[Lakota is born and raised in London, England but now lives in Umhlanga, South Africa, with her very first pack: Harley (Mr. Davidson) Jack (Mr. Daniels) and new addition Ozzy (Mr. Osbourne). All three are mini-Dachshunds one year or younger so you just know she has her hands full!]

My entry into a doxie filled world started with the question, 'where on EARTH will I buy my puppies from?' I had already done huge amounts of research to find a breed that would suit my lifestyle and found three options: find a breeder, a private seller, or go to a petshop. In the end, I did all three.

Harley, my first, was from a pet shop (which I would never ever do again but that's a whole different story), I got Jack a month later from a woman who sold doxie pups for breeders who came recommended by my vet, and I got Ozzy last week from a KUSA registered breeder in a different province.

So this got me thinking: are their personalities influenced by those first eight or nine weeks of their lives? In my experience, absolutely!

Take Harley. He was kept in a glass and wire cage most of his first few weeks with virtually no interaction with anyone or anything. He's a loving puppy, but very nervous, skittish and he can throw the most amazing sulks. He was a terror to house train as he could pee and poop in his cage, hates being handled too much, but will give lots of love cuddles and kisses once he knows he can trust you.



Jack lived his first few weeks in a house with a garden, his parents and siblings. Thanks to beautiful South African weather, he was in the garden a lot. As a result, he was easy to house train (six weeks!) and is sociable, adventurous and much braver than Harley. He does, however, get super jealous and constantly seeks to be the centre of attention–something he would have had to fight for with his original packmates.


Ozzy came from a breeder and lived in outdoor kennels with his parents and other puppies with no-one watching him full time. He's a total adventure monkey! He has to be watched carefully to make sure he doesn't leap off or into things as he got used to being able to do whatever his puppy-senses told him to do! He's going to be a challenge to train that's for sure. He loves attention but isn't sure about this kisses nonsense!


Maybe I just have crazy, lovely, gorgeous boys!!

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