Sampson is such a beautiful dog. His shiny coat is silky soft and so easy to cuddle and kiss.Sampson's coloring has become darker brown over his puppy tan giving way again to the Dachshund breed. He is now a beautiful dark cinnamon with black lined eyes that speak to you. His snout is not as long as a dachshund adding the cute pug face of a Chihuahua and the floppy ears. His tail is long and his legs are short.

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Our Chiweenie seems to be ninety percent dachshund and ten percent chihuahua. The length of his body is dachshund trait and according to our veterinarian, the teeth are identical to that of a dachshund. Sampson has such strong legs and can jump up onto a tall queen size bed very easily. Because of his length and shortness of his legs, it is necessary to teach Sampson to use pet stairs as disk misplacement is very likely to occur if he was to jump down without control.

It's two-thirty in the morning as I stumble to find my eyeglasses, slippers and housecoat while feeling my way toward the sliding door to the backyard.It's potty time for the seven month old Chiweenie we named Sampson. It is extremely important to answer the call of 'potty-time' no matter what part of the day or night it is. Sampson being seven months old now, still needs me to go outside with him, at least while he investigates the night-time. Smaller dogs seem to need the push to go outdoors, especially during the winter weather. During the day Sampson has learned to sit by the sliding door until I notice that he has to go outside. He is beginning to learn to make a noise, sometimes a whine if I am in the other room and he needs to go out right away.

Then it is feeding time. The veterinarian requested that I keep the puppy food at one cup per day, since Sampson was neutered at six months old. She stated that neutered/spayed dogs seem to gain weight quicker. I feed Sampson 3 times a day. Most of the food is served at breakfast time, making it easier for me to get things accomplished, without having to constantly observe the dog for 'potty-time'.

Playtime begins immediately upon waking, including on the way to the door for his morning trip outside. Sampson is quite an active dog and requires much attention. He may be spoiled, I am not quite sure if I made the mistake by being available so much when he was a smaller puppy. I will be researching this fact with the type of hybrid mix.

Clipping of the nails seems to be a weekly job with this breed. He is a burrower type of breed, the dachsund half and this creates quite heavy dark nails or claws. Starting any type of hygiene habits as a young pup is extremely important for continued easy bathing, teeth brushing, hair brushing and nail clipping.

Playing and holding this proud breed is as essential as feeding good healthy and nutritious food. This chiweenie breed is a little skiddy or quick to bark at even a strange noise on the television, and early training to stop the sometimes high pitched bark is essential to a calm family home.

This breed is so proud and loves to be held with hind legs and feet in the palm of one hand while standing up straight and proud. This accentuates the breast bone of the chiweenie as in the dachsund, it is very pronounce. One should be aware of this when purchasing sweaters or jackets for the winter wear.

Walking is very important. Some may think that the smaller dog receives ample excercise in his fast running and playing, but even small dogs need walking on a lease if not just for alpha training.

Bedtime in our home is early evening. Sampson has fallen asleep either in his bed or in his kennel. Sometime during the night Sampson usually wriggles himself under the covers in our bed.

Some folks do not believe in allowing a canine in one's sleeping bed but for now it works. Sampson has his own mind and it is a very stubborn one. He enjoys the comfort of human contact. Who am I to stop it, especially when I enjoy it too!