Doxie News Dachshund Blog

The Queen of England has decided to stop breeding dogs, because she’s getting to that age where they might outlive her. The Queen’s dogs really are The Queen’s. They are very much a part of her everyday life, and even sleep on her bed at times. Apparently scones are served at tea every day, but The Queen never eats them, the dogs get them. The staff merely tolerates them and she won’t give any to her family because they don’t want them. I think, for a queen, it’s very responsible.

The reason I’m writing about this is that it’s commonly published that The Queen loves corgis, which she does. What is less commonly known is that half of The Queen’s eight dogs are dorgis, a mix between dachshunds and corgis. The Queen goes well out of her way to breed these dogs, it’s not like the dachshunds just got loose one day. She’s not a purebred snob at all. The Queen probably knows that mixed breed dogs are generally healthier that purebred dogs. It’s a huge statement she’s making, that one of the most important people in the world can be happy with a mixed breed dog.

These days, dachshunds in wheel chairs are common. Far more common are dachshunds that are put down because of back issues. Ask yourself this: if you could have a dog that looked mostly like a dachshund, acted mostly like a dachshund (maybe even better behaved), and you could be much more assured that you would not have to go through the heartbreak of a dog with painful health issues, would you choose that dog over a dachshund?

The Queen has showed us that we have that choice. If mixed breed dogs are good enough for The Queen, are they good enough for you? I love dachshunds, but I care enough about dogs to want healthy dogs to be bred, not dogs that are destined for pain. It’s time for all of us to start thinking about what our own priorities are. Getting a mixed breed dog is definitely a choice we can make, and we know we can love the dog just as much. And while I would prefer dogs not to be bred while other dogs die in shelters, it’s definitely the lesser of two evils to breed dogs of different breeds.

I’m trying my best not to be preachy, because I don’t think that is necessary. Just ask yourself, is a healthy dog more important to you than a dog that looks exactly a certain way. My dog is mixed, and most people can’t tell. But, honestly, I wish they could. I hope every day that I don’t have to see him in pain or make that horrible decision. It shouldn’t be like that, for me or him.

So when you get your next dog, think about and make the right decision for you. If you get a dachshund mix you are still very much welcome on this site, a half dachshund owner is just as much a dachshund owner as a purebred dachshund owner in my book.