About

iLoveDachshunds.com is a website dedicated to all things dachshunds. It’s the result of over 10 years experience living with a miniature wire-haired dachshund combined with extensive research on the breed. Our aim is to answer the most popular dachshund questions and review the best dog products and services on the market. It’s as simple as that!

My Story

In 2009, we decided to get a dog. I’d grown up with Scotties and my husband had Spaniels but, when it came to choosing a new dog to join our family, we decided to go for a breed that neither of us had ever had before. Why? Well, we spotted a cute little sausage wandering around an Art Fair in London. His name was George. He was a miniature wire-haired dachshund and we were both absolutely smitten – we HAD to get one!

In 2010, Jimmy, a mini wire-haired dachshund, came into our lives. From that moment on, things were never the same again. Having him join our family breathed new life into our home. He was a cheeky, pint-sized monkey, who kept us on our toes all day long.

I remember the day he arrived home. He looked so tiny as he walked nervously towards me with his tail down under his legs. As his little brown eyes looked up at me, I held out my hand, gently tickled his ears and stroked his tufty head. His tail started to wag. I smiled at him and it wagged a little bit more. He moved a little closer, rolled onto his back, shook his front paws and gave me a ‘tickle me’ stare. At that moment, I made a promise to look after him. I promised to give him the BEST life, to never leave him, and to love him and care for him for all of his days. We’ve been inseparable ever since.

Did I know what I’d let myself in for?

Not exactly! And I have to be honest, there were times when I needed a bit of help or advice. When Jimmy was a puppy he barked, he messed about with his food, he chewed things that weren’t his, he wee’d and poo’d in places I really wish he hadn’t, he didn’t sleep, he rolled in things I couldn’t identify, he dug body-sized trenches in the garden, he ate all sorts of sh*t on the ground, he had VERY selective hearing. And, to top it off, he looked very pleased with himself – like his mission in life was to rebel and give us the run around!

Don’t get me wrong; the good outweighed the bad by a very long way. And, for the most part, we laughed along with him. But there were times when I felt exhausted with it all. Puppies are hard work, but dachshund puppies are next level! We’d never had a dachshund before and weren’t used to the dachshund way of doing things. We were trying to figure it out as we went along and made things so much harder than they needed to be.

Was there a happy ending?

Yes, we got there in the end, albeit the long way round. It turned out it was actually ME and MY HUSBAND that needed training, not Jimmy. Once we knew what we were supposed to do, he figured out what he was supposed to do, and things started to settle down. And what’s great is we’ve ended up with the most wonderful dachshund that we can literally take everywhere and anywhere – and we do!

Why did I create this website?

To give you a quick and easy way to get the answers to your most asked dachshund questions (according to Google) and to review the best dog products and services on the market.

Jimmy was a stubborn little sausage and I definitely needed some help and advice along the way but couldn’t find a site to refer to. Even simple things like – what’s the best dog shampoo to buy? How do I get started with potty training? When should I neuter? And so on. I ended up buying books and spending hours searching online trying to figure out what to do and, more importantly, what NOT to do.

So, if you’re reading this and thinking of getting a dachshund or have one already and maybe have some questions, this site has been created FOR YOU! I’ll share what I did and everything I now know through all the research I’ve done, and you can hopefully make use of some of those ideas. I’m not trying to pretend I know everything about dachshunds, but I have learned a lot of useful tips and tricks along the way and wanted to share them with the sausage-loving community.

So that’s a bit of background on me and Jimmy and why I started this website. But this isn’t a blog or website about me, it’s a resource to give dachshund owners or people thinking about getting a dachshund an easy way to get to the answers they need.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and I’d love to hear from you if you want to get in touch.