EVERYTHING A DACHSHUND IS

Some might argue with a few of the points above, but I think the meme has pretty much nailed the doxie temperament--at least, with my doxie Duke. I'd like to share something about each trait regarding Duke:

DARLING - Duke does so many thing that are darling, like being a nurse to my hubby or me when we don't feel well. He sticks close by and gives us doggie kisses to prove his love and care.

AMAZING - Some won't believe this, but we actually have to spell certain words in his presence so he won't know what we're talking about. Although most of the words we spell are food related, we also spell family members' names (so he won't go nuts barking, thinking they are coming--and sometimes they are), the mailman, etc.

CUTE - I could go on and on about this one. He sits at attention, looking me in the eyes when I'm talking to him, twisting his head in that endearing doggie way.

HAPPY - I would say that Duke borders on cheerful.  He loves to play, and enjoys being around his human family. When the grands visit, he goes into overdrive!

SWEET - He is definitely a lap dog, loving close human companionship. I mentioned his doggie kisses, but he also likes to gaze into my eyes at times when I'm talking to him. He shows his love to our family in many ways.

HYPER - As a nine-year-old doxie, he's not as hyper as he used to be, but he does have his moments! He still has occasional running fits, which are comical and typically doxie. Duke will always enjoy tug-of-war with an old sock. And he's still strong enough to nearly put my arm out of the socket!

Duke: my 200% doxie 

UNBELIEVABLE - We marvel at Duke's ability to understand what we say to him. One day I told him to go get his red ball so I could throw it for him (he also has two green ones and a yellow one). Voila! He brought me the red ball.

NICE - Sometimes doxies can be brash and bold, but I also find them extremely loving and sweet. He wants to be with his humans and enjoys our company--in my book, that qualifies as nice.

DARLING - This bears repeating, because doxies are totally darling, don't you agree?

Dachshunds  . . .  you gotta love 'em!

BABY LOVE?

Doxies and babies just go together . . . oh, I've heard the stories about doxies nipping little children who pull their ears or tail (not that I blame the dogs, but adults have to be on guard).  The two dachshunds in our family, Duke and Shadow, have been nothing but gentlemen when it came to the grandchildren.

Shadow was the first "granddawg," since he's 12 and was four years old when Annika was born.  He has always been more gentle with the babies and young children than he has been with us adults.  In his younger days, the rougher the play, the more he seemed to enjoy it.  And, if one held out a bite of people food for him, beware of missing some fingers when he chomped down!

Shadow and Asher

And Asher, our little grandson, was a fixture at our house until he was a year and a half, so Duke had a good opportunity to be "bad" if he were going to.  Duke did exhibit jealousy when I held Asher as a little baby (after all, Duke had been my "baby" since he was eight weeks old)!  But Duke never took it out on Asher.  He'd just avoid being around Asher, even when Asher began toddling around on his own two feet.

Now, of course, Duke loves Asher and the granddaughters abundantly.  When we visit, he showers all of them (and anyone else who happens to be around) with lots of doggie kisses.

The bottom line is this:  our doxies love people, especially children, and enjoy their company.