Toy Rat Doxies are a relatively rare hybrid dog breed resulting from crossbreeding a Dachshund with a Rat Terrier. This unique pairing results in a small breed with a feisty, lively, and affectionate personality that offers great companionship for active families and singles alike. However, this breed isn’t suitable for every person as they may have a challenging personality. Read on to learn more about the Toy Rat Doxie to decide if it’s the right breed for you.
Breed Overview
Height:
6–16 inches
Weight:
7–25 pounds
Lifespan:
12–18 years
Colors:
Varies; black, white, red, brown, cream, red, tan, sable, apricot, etc.
Suitable for:
Experienced dog owners, families with older children, apartment dwellers
Temperament:
Loyal, stubborn, active, affectionate, energetic
The Toy Rat Doxie combines some of the best (and most challenging) traits of both of its parent breeds. The Rat Terrier side offers a highly athletic, playful, and goofy temperament that requires an appropriate outlet for their high energy. The Dachshund side brings in a certain mischievousness and intelligence. Toy Rat Doxies can be big diggers and fantastic escape artists like their Rat Terrier parents and willful and headstrong like their Dachshund parents.
Toy Rat Doxie Characteristics
Toy Rat Doxie Puppies
While finding either of the parent breeds is generally easy, locating a puppy resulting from the crossing of these two breeds is challenging. At the time of writing, we were unable to find any breeders dedicated to the Toy Rat Doxie.
As puppies, they are highly energetic and active. They’ll spend much of their puppyhood sniffing around, exploring every nook and cranny of their world, and getting themselves into trouble. It’s extremely important to begin socialization and training as soon as possible to ensure your puppy grows into a well-rounded adult.
Toy Rat Doxie Breed Origin & History
Since this is a hybrid breed, tracing its exact origins is much more difficult than it would be to trace the origins of the parent breeds. What we know is that this crossbreed is the result of combining the German-bred Dachshund with the American-born Rat Terrier. Both parents have an established history as hunters in their countries of origin. The hybrid combines the Rat Terrier’s humble beginnings working as farm dogs and hunting companions with the Dachshund’s scenting, chasing, and hunting origins.
Temperament & Intelligence of the Toy Rat Doxie
The Toy Rat Doxie’s parent breeds have opposing personalities in many respects, which can make the resulting puppies a bit of a mixed bag temperament-wise. It’s impossible to know exactly what you’re going to get, but this hybrid generally has a great blend of intelligence, affection, and energy.
The Dachshund heritage may make the Toy Rat Doxie lively, playful, clever, and stubborn. They may be bold, vivacious, and courageous. They may not know or care about their smaller size, carrying themselves with the attitude of a much larger dog. This may make them more likely to challenge larger dogs they stand no chance against.
The Rat Terrier heritage can make Toy Rat Doxies extremely loyal, respectful, and calm. This part of your dog’s DNA can also have an extremely high prey drive, which can make off-leash romps risky unless you’ve worked with your pup on recall and desensitization.
Are These Dogs Good for Families?🏡
Toy Rat Doxies can be good family dogs for the right family. They’re highly affectionate and playful and can make brilliant watchdogs. They’re likely to be fiercely loyal and bond closely with one family member in particular. They truly live up to the “man’s best friend” adage as they’re very devoted and love following their favorite persona around everywhere.
However, they may not be suitable for every family. Their smaller size can make them inappropriate for homes with small children, as can their propensity toward aggression if they are left untrained and unsocialized.
Does This Breed Get Along With Other Pets?🐶 😽
Toy Rat Doxies may be able to live harmoniously with other family pets, but this isn’t always the case. Given their hunting heritage, they are likely to have a high prey drive, which can make living with smaller animals and pocket pets (e.g., guinea pigs and hamsters) a nightmare. Even if you begin socialization and training early, it can be difficult to eradicate your Toy Rat Doxies prey drive completely.
Things to Know When Owning a Toy Rat Doxie
Food & Diet Requirements 🦴
As with other dog breeds, Toy Rat Doxies require a high-quality and life-stage-appropriate diet to ensure their nutritional needs are being met. Their food should be labeled as complete and balanced for their life stage by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).
Since the Dachshund DNA may make them prone to obesity, owners must ensure they’re feeding appropriate portions. Your pup may have an acute sense of smell thanks to their Dachshund heritage, so ensure you’re keeping human food far out of reach.
Your pup’s Rat Terrier DNA may also make them prone to skin allergies. If this becomes a problem for your pet, you may need to speak with a veterinarian about using supplements like fish oil to help.
Exercise 🐕
Don’t let the Toy Rat Doxie’s small stature fool you into thinking this hybrid doesn’t require exercise. Given its parent breeds’ hunting and working backgrounds, you should expect your pup to require, at minimum, one hour of exercise daily.
What type of physical activity you offer your pup will depend on which breed they take after most. For example, if they’ve inherited their Dachshund parents’ short legs, they may not enjoy long walks, so splitting a walk into two shorter sessions will be preferred. If they have their Rat Terrier parents’ energy, they might prefer moderately intense exercise like brisk walking or even jogging.
Agility is a great exercise program to consider as the obstacles challenge them mentally and physically. Pups taking after their Rat Terrier side may also excel at dog sports like flyball, racing, and weight pull.
The right exercise program will prevent obesity (something Dachshunds are prone to) and ensure your pup is mentally and physically stimulated. An under-stimulating exercise regimen can turn your Toy Rat Terrier’s sharp little mind devious.
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Training🦮
Training is a non-negotiable part of owning any dog, but it’s especially important for the Toy Rat Doxie as their parent breeds can have challenging personalities.
The Dachshund, though their wiener-like appearance makes them adorable and unimposing, is labeled as one of the most aggressive dog breeds according to some studies1. The Rat Terrier DNA can make them reactive, wary, moody, and feisty. Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume that an untrained Toy Rat Doxie would be challenging to handle and could develop some serious problem behaviors like inappropriate chasing, impulsivity, and aggression.
Owners need to establish themselves as confident and consistent leaders as soon as possible. Treats, praise, and other motivators are great tools to use to encourage and reward good behavior. Harsh training methodologies and punishment are not recommended. These dogs are extremely sensitive, and such training methods can negatively impact the bond you’re building with your pet.
Grooming✂️
The grooming regimen will depend entirely on the type of coat your pup inherits, though you shouldn’t expect it to be too involved.
If their coat is short and smooth like their Rat Terrier parent, grooming will be a cinch. They will still shed throughout the year with a heavier seasonal shed twice annually. A quick brush once weekly is typically enough to keep them looking their best. They may inherit the sensitive skin Rat Terriers are known for.
If they take after their Dachshund side, they may have one of three coat types. Smooth-coated Doxies have a ‘wash and wear’ type coat that doesn’t need much attention beyond a wipe with a towel. Long-haired Doxies will require more frequent brushing depending on the texture of their coats. Wire-coated Doxies may need their coats hand-stripped a few times every year.
Health and Conditions❤️
While hybrid dogs are generally considered healthier than their purebred counterparts, they can still be prone to developing some health conditions. Dachshunds and Rat Terriers are both prone to a variety of health problems, which may be passed on to their offspring.
The biggest health concern for Dachshunds is back issues due to their long spines and bowed legs. Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) is quite common in this breed and can cause debilitating side effects like paralysis. Up to 24% of Dachshunds will develop IVDD in their lifetime2.
Dachshunds are also prone to obesity, epilepsy, bloat, diabetes, and eye issues.
Rat Terriers can develop orthopedic issues such as hip and elbow dysplasia and Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. They are also prone to heart disease.
Both Dachshunds and Rat Terriers have been noted to have luxating patella, dental problems, ear problems, and eye issues.
Serious Conditions
Heart disease
IVDD
Obesity
Bloat
Diabetes
Epilepsy
Joint conditions
Male vs Female
Most experts agree there are no significant differences in male and female dog personalities. Every dog’s temperament is dependent on genetics and environmental influences. Two males from the same litter can have entirely different personalities. That said, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests males are more easy-going and laidback than their female counterparts.
Males may be slightly larger than females, but the size differences between their parent breed sexes aren’t as notable as in other breeds.
3 Little-Known Facts About the Toy Rat Doxie
1. They’re Excellent Hunters
Toy Rat Doxies are likely to be fantastic hunters thanks to the hunting heritage in the breed’s parentage. Dachshunds were initially bred to hunt badgers. Proof of this is in the breed’s name; “dach” means badger, and “hund” means dog. Rat Terriers were bred to kill rats on farms where rodent infestations meant the difference between having enough food to last the winter and starving.
2. They Have a Long Life Expectancy
At 12 to 15 years, Dachshunds have a very long life expectancy. However, Rat Terriers have a slightly longer life expectancy of 15 to 18 years. The resulting puppies from breeding these two long-lived breeds are, therefore, expected to have a life expectancy between 12 to 18 years.
3. They May Develop Separation Anxiety
This breed may be prone to developing separation anxiety as they bond very deeply with their human companions. For this reason, they typically do best in homes with people around them almost all the time, so they always have company.
Final Thoughts
Toy Rat Doxies are a new and interesting hybrid. The parent breeds can be very different in size and temperament, so potential owners roll the dice when they adopt. They may be as small as 10 pounds and 5 inches or as big as 32 pounds and 18 inches. They’re likely to be active and playful but could be mischievous, stubborn, and aggressive, too.
They require socialization and training as soon as possible to give them the best chance at becoming well-rounded adult dogs. That said, they can be extremely challenging to train, so don’t hesitate to reach out to a professional trainer if you’re struggling.
This hybrid can be difficult to keep, given that the parent breeds can sometimes have challenging temperaments. For this reason, we do not recommend them for first-time dog owners. However, if you have experience and aren’t afraid to establish yourself as a confident and consistent leader, the Toy Rat Doxie is an affectionate and loyal companion to consider.
Featured Image Credit: Sara Hahn, Shutterstock
