Family raised
Our puppies are born and raised in the house, not in a kennel building. They meet normal household life before they meet yours.
About Us
A small family programme built around one breed, and one breed only.
16 years of one breed
Melissa Evans founded Melissa’s Doxies in 2010, and has spent the 16 years since on one breed. Not Dachshunds among other things — Dachshunds. That is long enough to have seen the breed go in and out of fashion several times, long enough to know which lines produce sound backs and steady temperaments, and long enough to be unimpressed by whatever colour is commanding a premium this year.
This season we have 5 puppies across 2 litters, all miniature long-haired. They range from Daisy, a four-pound cream girl, through to Teddy, a chocolate and cream boy half again her weight. Their parents are registered with the AKC, APRI or ACA depending on the line, and several carry OFA certifications.
How our puppies are raised
The first eight weeks matter more than anything that comes after, so we spend them deliberately. Our puppies are born in the house and stay in it. They are handled every day from the first week — picked up, turned over, brushed — which is how you end up with a dog that tolerates a vet examination and a grooming session without a fight.
We start on the coat before there is much coat to start on. The long hair comes in properly at around four months, well after a puppy has gone home, and the owners who struggle with it are the ones whose dog had never seen a brush. Ours have.
And we teach them to be picked up correctly, because it matters more in this breed than in almost any other. One hand under the chest, one under the hindquarters, the spine level. We will show you on the day you collect.
What we will tell you before you buy
A Dachshund is a long dog on short legs, and the same shape that makes them charming makes their spine the one thing you have to protect. Intervertebral disc disease — IVDD — is the breed's defining health problem, and it is common enough that no honest breeder will tell you their line is free of it.
What you can do about it is not complicated: keep the dog lean, discourage jumping off furniture, put a ramp where the dog wants to get up, and carry them on stairs while they are young. Owners who do those four things have a very different experience of the breed from owners who do not. We would rather have that conversation with you now.
The other thing worth knowing is temperament. Dachshunds were bred to go down a hole after a badger without waiting to be told, and it shows. They are affectionate, funny and deeply attached to their people. They are also stubborn, opinionated and slow to house-train, and they bark. If you want a biddable dog that does as it is asked the first time, this is not the breed.
On pricing. Our prices differ from puppy to puppy, and they are all listed openly on the puppy page — no "enquire for price". What moves the figure is the litter, the registry and the parents behind it, not how unusual the coat looks. Ask us and we will tell you exactly why a given puppy is priced where it is.
What we stand for
What sets Melissa's Doxies apart
Health guaranteed
A written 3-year guarantee against life-threatening congenital and hereditary conditions, plus a veterinary health certificate before travel.
One breed, one coat
Miniature Dachshunds, long-haired. We do not produce whatever happens to be in demand, and we do not keep a second breed on the side.
Parents on the paperwork
Every listing names the sire and dam with their dates of birth, weights, registries and coats — and any OFA certification they hold.
Honest about the breed
Dachshunds have long backs, and that has consequences. We will tell you what they are before you commit, not after.
Lifetime support
Feeding, grooming, training, vet questions at two in the morning — we stay reachable for the whole of your dog’s life.
Ready to find your Doxie?
Have a look at who is available, or just send us a message and tell us what you're after.