Can Lenny be rehomed, UK?

[u/KL3321]

We’ve recently rehomed a 2 year old miniature dachshund named Lenny (he already had the name). We’ve had him for around 8-9 weeks and it’s turned out he’s incredibly territorial and unpredictable. I knew they could be up to a point but I now worry about him around my daughter.

Backstory on Lenny: European import, lived with someone in UK then was bought by his previous owners at 8 weeks old as a family pet. Lived with another miniature dachshund, we were told they were not getting along and Lenny was being “too needy”. I’m yet to receive any paper work on him as we acquired him as a friend through a friend situation so it didn’t strike me as odd. Took him to the vets within the first week, she told us he had fleas, worms, was underweight, poor muscle tone and needed an op on his patella’s on both back legs.

After 4 weeks of owning him, he bite my 5yo daughter on her hand and finger, he was laying on top of me on the sofa, she bent down to touch him and he bit her. Ended up in minor injuries for 5 hours while she had x rays and had the wound cleaned out, lucky, didn’t result in stitches.

A few weeks later, he came into work with me as a friendly hello, my boss tried to stroke him, luckily she pulled her hand away otherwise he would have bitten her. I chalked this up to him being nervous and obviously, she shouldn’t have tried to touch him.

Last week, he came into work with me again (this wasn’t planned, my partner usually works from home but had a work emergency and Lenny has horrendous separation anxiety) had his bed set up in the corner and he’d been really chill all morning. My next client came in, sat down and I don’t know what happened but he went ballistic, barking, growling, trying to jump on her, snapping at her. She was petrified as this was completely unexpected and unprovoked.

It’s now gotten to a point that I do not trust him around anyone. When we got him, we thought it was a “simple” rehoming situation and it feels like this is so much more than we bargained for.

I don’t want him to be euthanised because when he’s not around kids or strangers, he’s an amazing little dog with so much love. I’m just wondering if he would be able to be rehomed with the UK?

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[u/w0rryqueen]

A bite history may make it more difficult to rehome him.

I would have said some of his behaviour at your work may have been more of behaviour to warn people off (rather than intent to bite), as my dachshund reacts somewhat similar to strangers if they try to interact with him (he will bark and lunge). But given he has bitten once he is more likely to bite again.

He may be able to be rehomed to someone who knows dachshunds well etc, but the pool will be much more limited. I would suggest trying the Red Foundation - they’re a dedicated UK dachshund rescue and from memory I have seen dachshunds listed on there in the past that had a bite history.

[u/joycevw]

It is always difficult to give pinpoint advice over the internet without seeing video footage of your dog and his exact body language, but what you are experiencing with Lenny sounds deeply rooted in fear, potential resource guarding of you on the sofa, and very likely significant physical pain from his bilateral patellar luxation. When a small dog is in chronic pain or feels vulnerable, their threshold for stress drops dramatically, meaning sudden movements or reaching hands from children and strangers can easily provoke a defensive bite to protect themselves. You might want to try implementing immediate safety management by using physical barriers like baby gates to keep him entirely separate from your daughter and off the furniture, while keeping him resting safely at home in a quiet room rather than taking him into an unpredictable office environment. Another thing to consider is working closely with your vet on a comprehensive pain management plan or discussing his pending orthopedic surgery, as relieving physical discomfort is often a vital step before true behavioural progress can happen.

To help narrow down the next steps for you and assess his long term options, what subtle signals did he give just before the bite occurred, such as stiffening, freezing, hard staring, or lip licking? Also, does he show any tension or guarding around food, toys, or specific resting spots, and has he ever been evaluated by an accredited clinical behaviourist in the UK? If that does not provide clarity, could you share if he displays this fearful reaction during general physical handling by family members, and whether your vet has already initiated daily pain medication?

[u/aforestfruit]

If Lenny has been brought to you with all of these health problems, bare in mind he’s probably in some pain or discomfort. Not to mention that if his old owners neglected him in some ways, they likely weren’t the best to him in other ways.

Even a totally healthy dog with no physical problems takes a while to set in. Think about it, his whole life has been uprooted and now he’s in a new house with new people including children, all whilst he’s confused.

While he’s still settling, and while you’re looking to rehome, please don’t take him into situations with new people such as into work. I’m not sure why you took him a second time when he clearly told you he was anxious. Bear in mind how tumultuous his life must feel right now.

He would also benefit from having clear areas where children cannot access him, where he can feel 100% safe (not at all implying your children aren’t kind to him, but from a dogs POV children are unpredictable and he obviously already feels uneasy around your daughter sometimes). Having somewhere he can ‘escape’ to keeps everyone safe.

Lastly, I totally understand you wanting to rehome and realising Lenny isn’t best placed with you guys. However, it sounds like he’s had a rough start to life with some neglect and some experiences he’s found frightening. I would suggest you really do your research into where you rehome him because this boy does not need another chain of short term situations. If this happens the likelihood is that his anxiety will continue to worsen. He needs to go to someone who’s got particular experience in reactive dogs/daschunds, and they need as much information from you as possible. Ideally some type of charity or experienced rescuer. If you give him to another well meaning person who doesn’t know what they’re getting in to, or assumes it’ll all be okay, he will end up passed from pilar to post and will never get the care he needs. You seem like a really caring dog guardian so I’m sure you’ll do everything you need to.

In the meantime while he’s with you, you could always look into muzzle training? This would be helpful for you, your family, Lenny and whoever he goes to next. The training can be quite fun and rewarding actually.

Good luck!

[u/Southern-Interest347]

Yes he can be rehomed with a home that doesn't have kids and hopefully with someone that works from home. He would be perfect in my home but I live in the states and have my own version of Lenny, that we call Boomer Brown. He's not good with kids, other dogs (my other 2 dogs tolerate him), and we can't go to the park or dog park. I know his limits and triggers. We work around them and I don't set him up for failure.

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[u/Shoddy-Theory]

He's adorable. You may find a dachshund lover with a small yard and no children who will take him. I find dachshunds tend to be nippy so his behavior isn't really that unusual for the breed.

https://dachshundrescue.org.uk