Dachshund Morning Greetings – Take Less Breaks

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This morning, as dawn was breaking, I rolled over in bed to look out the window and saw the first shards of light coming through the window. Thin streaks of rose pink and warm orange splashed across the opposite wall, like looking at the sun through stained glass, through the darkness. Somewhere, inside the blanket, something stirred. They were like heat-seeking missiles the first moment my eyes opened. They know!

It started with a soft rumble from Bear, pushed aside by Willow, as he began, like a stealth bomber, up the bed, over my chest to my head, where his attack began. Not content with just washing my eyelids and nose, she expanded her attack by stretching her entire belly across my face and mouth as her tiny Madeline-like paws twitched in the air.

His goal, besides making himself felt, was to get as close to me as possible, while enjoying the heat of my breath. While this was happening and I was struggling not to choke, Bear had decided to tag along. Like a little Rhino, he plowed all over my limbs, bouncing onto my chest to share face licks, his impossibly cold, wet nose digging into whatever holes there were.

Needless to say, once this onslaught began, there was no point in trying to fight back. Although there are exceptions.

Sometimes, they get the time wrong and try to force me to wake up early – usually it’s Bear, his stomach constantly growling, who half-heartedly mumbles, testing the waters. If I was quick and could stop it at chest level, I could say a firm “No!” while at the same time lifting it towards the center to pull it into scooping position. Here, he would sit for a full half hour, while I held him and gently rubbed his soft, round belly.

Life with a tiny Dachshund with an amazing personality is never boring. This is very, very different from my Shiba, who inevitably rations out hugs and belly rubs in the dark as if to make up for their loss of dignity. Don’t get me wrong, Arthur in particular definitely has his own way of showing his love for me. He never lets me get sick or sick without laying his head on my back when my head is in the toilet, or lying on my side to share his body heat if I have a fever.

He would bring me shoes and sandals on my way out or in, find glasses for me when I lost them or sit on my feet, leaning against me. He was protective and very attentive during our conversations, and had the most extensive vocabulary of any dog ​​I’ve ever owned. People are often amazed by her response, stopping to talk to me about her, as she proves she understands my request. But do you snuggle with a Shiba Inu? No, no, the phrase most often associated with them is “Don’t touch me!”

Ila is really funny, never fails to make me laugh every day. Is he more affectionate? I think so, in its own way. Both dogs are very, very friendly with people outside the house, enjoying a chin tickle, but the idea of ​​them sleeping with you (unless I’m sick) doesn’t happen, not least because their thick, double fur makes them too hot.

Of course, as I’ve stated, this isn’t my first foray into the world of Dachshunds, seeing the world as they see it. My first dog that wasn’t a family pet was a standard black and tan sausage dog. He came from Battersea Dogs Home for seven shillings and sixpence and lived to be his twenty-first year. Henry is sweet, quiet (very different from both of them), very obedient (erm, again, not exactly like either of them), and is a snuggle bunny, always on your lap if you’re sitting or sleeping in bed. He understands the rules around personal space, which is very different from the two; specifically, Willow.

Once she stops barking at you and declares you her friend, everyone can be considered ‘Willowed’. This involves him sliding towards you, climbing your body to the highest point, often inside your clothes and then, while you’re struggling to breathe, frantically licking you while also rubbing his ears, face and chin – with great force – against your face. If you have a beard, you are in big trouble as he tries to really get into it, all the time scratching you with his little paws, his tail like a propeller.

A close friend, who used to be Willowed, just this week said she would report him to HR. He felt Willow needed to take a ‘personal space’ course. I said that I didn’t think this would be effective, because by the end of the course, he would be rewriting the rules to suit his wishes. This is Willow we’re talking about, a little black and brown force of nature that will be impassable when it comes to ‘Willowing’. Thankfully, most people find them funny or endearing, especially as they learn about their past and how this behavior stems not only from their ‘friendliness’ but also from deep-rooted insecurities, as their previous home was violent.

With little Bear, he has a lot of facial expressions that will definitely convince you
on what he was really thinking. He’s also very funny and can greet people he really likes with lots of kisses and ear-splitting high-pitched yipping (and he also has the same pronunciation for beard). Luckily for them, the two men in their lives both had beards and were very tolerant of the Dachshund’s small infestations of beard.

Anyway, back to this morning. Realizing I had given off too many signals of my awareness, the extra half hour was yet to come, so I braced myself for a ‘good morning!’ ritual.

Two little smiling faces with raised eyebrows, legs stretched out across my chest, tongues reaching nineteen to a dozen, as I tried to fend them off. When they make me laugh, I have to be careful not to get my tongue stuck in my mouth (ugh!), and the key is to sit down as quickly as possible to try to control the situation.

“Okay,” I said loudly. “Let’s go get the uppy puppy and have breakfast!” It means them
immediately jostling each other to reach the steps at the foot of the bed, and once down,
leave for the hall. I’m not far behind, grinning from ear to ear, the sun is calling
We all. My dachshund is happy, and my morning has begun.

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