog we have. Molly is timid, will bark, run away and never bite unless really provoked.

Odie, on the other hand, is very protective. I fear that he would bite someone if they got too close and he wasn’t on a leash. Fortunately, our Dachshunds never have bitten anyone.

It doesn’t mean that they won’t. We’re just careful and introduce them to strangers so that they will know they are not a danger to us. Like all dogs, you really need to keep Doxies leashed and under control.

Molly Looking Very Pretty

Originally uploaded by chloeodiemolly

This is one of my favorite pictures I took this year of Molly. She’s such a beautiful Dachshund. I just love to hug and kiss her all the time.

I really need to get a video recorder with better resolution for you to appreciate how funny these Dachshunds are when we’re playing ball. I’ll toss the ball for Chloe and Odie will get to the ball first since he’s the fastest. Next Molly runs up to him and grabs a hold of the ball. Then Odie and Molly return the ball in a tug-a-war style running back towards me. See for yourself:

Yesterday was time to give the Three Dachshunds a bath. We used to send them out to the groomer at PetSmart, but since Odie ruptured his disk, I’ve been giving them baths.

Since I’m a perpetual clogged-up-sinus guy, it usually starts with my wife Ann saying “Molly stinks!” Even then I push it out to the weekend or several weeks later until I start noticing the problem.

The best shampoo that works for our long-haired Dachshunds is Hartz Groomer’s Best 3 in 1 Conditioning Shampoo Tropical Fruit Fragrance. It leaves their hair clean and silky smooth. It’s kinda hard to find but you can pick up a bottle at Walgreens, CVS or your local supermarket. It’s got a picture of a Red long-haired Dachshund on the bottle.

Odie is the first to go into the bath. With his short hair, he’s the easiest to clean and air drys in about 20 minutes. Molly goes in next followed by Chloe. In both cases, Odie had to help wash the girls wanting to hop back into the water with them.

The two girls always take several hours to dry since the absolutely hate the blow dryer. Just a simple towel dry and let them run around damp. When they get somewhat dry, it’s time comb out any tangles.