Every kennel does things a little differently when it comes to adopting a puppy or adult dog from them so we decided to make this post about our process here at RockinDachs. We encourage you to find out more about the puppy you are considering before making your decision. We pride ourselves in learning about each puppy's personality and needs so we can find the best family for them.
A breeding program is nothing without its breeding dogs which is why we take care in evaluating future breeding dogs for conformation, personality, and health traits. Then comes pairing our dogs with a complementary mate.
Things that make them complement each other are their color genetics, build, personality, and health traits. You can read more about making a good match in our Matchmaking article in the Learn More section.
Whelping is one of our favorite and most dreaded parts. We believe in being a part of the whelping process as a welcoming committee and a safeguard for the mother and puppies.
When whelping, the mom must have a safe, clean, and quiet space away from our other dogs. At RockinDachs, our whelping suite is located in our home office where we can sit with her and monitor her progress. Our office is kept at a moderate temperature so mom and puppies stay comfortable.
About a week before our projected due dates we separated our mommas from the pack. At this point, we are on her timetable and try not to leave the home for longer than necessary. When we do leave we don’t go far and keep an eye on a puppy cam.
Once labor starts we are pretty much glued to our office chair (or the floor). We believe in being hands-on but letting mom do as much as she can on her own, providing it’s safe for her to do so. Most of the time, we just sit there and watch the miracle of life as each puppy arrives. Sometimes, we have to help one of them out through various methods. Occasionally assisting the mother does mean medical intervention through a c-section in extreme cases. You can read more about whelping in our Learn More section.
RockinDachs utilizes waitlists when placing puppies in their perfect home. Please make sure you have read our Waitlist article.
From the time they are born, our dogs get plenty of human interaction. We keep our whelping box in our home office where we can keep a close eye on our puppies and monitor if they are getting everything they need from their mom. Birth announcements are made on our social media platforms and through email to our waitlist members.
At two weeks old we start allowing the puppies to be held for short periods to get them used to human touch and different voices. Introducing them to a variety of people they aren't familiar with coming into the home will help lessen the chance of them being people shy or reactive. All of this is done with the correct safety precautions to make sure our pups stay happy and healthy. We also identify colors and coat types at two weeks of age and start notifying members of our waitlists about puppy availability this way we can start having conversations about which puppy might be best for them.
By five weeks old our pups are allowed to play in our outside puppy run for a few hours (providing the weather permits). This allows them to learn how to socialize with our adult dogs so they learn proper social behaviors and manners. Pack time and being on dirt are essential for mental health as well as ease of potty and obedience training.
Crate training starts at six weeks of age. We do this to teach them to sleep quietly throughout the night and it gives them a safe place to go in the day if they are overwhelmed or want a nap somewhere quiet. As a quiet toy (or midnight snack) we give our puppies a raw carrot to chew on which helps with teething and keeps them quieter.
Eight weeks old is when the puppies are ready to go home with their new families. We do allow pick-up from our home and also offer delivery to a location of the family's choosing.
Because we care so much about our miniature dachshund puppies beyond their time with us we follow an aggressive vaccination, worming, and testing program to ensure our puppies will achieve their full potential and live long healthy lives.
Our miniature dachshund puppies are all registered with or eligible for registration with the American Kennel Club (AKC) and PetRecords Registry.
From time to time we have adults that are looking for a new home. This happens when we are retiring one of our dogs, have determined that a dog doesn't fit our program's standards, or have a past pup that has come back to us.
We don't have a waitlist for our adult dogs as we rarely rehome adults. If you would like to be on a waitlist for an adult dog you can use our puppy waitlist form and tell us that you are specifically looking for an adult.
It's important to note that adult dogs may require additional house training or obedience training to meet the standards of your home. We do our best to make sure that all of the dogs residing in our kennel are dog door, potty pad, and crate trained but sometimes a new home will need to re-enforce the previous training and build on it. Our adult dogs should also have been trained to sit for attention rather than jumping on people and taking treats softly however, they may think that they don't have to do those things with a new family and will need to be reminded of appropriate behaviors. It's kind of like when a kid has certain rules at home but then they stay with someone else for a bit and they try to get away with things they normally can't.
Our adult dogs will need to be spayed when they go to their new homes. We can have them spayed at our vet (who is a little cheaper than some other vets) if that is something you desire. Just let us know so we can discuss how that process works.