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It can be hard when you feel like your dachshund doesn’t like you. You provide them with a loving home and do your best to give them a great life but they seem to still not fully like you.
What gives?
Why Does My Dachshund Not Like Me:
Outside of acting strange for a day or week where your dachshund doesn’t like you, there’s always a reason behind why they’re behaving as though they don’t like you. The reasons they don’t like you are they had a traumatic past, they feel neglected, they’re depressed or they’re in pain.
In this post you’ll discover:
- 7 real reasons why your dachshund doesn’t like you
- In what situations you might be misinterpreting that your dachshund doesn’t like you
- 6 tips to help get your dachshund to like you more (Tip #4 can help the quickest!)
- And much more
Let’s jump right in.
Table of Contents
7 Reasons Why Your Dachshund May Not Like You
1) Past Trauma
If your dachshund has experienced anything emotionally traumatic in their past it could make it very difficult to warm up to you.
For example, if they were previously abandoned, it will make it very difficult for them to like you shortly after meeting you.
Even if it’s been a while, some dachshunds that have been abandoned take a long time to ever come around.
If this is the case, the best thing you can do is to be patient and give them time.
Eventually, with enough love and compassion your dachshund should start to like you regardless of their harsh past.
2) Previous Abuse
Similar to emotional trauma, if your dachshund was ever physically abused, this will also make it hard to like you, or anyone for that matter.
This is because they will associate you (a human) with the pain and suffering that they experienced in the past.
Again, all you can do is be patient and try to show them as much love as possible.
Over time they’ll start to realize that you’re not there to hurt them and they’ll start to like you.
When they’re ready and have had enough experiences of you being good to them, they’ll come around.
3) Changes To Their Environment
If there have been any changes to their environment that they feel are negative, this could be another potential reason why your dachshund doesn’t like you.
For example, if you got them from a shelter, they may not like you because they associate you with the change in environment (from the shelter to your house).
Or, if you recently moved houses and they’re still getting used to their new surroundings, that could be another reason.
The key here is to give them time to adjust and get used to the new environment.
In most cases, they’ll start to like you once they get used to their new environment and see that they’re safe with you.
Dachshunds don’t like change. Simple as that.
Which means the bigger the change the higher chance of them acting standoffish or strange.
Related Reading: 11 Reasons Why Dachshunds Get So Anxious + Tips To Help
4) Grieving
If your dachshund is grieving the loss of a previous owner or a family member (canine or human), this can make them appear to not like you right now.
However, it’s likely not that your dachshund doesn’t like you in this situation and more so that they’re distancing themselves because of their sad feelings.
The best thing you can do in this situation is to give your dachshund time and space to grieve.
Eventually, they’ll come out of it and start to like you again as they realize that you’re there for them.
Something else you can do to help them get past their grieving phase is do things they love more often.
Things like car rides, trips to the dog park, hikes if they enjoy them, longer walks, or extra time with other furry friends.
Once they’re able to stop focusing on what’s missing they’ll be back to liking you and everything else again.
Related Reading: Why Does My Dachshund Always Look Sad? 7 Reasons + Tips
5) Injury
If your dachshund is in any sort of pain, internally or externally, this may make them not want to be around you or anyone else.
Most dogs will do the best they can to hide any pain they may be feeling because they don’t want to appear weak or vulnerable.
This comes from their wolf ancestors because if a wolf was injured for too long they would be kicked out of the pack.
Of course this would never happen with your pup, but they may still instinctively feel the need to distance themselves when hurt.
Which can make it appear that they don’t like you.
They may also not want you to touch them in certain places because it makes the pain worse.
If you think your dachshund may be injured, the best thing to do is to take them to see a vet as soon as possible.
They can help identify any injuries and get your pup on a treatment plan so they can start feeling better.
6) Neglect
If you feel like you may have been neglecting your dachshund, this could be another potential reason why they don’t seem to like you.
Dogs are very intuitive and can sense when they’re being neglected.
This can make them feel unloved, unimportant, and unsupported.
All of which would lead to a dachshund that doesn’t like their owner.
Unfortunately, when life gets busy with work or with your social life, the pup is usually the one who gets less of your time.
If you think you may have accidentally been neglecting your dachshund, the best thing to do is to start showing them more attention.
This can be in the form of extra walks, playtime, cuddles, or anything else that your dachshund enjoys.
Related Reading: Can Dachshunds Be Left Alone? (Quick Answers + Tips!)
7) Lack Of Socialization When Young
If your dachshund wasn’t properly socialized when they were a puppy, this can make them appear to not like you or anyone else.
Proper socialization is when puppies are exposed to different people, animals, places, and experiences in a positive way.
If they don’t learn how to act around others in a healthy way it can make them appear like they don’t like you.
The best way to socialize a puppy is to take them out as often as possible and expose them to new things.
This can be other people, different types of animals, places like the park or beach, or anything else that you think they’ll enjoy.
It’s never too late to start socializing your dachshund if they weren’t properly socialized as a puppy.
Bonus: They Actually Do Like You
There’s always the possibility that your dachshund actually does like you and is simply having an off day or week.
Dogs are complex creatures and it can be hard to decipher why they’re acting a certain way.
It’s also normal for people to have off days or weeks for no rhyme or reason.
And the same goes for your pup.
6 Tips To Get Your Dachshund To Like You More
1) More Quality 1 On 1 Time
If you’re spending more time with other people or animals, this can make your dachshund feel left out and cause them to not like you as much.
To remedy this, try to spend more quality time with your pup.
This can be in the form of longer walks, playing fetch together, or just sitting on the couch cuddling.
The more they can associate time with you as an enjoyable, fun experience, the more they’ll be excited to see you.
Related Reading: Top 12 Best Harnesses For Dachshunds
2) Ensure You’re Taking Care Of Their Needs
If you want to help your dachshund like you, you’ll need to be the one to take care of their basic necessities.
This means being the one to feed them everyday.
Taking them out to go to the bathroom and get exercise.
As well as playing with them to further create a bond.
By being the one to take care of their needs, they’ll begin to see you as a reliable source of support and love.
And that will make them like you more.
3) Start Training More Often
Training is a great way to bond with your dachshund and get them to like you more.
This is because it requires patience, consistency, and positive reinforcement.
All of which will help create a strong relationship between you and your pup.
Plus, the more tricks they know, the more proud you’ll be of them.
And that’ll make them happy.
Also, because of a dachshund’s hunting background they build a stronger connection with the person who gives them commands.
So if you’re the one to train them new tricks/behaviors, they’ll likely start to please you by following your commands.
Which is another way of saying they’ll like you enough to listen.
Related Reading: 9 Simple Steps To Create The Obedient Dog Of Your Dreams
4) Do Things They Love
This goes without saying but if you want your dachshund to like you more, try doing things that they love more often.
If they love going for walks, then take them on more walks.
If they love playing fetch, play fetch with them more often.
If they love car rides, take them for more car rides.
It’s really that simple.
By doing things that make them happy, they’ll start to associate you with positive experiences and emotions.
Making them like you more in the process.
5) Use Positive Reinforcement
This is a great way to get your dachshund to like you more while also teaching them good behaviors.
Basically, whenever they do something you want them to do, praise them excessively.
And whenever they do something you don’t want them to do, simply ignore it and don’t give them any attention.
As opposed to yelling at them or showing negative/scary body language.
Dogs respond much better to positive reinforcement so this is a great way to get them to do what you want.
And once they start doing what you want, they’ll begin to see you as the leader/master.
Which will make them more likely to look up to you and like you.
6) Add More Structure
Dogs in general thrive with structure and routine.
So by adding more structure to their life, they’ll likely start to see you as the source of that stability.
Which will make them like you more.
Some things you can do to add more structure to their life include: feeding them at the same time everyday, taking them on walks at the same time everyday, and going to bed at the same time every night.
The more predictable you can make their life, the more they’ll see you as a reliable source of stability.
And that will make them like and respect you more.
Other posts you might find interesting:
12 Best Dog Beds for Dachshunds
Dachshund Reverse Sneezing: Why It Happens & What To Do