Boys and Girls

[David C.]

Through my own experience and the writings of everyone here, I've started to come to a theory about male and female dachshunds:  Male dachshunds are almost all similar in their personality traits, almost every female dachshund has different personality traits.

Rudy, Max and Zeke, were (and are) brash, boisterous and unflinchingly loyal.   They have various degrees of those qualities, but they all have them.  Various other male dachshunds that have passed through our house were similar in nature.

It seems that every female dachshund I've encountered is different.    Some females are like Zora, maternal to everything, and some are skilled hunters/killers (on this board, the females have killed far more prey than the males by something like a 10 to 1 margin).   Some are love bugs, some are more aloof.  Some are social with other dogs, others don't want anything to do with another dog.

[Gail]

This is interesting isn't it? I think we have to also factor in coat type. I've only had smoothies and not too many so far - two boys and two girls. Both of my black and tan girlies shared the naughty gene though in different ways. Holly was very independent, and was disobedient for the most part when her hunting head was on. Ivy is just a minx and her naughtiness isn't so much about hunting as it is about gathering LOL, she likes to acquire things like a little magpie. Both are/were very gentle and calm around children.

My first boy was a smooth red. Rusty was a rescue so I don't know anything about his previous history other than his owner asked her vet to take one of her boys away and put him down as they drove her crazy fighting. At our house he was an only dog and was a snuggle bug who just loved to get behind people on the sofa and sleep tucked into the small of their back. He was also a little gentleman around small children. Mr Tristan, a shaded red, is the most undoggy of the lot so far in terms of hunting instinct though I have taught him to kill spiders for me LOL. He is the snuggliest of the bunch and the biggest baby of them all but he is also the one that I could never trust around very small children. Crying babies bring out something frightening in him. Tris hates getting into trouble and has spent most of his life looking concerned about getting the blame for something a black and tan girlie might have done LOL.

All of the pooches have been aloof around most other dogs but interested in other small dogs and all have been very family orientated and usually took/take a short time to assess people before they consider them friends.

[Dee Dee and Hallie]

That really is interesting! It got me to thinking of the dachshunds I've known, I've had 3 smooths, 2 male and 1 female and 2 longhairs, both female. The males were night and day, one was sweet and calm although a bit stubborn, the other was always into something and entertaining, more terrier like though. The female smooth was sweet to us and people she knew but if someone came to the door and you opened it without picking her up she'd fly out and circle the person barking and nipping at their heels. (the smooths were all from when I was a kid and didn't know about socializing or training much).

Both of the longhairs, Jessie and Hallie, were/are very sweet, cuddly, great with other dogs, not a mean bone in their body. Neither would ever dream of growling or nipping at anyone, they both are very willing and love to train, both very maternal, no hunting instinct whatsoever (which I love), easy to housebreak and not destructive, quiet and mellow yet funny sense of humor, think everyone is their friend, not barky...I think that like Gail mentioned the coat type is a big factor also.

[Doxherding Karen]

:thinik: It's interesting, but there ae so many factors in a dog's life and upbringing to consider. Merlin and Beau were both intact males when they were busted for vagrancy in Alabama, at assumed ages of four and two. Neutering them did nothing to stop their marking - it doesn't matter if I'm standing there, smacking Beau's upraised leg, yelling "NO, NO!!!" at him, he keeps on peeing.

But I really think that our personalities and actions have a great deal to do with how a dog functions. Not to toot Cesar Millan's horn, but he approaches every case based on past experience. Time and again I have watched him exude calm assertiveness and pass that vibe right down the leash, like saying to the dog, "I got your back." Within 30 seconds he has most dogs laying down at his feet, chilling out. It's as if you can hear the dog think, "Oh, yeah, cool, man. You're in charge. I'm cutting some zzzzz's." And when I so the same thing to my guys, they do the same thing. (Unless they are all on leash together, in which case the mania travels from leash to leash like an electric current!)

Auntie Keren

[David C.]

Keren, that is a pretty interesting take.   Maybe the reason why my male dachshunds are so similar with their behavioral traits is because of the way they take their cues off me?   Zora, being a female, is more likely to take her cue from Margie over me.   Zora is definitely a mamma's girl.   Even when Margie just goes to the mailbox to get the mail, Zora will sit on the top of the landing, ears fully cocked, just waiting for Margie to come back in.

[VBDoxieMom]

I know I have told this story before, but I just have to repeat myself.....
When we went to the breeder to get our first dog, first doxie too - I had my heart set on a red female.  The litter had two red females, and I think 3 boys.  So I am picturing pink collars and bows, debating over "Trixie" or "Sabrina".....we get there, and ALL the puppies (there was also a litter of beagles there) - about 8 of them came flying up to Jim and I.....I was overwhelmed!  They were all so cute! Dancing and prancing and licking faces - like they knew we were going to take one of them home.  I couldn't decide which of the sweet doxie girls was ours, and then....IT HAPPENED.  I looked up at the recliner and there was a 4 lb black and tan boy...looking at me like "If you want some of this, come and get it".

Enough proof for me that the personalities are inbred and predestined

[Teresa]

We have only had two female doxies, and both have been a bit territorial. Kendall was definitely more so than Schatzi and did not like people in her space. Schatzi just doesn't like people around her space, which means outside her yard! Kendall was definitely a lovebug and she was certainly my baby. Schatzi is a lovebug, but she will cuddle with Randy just as easily as she will me (which was a good thing when Molly died-he needed that). I will say that Schatzi is the better of the two with other dogs. She likes all dogs. Kendall liked the ones she lived with and one other doxie. That was about it.
We have had a male and a female bulldog and I much prefer the male. They are the easier going of the two. As we slowly start looking again, we have both agreed the next one will be a male. Randy has been outnumbered for too long!

[Barb]

This thread and Kelly's Molly thread have interesting information....  I need to sit back and think about my group, and some things have been said that really make me think of Toby.  When he was rescued from being tied to a tree with a piece of wire, he also had pretty much been abandoned and was on his own.  The kids who paid any attention to him had been taken away by child protective services.  I feel sure the parents paid no attention to him at all.  So he was left to fend for himself.  And this may be the sole reason that he freaks out so badly when I leave and he is loose in the house.  Maybe he finally realized that when I pen him up, he is finally comfortable that Mom is in charge and it is ok to just chill.    When he is loose he just frantically runs from one end of the house to the other (I have watched on the critter cam).
SOOOOO, long winded that I am...... WOW - VERY interesting !!!!

[Brekkesmom]

Ok, the total count for me is 11.  8 girls, 3 boys - I grew up with two of the girls.  I had 1 b&t smooth boy, and I have 2 red smooth dapple boys.  I had 5 red smooth girls, 1 b&t smooth, and 1 b&t smooth dapple girl, and 1 chocolate/tan longhair girl.   My first boy, Fritz (b&t smooth), would play fetch with his tennis ball until he had to crawl to his water dish.  He would sing on command (how I wish I had taped that!), and he was such a snuggle bug - even with my sister's Siamese cat.  Fritz was also notorious for drinking the cheap beer my mom put out for slug bait one year!   Of the girls, Johanna (b&t smooth) was very food-driven.  She would even eat sauerkraut if I stood by her dish.  Useless (aka "Lucy"), Heidi, Gretl, Siglen red smooths), Sorcha (b&t dapple), and Rowan (red smooth) were/are cuddlers, and Robinton (red dapple boy) is such a cuddler.  Lucy would ride in my red wagon, and since we were half a block from my high school, she would sneak over and the custodian would let her lick butter off the cafeteria floor!  Our drama coach would buzz the office (Mom was one of the secretaries) and tell her that Lucy just went by his windows.  Brekke (choc/tan long) is the most protective of me when she hears unknown noises - but that was not an original trait - she developed it about 4 years ago - if you know my history.  Heidi and Gretl loved protectively watching the class parakeet about 20 years ago when I brought it home on weekends - both red smooths.  All four of my present dachsies are hunters - 2 boys 2 girls.  Brekke has killed a few toads, a rabbit (sorry, Bunny Herd!) as big as she, and I do not want to count the birds.  She will fling herself at the feet of my friends and beg for belly rubs shamelessly!  Robinton, Rowan, and Bastian are also hunters of birds, and I do not want to count their kills, either.  Of the four I have now, Rowan is most likely to want on the big bed at night, but I am proud to say that all four wait to be set down on the floor if they are on the bed.  Bastian will complain if he thinks I am taking too much time preparing the evening dachsie meals, or if I am in the bathroom too long when he wants to go out the kitchen door!  He is the most food driven dachsie I have ever had!

[sollysmom]

This is such a good topic!!  I love it.  I've had 3 dachsie's of my own, and 2 family dogs.  4 were female and 1 male.  Our very first dachsie was an older girl named Juggy, a red smoothie.  We adopted her because her previous owner had a german shepard back in the states, and he was afraid they wouldn't mix.  She by far was the best.  Her only problem was nipping at gentlemen heels as they left our house.  Now of my own 3 girls, there was Tammy, Heidi, and now Hilde.  All three very different, and all three were/are red smooths.  Tammy was sweet as could be, not too agressive, loved everyone.  Heidi was a bit hyper, but loved all women. I had to watch her around children, she wasn't too sure what to do and if they got a little rough she would snap.  Now Hilde is afraid of everyone and everything.  I have never had such a timid dog in my life, but she loves me so that's the most important thing!  My one and only male was Solomon.  He was a resuce from a puppy mill that I got from CCDR.  He was the most laid back, b/t smooth, dog I've ever had.  He was such a lover, I still miss him.  He wasn't the brightest dog in the pack, but he was mine.

[Kathleen]

My two boys are very different.  Winston is super outgoing, fun, active, but when it comes to affection, he's pretty aloof.  Murphy is very cuddly and just loves to be held and scratched.  I just find the girls in general to be moodier-snappier when they're grouchy, more delighted when they're happy.  Millie and both puppies adore cuddling.  Reilly, not so much, but she loves her tummy rubs.