We added a Great Dane/Basset Hound mix just after Thanksgiving. He looks like a low-rider Great Dane. We call him Biggs, because, compared to the dachsies, he IS big. He weighs about 45+ lbs and is not quite 2 years old. He is black with grey dapple markings and is a BIG PUPPY! He thinks he's a miniature Chihuahua puppy and acts like it. Not funny when he comes barreling into the house and brushes past you! He was kept outside, wasn't socialized and didn't know his real name (Charlie), so we've been trying to teach him how to live with people. He's learning, but he's got a very LLLLLOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGG learning curve! It's always a Hallmark moment when Biggs greets Mike when we come home from the store. He clears the arm of the sofa and hits Mike like a freight train! Then, it's non-stop kisses until bed time. The good part about Biggs is that he doesn't drool like a Great Dane, so they aren't slobbery kisses!
Our sofa had a small (quarter sized) hole where Scooter had nibbled it. One of the first days that Biggs stayed home with the rest of the herd, we came home to find the hole was GONE! Of course, so was the entire length of the fabric on the back of the sofa! He's chewed up a couple of cushions from the sofa, another cushion from the chair, a leather chair at the store and the corner of another chair. We've been buying Bitter Apple as a deterrent - every morning, I do our "leave stuff alone" routine. I grab Biggs cheeks, stare in his face and growl, "DON'T CHEW ON STUFF". Then I spray the furniture with the Bitter Apple while he (and the other dogs) watch, chanting, "No - NO - NO - NO!!!" as I spray. Most of the times it works, but not always. Until it does, the sofa is not going to get replaced!
Then we come to the subject of this post - Marshall. His full name is Marshall Tucker Longhorn, though we usually just call him Marshall. He's also known as Marshy, Martian Mellon, Marsh mellow and "You little ratfink"! Marshall is a red, mini, smooth coated dachshund who weighs about 10 lbs soaking wet. He joined the family about 2 weeks after Biggs did. He'd had 3 families in 3 weeks and had separation anxiety. We brought him to the store for 2 weeks and he finally settled in. Nowadays, he and Biggs are partners in crime. One of their favorite heists is for Biggs to grab the toilet paper and take it outside, Marshall joins him and has a great time shredding the toilet paper - the patio winds up looking like a snow storm!
Marshal and Biggs are best buddies - inseparable, as the photo shows. Marshall is older by 6 months and he absolutely adores his "little" (as in younger) brother! Biggs loves Marshall - they play and Marshall will chew on Biggs from nose to tail and the big doof just lets him do it.
