AN HONEST DACHSHUND!

Yes, we doxie lovers know how much dachshunds bark: mostly all the time, unless they're sleeping. Their great qualities far offset that, however, and we can always invest in a set of ear plugs (for ourselves)!

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em!

TO BARK OR NOT TO BARK--THAT IS THE QUESTION

Dachshunds really don't question whether or not it's the right time to bark, do they? When in doubt, they go ahead and bark just in case there really is a good reason to do so.

My doxie Duke is the perfect example of this premise. He barks at lots of things we have no inkling of. I suspect some of it is because he can hear things we can't and sense things we can't. BUT some of it is just plain ol' doxie stubbornness. "I bark, therefore I am" mentality, you know.

Here's a photo Clark took of Duke the other day, catching him in mid-bark. Clark asked Duke if he wanted a treat. What do you think he said??

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em!

A DACHSHUND'S CREED

Oh yes! Doxies do love to bark, don't they? While we're at it, here are a few more memes that address that very subject:

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em.

OH, ME ACHING EARS: A DACHSHUND'S LOUD BARK

Yes.  Doxies do bark VERY loudly.  In fact, Duke lies in wait on Sunday afternoons, and the moment he thinks I've drifted off to sleep for my Sunday afternoon nap, BOOM!  He'll bark madly, thus waking me and causing me to think murderous thoughts about him.

I don't know why dachshunds were endowed with such loud barking ability.  We recently took Duke and Shadow to the vet to get their toenails trimmed and have Duke's annual tests (remember, Shadow

 is staying with us until next week).  In the waiting room was a HUGE dog, all black, and the owner had difficulty restraining him with his leash.  Clark thinks the dog was a rottweiler, but I'm not sure.  I think he was a mix--part rottweiler and part monster!  I'm so glad she was able to keep him restrained, however, because his bark sounded pretty serious, and he did not look friendly. 

Being the feisty dachshunds that they are, both Duke and Shadow barked back at this dog who was probably five or six times their size, weighing about 100 pounds (Duke weighs 18 lb., and Shadow weighs about 12 lb.). 

And you know what?  They were just as loud and reverberating as the big dog.  The rottweiler/monster's owner looked a bit surprised when she heard the "two pipsqueaks" bark, too.

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em.

Shadow and Duke:  innocence personified!