rufusontheweb

Helen | 2011. Photo by: Johnny Ortez-Tibbels ©

Today we want to talk about another distinctively dachshund characteristic: sitting pretty. This is when a dachshund sits on his hind legs and goes from completely horizontal to vertical. We DO NOT recommend or encourage people to teach their dachshunds this trick, and we also agree that we should in fact discourage it – as a habit or practice. However, many times this is something dachshunds do inherently. We never taught Rufus this trick, yet he naturally does it on his own (as of now Emily and Lily do not). It is super cute when he does it – despite the fact that it’s bad for his back, and he often does it unexpectedly without any encouragement from us. He usually does it when he wants something, and I’m very good about putting him pack in a horizontal position right away.

As a photographer I’ve naturally captured the fleeting moment for posterity; I have a pretty fast shutter finger. Now, I’ve been consistently sharing original photographs with the dachshund loving public for nearly three years, and each time I share a “sitting pretty” photo some folks get upset. I understand their concern, they don’t want us to perpetuate this bad habit in our community. I get it. Be that as it may, it is something that exists in our community – naturally, and to NOT share the photos, in my opinion, is to deny part of our famous hound dogs. I mean it’s a prominent dachshund characteristic. Is it not better to share the photo and have a conversation about the practice vs. pretending it doesn’t exist (because it does)!?!? What do you think dachshund friends?!? To me, this is like one of those things you see on TV that requires a special disclaimer – please don’t try this at home. Let us know what you think. To share or not to share these potentially controversial photos??! We’re very curious to hear what our friends think.

Rufus | 2011. Photo by: Johnny Ortez-Tibbels ©