Welcome to the go-to resource for Dachshund owners who want to help their Dachshund live a happier, healthier, and more fulfilled life!
Hi! I’m Jessica
I’m the creator of YouDidWhatWithYourWiener.com, the first dedicated blog for Dachshund parents on the internet. Since 2010, I’ve been helping Dachshund lovers like you navigate life with these funny, spunky, loyal little dogs.
At the core, this blog has always been about enrichment… I just didn’t know it yet! Back then, “enrichment” wasn’t a word people used much outside of zoos and behavior science. But looking back, those adventures were always about more than the trail – it was about making their world bigger, giving them chances to sniff, dig, explore, and express their natural instincts in healthy ways.
In 2012, At almost 40 years old, and after rescuing my second Dachshund, I left the security of a government job in the environmental sciences to dedicate my life full time to studying the breed and giving my Dachshunds the best life possible.
Today, my blog is a trusted resource for health, behavior, and adventure tips. It’s received two peer-reviewed awards for best dog blog, been linked to by sites like Wikipedia and Dachshund IVDD UK, and I’ve provided many expert interviews for magazines, podcasts, radio, and books.
I care about Dachshunds everywhere, and I feel a strong sense of responsibility when an owner reaches out to me. It’s like they become honorary family members.
Here’s why you can trust me with all things Dachshund:
🐾 I’ve logged over 10,000 hours of hands-on experience with the breed.
🐾 I’m a Licensed Family Dog Mediator (LFDM) and Certified Canine Enrichment Technician (DN_CET), with additional behavior and training education.
🐾 I’ve been hiking, camping, and adventuring with Dachshunds since 2003.
When I’m not creating content for you, Dachshund sitting, or adventuring with my 3 weenies, I’m leading the largest social Dachshund meetup club in Washington State and spending time with friends and family.
If you are interested in giving your Dachshund the best life possible, you will discover a lot of helpful information on this blog, especially if you stick around and explore a little.
Summit
Summit is a smart, perceptive girl with one “crazy blue eye” who looks like she is always judging you. I flew to Kansas City to meet her at 6 weeks old, and then the breeder flew her to Seattle two weeks later.
She was my first puppy and taught me so much about raising a calm, happy, well-adjusted Dachshund. While she does tend to resource guard, and makes her feelings very clear to other dogs, she has matured into a 95% “goodest” girl in her 6.5 years.
Summit has:
🐾 Gone on no less than five 3,000+ mile road trips.
🐾 Hiked up to 15 miles in a day and 35 miles over a period of 3 days.
🐾 Mastered the commands on your mat, down, sit, wait and loves her crate.
She is considered “intact” because of her ovary sparing spay, and still goes through heat cycles. Living with her has taught me even more about managing different dog personalities both within the same household and when out and about.
Otter
Otter is such a happy, friendly guy. He knows how to read other dogs and adjust his play style and intensity accordingly. He is a great host to our rotating cast of Dachshund sitting clients.
He is also from Kansas City, but not from the same breeder as Summit. I chose his breeder specifically because she is one of the only people in the US that back screens in her program to help reduce disk calcifications and disk ruptures (from IVDD) like they do in Denmark.
In this first year with us, he has:
🐾 Earned his Canine Good Citizen certificate.
🐾 Been registered by the AKC – formal name Eridox Why I Otter Fetch Good Omens.
🐾 Been told he is a good boy no less than 1,000,000,000 times.
Because he is young, his hiking “career” has just begone, but he can already hike up to 5 miles. Because all of the training I put in early, and partly because of his personality, is good off leash. I can always rely on him to come running back!
Gretel (2009-2025)
Gretel was a literal rags to riches story. She was passed around to at least 5 homes, one which was with a dog flipper, before we rescued her at around 11 months old. She immediately went from being “homeless” and emotionally neglected to living the life of a loved, spoiled, “celebrity” dog.
She was my heart dog, the catalyst for this blog, and was always be my sweet baby up until the day we had to say goodbye.
Gretel:
🐾 Went on her first-ever hike the day after we adopted her and loved it.
🐾 Was diagnosed with a Grade 2 IVDD disk injury in 2016 and fully recovered.
🐾 Hiked to the top of the tallest 14er in Colorado – Mt. Elbert (14,438 feet).
Although she was a bit of a terror in her younger years due to extreme anxiety, she matured into a perfect dog who knew the routine, listened, and always wants to please.
Chester (2003-2018)
Chester was the original Adventurewiener and this blog got it’s name because of him. When I told people that I took my Dachshund running, hiking, and camping, they usually exclaimed, “You did what with him?!?”
Chester was inherited from a roommate and was my first dog as an adult (although I had many dogs, cats, and other animals growing up). I wanted an adventure buddy and honestly didn’t know that people thought small dogs weren’t capable of much.
Chester:
🐾 Helped me train for a marathon.
🐾 Busted people’s stereotypical expectations as he passed them on the trail.
🐾 Loved kids and people, but couldn’t have cared less about other dogs.
In 2018, his quality of life was so diminished due to dementia that we had to say goodbye. We spoiled him during those last few days, and our vet let him enjoy some chocolate a few minutes before letting him go.
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