Mats become a fact of life for Lhasas and their owners. Of course, you can avoid the entire mat issue by keeping your Lhasa clipped down completely, but chances are that you bought a Lhasa because you wanted a long-coated dog. If that’s the case, you’ll need some pointers for removing mats and retaining coat.

Regular grooming keeps mats to a minimum and reduces the chances of a mat becoming solidly “packed.” If the mat isn’t solidly packed, removal is easier. Here’s what you do:

1) Spray the mat with a mat remover/detangling spray; then loosen the mat by gently pulling it apart with your fingers or using the end tooth of a metal comb to separate it a few hairs at a time.

2) Once the mat has been separated, brush through the area to remove the dead hair and then comb through it again to make sure you have removed the entire mat.

If the mat you’re removing is large and packed solid, your task is more difficult but not impossible. In such a case;

1) Use mat-remover/detangling spray to saturate the mat.

2) Try to separate the mat with your fingers and then work on the mat from which ever side allows you the best access.

3) To loosen the mat, you may have to use more detangler as you progress, and you may have to allow the oil to soak for a while before it does its job. Patience is a requisite for both you and your Lhasa when you are faced with removing a solidly-packed mat.

4) Alternate between separating the mat with your fingers and separating it with the end tooth of your comb.

5) Don’t yank and pull because that hurts the dog, and if he gets fed up and refuses to cooperate, you’ve got a battle on your hands. Gentleness is the key if you intend to get rid of the mat without losing or damaging the coat and without hurting your Lhasa.

Don’t cut the mat out unless you want a big hole in your dog’s coat and only cut through the mat as a last resort, if it is so solidly packed that you have no other choice.

The best way to control mats is just not to let them happen. But, anyone who’s had a Lhasa can tell you that’s not possible unless you brush the dog constantly. Constant brushing is neither feasible nor desirable. I know someone who has such a “mat phobia” that she spends hours brushing her dogs each day. The problem is that her grooming technique isn’t all that wonderful, and her constant brushing has done more harm than good to the coats.

Please note: Permission to reproduce and/or circulate information in this article is granted. However, the article must be disseminated in its entirety and credit must be given to Joyce Johanson, Joyslyn’s Lhasa Apsos. Thanks!

Who has not come across a dog that pees on cue as soon as you approach him or her to greet them?
This is what is called submissive or excited urination

What is submissive or excited urination and why does it happen?

A “submissive urinator” is a dog that cannot help urinating in situations of extreme excitement or stress - he’ll go on the floor, on himself on you, on your furniture or on your guests!
Puppies are a perfect example of “submissive urinators”. They’ll pee whenever they’re excited to see you or when they meet a stranger. But sometimes very timid or sensitive adult dogs can have the problem too. It’s very typical of a dog that has been abused to exhibit this behavior.

This problem can happen in many situations:

-When they meet you after a prolonged absence
-When they’re playing
-When your guests arrive
-When there’s a stressful situation at home
-When you scold him or correct him
-Loud noises like a thunderstorm or fireworks

But don’t despair. It is really not difficult to fix this problem of submissive or excited urination.
First of all, take him to the veterinarian to make sure there’s no medical reason for the issue. Diabetes or a bladder infection can have the same effect.

Then you can follow some simple steps:

-Limit his intake of water. This doesn’t mean that you should restrict his water intake, but if, for example, you are expecting guests, or you will soon have a play session, take his water bowl away for a little while before the event happens.

-Don’t make your coming home a big event. When you come in the door, ignore him, go about your business and don’t get him worked up. The more excited he is, the harder it will be for him to control his bladder. I know I have a hard time not saying a warm hello to my baby, but you can always ignore him for the first few seconds and then crouch down and greet him calmly.

-Keep in mind the importance of NOT punishing or yelling at your dog when he has his “accident”. Remember he cannot control it and above all, he’s not doing it on purpose. When you catch him in the act, interrupt him with a firm “No!”, and praise him when he stops, but never punish him. Keep calm and be understanding: he doesn’t mean to do it.

-When he urinates out of fear (submissiveness) when you are scolding him for another reason, try to maintain an authoritative and firm tone, but don’t get angry. Keep in mind that in all probability, you are dealing with a sensitive, highly-strung dog, so, if you get angry or worry him further, the problem will definitely get worse.

-When the problem happens with loud noises like fireworks, if you show a reaction yourself and pet him for being scared, you will only be rewarding the behavior and training him to repeat it, and you don’t want that. You can try and make it a game. When you hear a loud bang, say, “what was that!” Make it a search game and give him a treat or a toy. You can also make no reaction whatsoever, or fuss or comfort him.
Give him the down and stay commands, give him a treat and tell him he’s a good boy.

Always remember that when you have a dog, you must treat him or her with respect and understanding. Almost every “problem” has a solution, and with a little patience, you can do it without the need of expensive training. A few hours working on a problem, can give you many years of enjoyment with your best friend.

Indoor potty training is the way to go if you have a Dachshund puppy. This is true for Miniature Dachshund puppies as well as for those of the standard variety. I love Dachshunds in general but am partial to the Miniature Dachshund. This article also applies to adult dachshunds but the focus is on the puppies.

Indoor training will spare you some of the unpleasantries of having a Dachshund that must go outside. Who wants to get up at 5 AM in the morning, when it is rainy or cold or, when you are watching a great movie? It is also better on the Dachshund’s bowels and bladder if they can go potty anytime they want. By the way, indoor potty training can be initiated for a Dachshund at any age. It is better, however, to start their training sooner rather than later.

Start the potty training as soon as possible once you get your new best friend home. Dachshund puppies are quite small so even if they do make a mess it is no big deal. However, having them make a mess on a hard floor is preferable as it is much easier to clean than if they go on carpet. For the first few days you have your Doxie at home, I suggest you have them mostly contained to a room with a hard floor…like in a 2nd bathroom or laundry room. The space should not be too small but also not too big.

I suggest not shutting them in their space by closing the door. Instead, gate them in the room. Leave the door to the room open but invest in some kind of child or pet gate that stretches across the door so they cannot get out. You control the gate so they get out when you want them out and they are gated in when you want them in. This is better as the doxie will not feel shut off from the world (as with a closed door) and you can easily look in upon them anytime you wish. This gate will come in handy for the lifetime of your pet; you will be very glad you purchased one.

Don’t worry, you can get your puppy out to play and can go into their area to spend as much time with them as you wish. I suggest having some Nature’s Miracle around when a mess on the carpet (it will happen) does occur. You will be amazed at the power and efficiency of this product.

Place everything your Dachshund puppy needs in the contained area i.e. their kennel/bed, food and, potty. If you are lucky, the breeder had already initiated their paper training which will make it easier for you and your new puppy. Start their training off on some newspaper. When they make a mess on the floor put a little of the pee or poop between a few pieces of newspaper. They will smell this and will begin to associate this as the place for them to do their business. Keep the top of the paper dry and clean. Remove the used paper as soon as possible or simply place more paper on top of it and then after awhile, throw it all away and start anew. Some people utilize wee wee pads but I never did.

If you are playing with your puppy some distance away from the primary potty you can always place some newspaper where you are…just in case. I did this when Charlie was a puppy and it worked well. As they get older they need to rely solely on the primary potty area.

Chastise your Dachshund puppy immediately when they don’t perform well; they will feel the disappointment in your voice. Making an unpleasant noise in general works well in this regard. For example, the moment you see the naughty weiner going somewhere they are not supposed to raise your voice a bit towards them, clap your hands, gently shake a can with coins in it, etc. Squirting a doxie with water works wonders also. A spray bottle like the ones people spray plants with is perfect for this purpose. Make sure the bottle is clean and that there is no chemical residue on the inside. Dachshunds hate getting squirted with water so this is a great way to deter them from unwanted behaviors. Squirt them don’t spray them. Do not give the weiner dog praise or a treat when they perform poorly.

Please never yell or scream at your Doxie as they are incredibly sensitive and will be very hurt. If you do you will see how crestfallen they are and you will feel guilty. Your Dachshund very much wants to please you!

Just keep working with them and your Dachshund puppy (or puppies) will soon get it right. When they do get it right praise them and give them a treat. Your puppy will be so happy! It won’t be long until they start getting it right most of the time! You will develop your own little system as times goes by.

One purpose of this article is to spare you some of the mistakes I’ve made over the years. My Mini Dachshund (Charlie) is almost 12 years old and I have experimented with several indoor potty techniques over the years. I started off with newspaper (paper training) but as your Dachshund grows, you will tire of them stepping in their own urine, transferring urine or, having the urine drain off the newspaper onto the floor.

Dachshunds have a quirk where if their front paws are on the paper they think their entire body is on the paper. This results in alot of near misses. Improvement was made when I placed a plastic hallway runner under the newspaper. At some point, I then purchased a large litter box and then placed newspaper in that and a hallway runner under the litter box.

You will so love your Dachshund that messes won’t matter much. However, as years go by, the messes have a way of growing on you. Once Charlie got into his 10th year or so, I started to get quite tired of dealing with the messes. It is a labor of love however and unavoidable.

Just recently, I discovered and purchased a Wizdog indoor potty system. How I wish I had discovered this years ago! Wizdog consists of a large plastic pan with a separate plastic grate on top. You place newspaper in the bottom of the device. The dog does it’s business on top of the grate and the urine falls into the tray below. No more wet footprints or urine on the floor. The poop is easy to clean off the top of the grate. This is so much better than the intermediate steps I went through over the years. Charlie has taken to this upgrade well-messes on or transferred to the floor have decreased dramatically. I’m happier now too as the messes are more contained and much easier to clean up.

Underneath Wizdog is a “round circle thing” in every corner which helps it stay in place on the floor. So, I have had no problem with the device sliding around when Charlie is on top of it. In addition to having newspaper in the bottom to soak up urine I also put some newspaper on top. I fold a newspaper page in half and place it on the far end of the Wizdog. When Charlie approaches, he puts his front feet on the newspaper and then is far enough forward that his pee falls thru the grate and onto the newspaper below. Having some newspaper on top is a kind of a “hybrid approach” I use. Charlie was use to being on newspaper so this method has worked well for us. The grate on the top of Wizdog did feel a bit funny to Charlie at first but he quickly got use to it.

In summary, for indoor potty training of your Dachshund puppy, start off with paper training. Then, soon integrate your setup and system with a Wizdog. You’ll be glad you did-trust me! This will allow you to skip all the intermediate steps I experimented, utilized (and suffered with) over the years.

Please feel free to contact me if any questions arise.

Sincerely, Bob Smithson
Friend of Dachshunds Everywhere

Search dog training plays a very important role in our society. Search dogs are commonly used during search and rescue missions, where the goal is to use the dogs scent to find a missing person.

The dog that is used most commonly for this purpose is the Bloodhound. These dogs have the strongest sense of smell compared to any other dog. The second best is the Basset Hound, but they are rarely used for this purpose because their short stature does not allow them to move as quickly through rough terrain. The long ears of a Bloodhound play an important role by stirring up the scent when they have their nose to the ground. The wrinkles on the face of these dogs helps hold the scent close to the nose. The Bloodhound can then establish a trail.

Scent training generally starts when the dog is a puppy. This form of training is done in a variety of ways, starting with practice “missions” that allow the dog to find something based on the scent. One of the most popular training techniques can be found in “Secrets to Dog Training”. There are many jobs that dogs can be trained to do but scent hounds may have the most important job of all. They help find people who have become lost while hiking, camping, or simply walking through the woods.

Training these dogs to pick up on a scent after smelling an item of clothing owned by the person they are looking for, they can quickly pick up the scent and track it over a variety of terrain. It is a common myth that Bloodhounds lose the scent once it goes to the water, but this is not true. The dog will easily pick the scent back up on the other side and continue searching until they find the missing person.