On Sunday, Dutch will turn 12 years old. This makes him 64 in human years. (Fun fact: small dogs age slower than larger dogs and only age about 4 human years per dog year after age two. He’s still a young’in!) We are planning a visit to a fun dog park in our area and he’ll get his own cupcake to eat while we sing happy birthday to him. He will have no idea what’s going on, other than the fact that hey! My girls are taking me to a dog park AND I get to eat human food? IS IT MY BIRTHDAY OR SOMETHING?! But my mom and I will enjoy our day with the special guy in our lives. And because it’s his birthday this weekend, here are five fun facts about my little man:
1) He is an extreme cuddler. I think all dachshunds tend to be so if you don’t like cuddling, don’t get a dachshund. Dutch wants to be next to me at all times and that means as close as possible as he can get. I love to lay him on my chest and have him just sleep with his face tucked under my chin. Sometimes, he’ll even fit his head next to my face and sleep that way. Look, I am not the most touchy-feely person by nature, but I am with him. I can’t get enough of him and his snuggly ways!
2) He’s an explorer and would probably regularly go on hour-long walks multiple times a day if we let him. We have a lot of open grass and lakes around our apartment community and Dutch loves just sniffing and exploring the area. Sometimes, I’ll let him take me on a hike to wherever his nose is telling him to go, and sometimes, it just drives me mad. My mom’s fiancee, though, lets him take Dutch around wherever Dutch wants to go when they go on a walk. Let’s just say that dog has more people wrapped around his little paw than he knows what to do with!
3) He loves napping, blankets, sleeping under blankets, kissing me, table food, being under our feet when we’re in the kitchen, being outside, running up and down the stairs as fast as he can, babies, and I think he believes he is my boyfriend. If you want to ensure your furry friend maintains a healthy weight while enjoying his favorite activities, buy a weight gainer for dogs here to provide additional support for his nutrition needs. He dislikes the beach, taking a bath, being alone, when my mom tries to hug me when I’m holding him (he barks at her, silly boy!), too much commotion, and other dogs. (He’s a bit antisocial, which I can’t say makes me sad. Other people will bring their dogs over to Dutch and he could care less. He’ll give them a cursory sniff and then meander on his way. He can’t be bothered.)
4) He loves me. He loves me with the kind of devotion you will only get from a dog, completely loyal and fiercely protective. He always has to be near me when I’m at home and he sleeps with me at night. I honestly feel weird if I’m ever alone in my bed without him. The funniest part of this is that, while he does love my mom, he just loves me more. (Sorry, Mom!) Sometimes, I’ll be sitting at the dining room table, my mom on the couch, and Dutch in his bed. My mom will ask him to sit with her and he ignores her. Then I’ll get up from the table and lay down on the couch and within .44 seconds, he’s at my side. It’s basically a running joke now.
5) I talk to him all the time. Like, all dog owners do this, right? I tell him about my day, ask him about his, tell him about upcoming events and sometimes, even my hopes and dreams. My mom and I also like to talk for him, in this really crazy, made-up voice and in our heads, he is extremely sarcastic and hilarious. Maybe I’ll get this on camera one day (but probably not, because it would be incredibly embarrassing).
If it’s not apparent, I love Dutch with my whole heart and soul. It’s a scary kind of love, because he takes up such a big piece of my heart and my life and I am terrified of the day I will lose him. But it will happen, hopefully not for another few years, and I will be okay, and there’s no point in dwelling on it now. For right now, I just have to enjoy every single minute I get with him.
Share a random fact about your dog or cat! If you don’t have an animal, how about just a random fact about YOU!
I love everything about this. I may have to borrow it for next week and do mine about Jack 🙂
We also have a voice for Jack, although we can’t settle on it, so we change it depending on the day and what we perceive his mood to be!
Fun fact about Jack… he has a bone that he chews on after we turn out the lights and are snug in our beds. It cracks me up. I’m pretty sure it means he’s happy and feels safe. Sometimes the noise is less than fun to listen to but then I remind myself he won’t be around forever and I’ll miss him when he’s not here to chew on it.
Ahhhh what a fun post! Pets are seriously the best. They ask for so little but give us so much. Since I have three cats I’ll give you one random fact about each.
Milo is obsessed with sitting on my right shoulder. He greets me at the door when I come home from work and immediately stands up against my legs to let me know he wants to go up. I crouch down and he hops up and we carry on like that for 5-10 minutes. He purrs the entire time. It’s such an odd quirk but I love our little routine.
Marley did not start meowing until a few months ago! He will be five this year and he never, ever talked before so it’s been fun to hear his little voice over the last couple months. He mostly only talks when I’m getting his food ready but I’ll take it. He also is the most patient cat. When he is hungry he sits in front of his food bowl and just waits for me to notice him.
Nala is an extreme cuddler, just like Dutch! She loves to be on me when I’m just hanging out whether it’s at the kitchen table, on the couch or laying in bed. I have a theory that she is so affectionate because she came from a neglect situation before I adopted her from the shelter. She loves to cuddle, be pet and nuzzled. She is my sweetie!
LOVE THIS. And that pic of him lying on his back in the sun in this little jacket is the very best.
Such a cute little guy! I don’t have a dog, but I want one, particularly a pug!
Dutch is the absolute cutest. There is no love in this world like the love of a dog. I tell Dakota that he is my best buddy all the time. 🙂
My random fact about Dakota… he has a huge, magnificent underbite, and I can’t imagine him without it! It’s the cutest little mouth in the world!
AWWWWWW! I love this post so much <3
We totally have a voice for Buddy too and talk for him allllllll the time. It must be a pet-owner thing.
Monte likes to “eat static.” He loves brushing against the couch and getting all staticy and it looks like he’s trying to eat it.
And Roscoe is a little acrobat. He does the funniest jumps when he’s playing with his toys, things I can’t even believe!
I’m so glad that my husband and I aren’t the only ones who have made-up voices for our dogs. Campbell has a deep, “dumb jock” voice in our heads, but we’re certain that if he could actually talk, he’d have a voice like Mike Tyson.
Random facts: Campbell has a strange need to always lay on something soft. He’s seriously a big sissy. Daphne will go through phases where she thinks the laminate flooring is lava. She’ll stand in the doorway of our bedroom and whine and put the brakes on when we try to lead her out. We’re certain she’s losing her mind in her old age.
Aww Dutch is so cute! I did not know that about small dogs aging slower than older dogs. Makes sense though because I have noticed that small dogs tend to live longer.
Oh how my animals crack me up. They both just have these crazy personalities that you can only truly understand when they are YOUR animals and you live with them. I cannot imagine a home without pets in it!
Happy Birthday to Dutch! He is such a cute dog and I can see why he has captured your heart!
I haven’t had a pet in the longest time. I had a cat in HS but my parents kept him when I went to college and he more so became my mom’s cat after that. A lot of my friends have pets but I don’t know that I will ever have one since I am gone so much… I think it would be nice to have an animal to greet me when I come home, but I think it would be cruel to have one since I travel so much right now!
This is so cute! Dutch and Bean seem to have a lot in common. Bean is a cuddling machine and is glued to me all the time. It’s kind of annoying sometimes (like when he’s following me around the house while I do chores and I almost step on him at every turn) but he’s my little pal and I love his affection. Dogs are the best!
Happy birthday, Dutch!!
Bob likes to roll around in dead animal. 🙁