Most of the time, people don’t think twice when they pick up their dog. Adults pick up dogs and even little kids pick up dogs. Sometimes it’s just an arm under the dog or sometimes it’s a hand grabbing the dog’s neck.

How you pick up a Dachshund is an entirely different matter.

These dogs have very long spines, and if not lifted properly, that spine can bend or twist to the point of breaking or giving the dog a serious sprain. Once the spine is damaged, it is almost impossible for the dog to fully recover.

I had not owned a Dachshund before purchasing my current dog, Nellie. When I got her, she was a very small puppy and weighed about 10 ounces. She is long-haired and now weighs 19 pounds.

He was used to handling a different type of dog, Yorkshire Terriers, Rat Terriers and other dogs that have relatively short backs. There was no problem lifting them with one hand under the rib cage.

As Nellie grew and grew, she would scream every time he tried to pick her up in the usual way. She should have known about the problem from the start because her back would bend into an inverted V shape when she picked her up.

I once saw a dog groomer try to pick her up by putting a hand under each front shoulder and pulling her up. She screamed and desperately tried to escape from the barbers’ hands by twisting from side to side.

At that point I was scared to death that she was going to insult my dog ​​and I knew I had to find the best way to pick up Nellie.

While researching the back problems Dachshunds can develop, I began to realize how vulnerable their spines really are. All kinds of health problems can occur just from jumping on furniture or being lifted in a way that can hurt your back or neck.

Now I pick Nellie up by putting one hand under her chest and one hand under her butt, right in front of her hind legs. This takes the pressure off her spine, keeps her back straight and distributes her weight over her entire body and not just her back.

Another version of this method is to put one hand under the chest entering the front and between the front legs while the other hand enters between the hind legs and rises in the stomach area. Once again, the pressure leaves the spine and is distributed throughout the body.

Don’t risk injuring your Dachshund or giving him back problems just because you’re trying to pick him up. Your dog has a very special backbone that you should pay a lot of extra attention to. Back, neck, and spine problems can develop if the spine is twisted, twisted, or bent in an unusual way.

Picking up your pet can cause spinal damage if not done correctly. Back problems can be costly for you and painful for your dog, learn the proper way to pick them up and reduce the chance of injury.