I've been volunteering at the animal shelter here, and in a year and a half, there have been two dogs that my husband and I were unable to make friends with (and keep in mind that we manage, at most, a couple of hours a week).
One was a dachshund, and one was a dachshund mix.
My mom had a middle-aged cat when she adopted her pit. The first week that my mom brought Petey home, he did his grumbly, I'm-the-Alpha-Now routine to the cat...and the cat promptly bopped him on the nose to indicate that seniority is everything. And from then on, everything was fine.
Wrod to the doggy advice. Ozy is little, but he loves to growl and bark. We had to teach him as a puppy that biting was never ok. Not even cute playful puppy bites. Our fear was that because he's so small, people/children would gravitate toward him and though he's little, he is a hound and his jaws are pretty powerful.
ETA: Ha! And Ozymandias is a mini dachshund. He really is about the sweetest, snuggliest boy ever, but we had to raise him that way.
Scary, un-Glitzy link, DJ.
One was a dachshund, and one was a dachshund mix.
THIS is what I'm saying. Many, many months later, I still remember that little bastard. Nigel, is his name. Circled around me and chomped by Achilles Tendon the second I got in the door. I hadn't even had time to cause trouble yet! It hurt for a month or more.
No offense to the wonderful Dachshunds among us but...grumble, grumble, little bastard.
They were both incredibly fearful. And stubborn.
Weren't they historically bred for badger-hunting? Gotta be as mean as the badgers. I understand they are fiercely defensive of the people they consider theirs. Which is both sort of endearing, and very problematic from a behavioral point of view.
My best friend's pit mix was bullied by her cats. The dog even learned how to swat when annoyed rather than growl. The one mouse he caught was pile-drivered to death when he pounced on it rather than snapping it up. Poor, confused Max. . .
Oh Shir, I'm so sorry. Peace to Lou, and gentle comfort to his people.
Fred, I forgot to send healing thoughts to Max, and strength and coping ones to his humans.