About Us
Our dogs are our full-time “job”, really, we enjoy it too much to call it that. If you haven’t already figured it out, we have a very unique kennel. We do things a bit differently than most breeders.
We are a mother-daughter team with individual kennel names, but one big happy family of Miniature through Standard Dachshunds.
Beyond an unheard-of lifetime genetic health guarantee, we believe in being very upfront with adoptive families, sharing views of everyday life most breeders wouldn’t via live puppy cams, texts, as well as pictures shared on social media. The good, and sometimes even the messy. 😉
While we pride ourselves on our professional quality weekly photoshoots, we also like to share real moments caught on camera or video with our puppy buyers as they happen. Ok, we admit it, we LOVE to take pictures of cute puppies, and though we may be biased, we think our pups are the CUTEST! If you can’t handle frequent cuteness overloads, you might want to rethink and go with a less obsessed puppy breeder, where you might get two pictures for the whole 8 weeks.
Spottadachs -Tamara
I grew up around dogs and breeding for the best of the best. My parents raised and successfully exhibited (showed) standard collies (and quarter horses) my entire childhood and teenage years. My first “very own” dog growing up was the niece of the famous tv star Lassie. Brilliant dog, but oh the hair! I swore when I grew up, I would never again own such a fluffy, long-haired dog.
Growing up in a family that was heavy into showing, I learned to recognize and judge for proper conformation, but after I started having children of my own, I decided that spending quality time with my family and dogs was more important than the politics and stress that go along with the world of showing. My children have had the opportunity to experience the excitement of showing, but more for the fun and life lessons than the fevered pace I experienced.
I have been raising Miniature Dachshunds for over 28 years, with a few years of also raising Great Danes.
Danes and Dachshunds complement each other. Danes are much calmer, and Dachshunds love it when they can boss bigger dogs around. The Dachshund breed will always be my true love, though. No other breed has such a variety of personalities, coats, or colors.
Despite my many years of experience, I still do not consider myself an expert and am by no means perfect. I strive to learn new, better ways to raise healthy puppies constantly. The advent of DNA health testing has made significant advances and become more readily available, helping breeders take some of the guesswork out of the genetic equation.
I spend every spare moment comparing notes with other reputable breeders, as well as researching health and genetics that would make most people's heads spin. It’s almost unfathomable how much has changed for breeders and the breed over the last 20 years. Back when I started, Piebalds and English creams were not even a known or accepted color…
A Little History
In 2018, my family and I had the amazing opportunity to purchase a 4000 sq ft church building on half an acre to convert into our home and kennel. This offered a wonderful place for our pack to play, socialize, grow, and concentrate on bettering our genetics. As well as a place for my four older children to spread their wings and learn to fly.
The summer of 2024, after an injury to my leg kept me up for several months, I realized I wasn't getting any younger, and my dream of traveling might be slipping away. I decided to give up my 4000 sq ft kennel/home in search of a simpler life. So I bought a 45' bus and converted it into Spottadach's new adventure headquarters. Appropriately christened the Dachshund Express.
Of course, the dogs had to come with!
Fall of 2024
While visiting my long-time friend and mentor in Washington State, I fell in love with the area and was offered the incredible opportunity to take over his Ranch and Great Danes when he retired. Some of the Great Danes trace back to dogs I owned and loved many years ago, when I was breeding and showing Danes.
Badgerdachs - Tiara
Tiara grew up with a love of Dachshunds, helping and learning alongside her mother's horse riding club and kennel. When she was old enough to fly the nest, she focused on her natural talent with horses, spending a couple of years at a prestigious riding facility in Texas and traveling the country as a show groomer. However, she came to realize how much she missed being close to family, leading to a move back to Utah, where she spent another year managing a boarding and grooming facility. This helped her experience many different dog breeds first-hand, learning which she preferred and which she didn't. Under the tutelage of their master groomer, she also learned the art of gentle grooming, as well as decorative grooming. So if you see some of our dogs with brightly colored tails or eyebrows, you know she has left her mark.
On one cross-country trip to pick up some Dachshunds for her mom, Tiara fell in love with a sweet but unsocialized trio of dogs from Alabama.
Monkey, Ellie, and Harvey, along with Pinto Bean whom she purchased from her sister at Rockindachs, became the foundation of Badgerdachs kennel.
In 2026 Tiara decided she had had enough of living in the city and made the move to Washington to be with her dogs, who were already at the ranch.
A New Beginning Together
The ranch has been a new beginning for both Badgerdachs and Spottadachs, with a spacious new ranch to call home and many new adventures that come with taking over a ranch full of XL dogs, milk cows, chickens, wild bunnies, and a large conspiracy of Ravens. We are starting from scratch on all the Dachshund areas, which at times is frustrating after the beautiful setup we had in Utah, but we know, given time, we will be able to make this place just as beautiful and fun for the pack.
No matter if we are traveling in the Dachshund Express or enjoying the quiet life on the ranch, our dogs are not kept on wire or sleep on cold concrete floors; they spend the day freely lounging about on the couch, or underfoot as well as playing in an outdoor play yard as the weather permits.
We have a fully equipped medical bay for emergency and whelping needs. Everything from sutures and oxygen to ultrasound and vitals monitoring. All of our puppies receive a 15-point checkup (ears, eyes, belly button, heart, lungs, etc..), as well as vaccinations, deworming, and personality evaluation before they go to their new homes
We strongly believe in giving our dogs as natural a pack-like social life as possible while still experiencing life in a home setting.
There is a fine line to keeping a healthy pack balance. Too many alphas and you have constant fights where everyone has to be locked away from each other (which is why most breeding kennels have individual kennels for every dog). To be able to give my dogs a better life and avoid fights, I keep a limited number of dogs and have groups that are trusted together when not hanging out as a pack under supervision.
Our pack almost always has an alpha female, as well as a matriarch who helps keep the peace and teaches the puppies proper social behavior. Where we only breed my females a few times, we usually also have prospective young dogs (the teenagers) that keep things lively.
We are very picky about who will have the privilege of becoming a breeding dog, as we take the creation of life very seriously. All of our dogs are evaluated for breed standards and health tested before even being considered. Beyond science, a healthy, balanced personality is a requirement. Just because a female is old enough doesn’t mean they are mentally prepared to be a mother. Each female is evaluated on a personal basis.
Some would say breeding is unethical, or that breeders are just money-hungry. For us, at the end of the day, especially the hard or heartbreaking ones, it is the unbiased love we get in return from our dogs and the families who adopt our puppies. We live for the updates of pups from their loving families. Tamara has also been accused of being a birthing junkie with a of love being hands-on with every aspect of our litters.
There is so much more that goes into being a dedicated breeder than just playing with cute puppies all day. It is not about the money either, because any breeder who takes proper care of their breeding stock, puppies, and customers, as well as invests in healthy genetics and constantly strives to improve their breed, is not making much extra money.
We love to talk Dachshund, so feel free to contact us (at any reasonable hour); no question is too stupid. We would much rather you ask so we know our babies are going to families who want the best for them, just like we do.
Future Plans
We have some great ideas in store for the ranch and kennels, and we are working towards making them happen in the next year or two.
Some of the things we want to implement are:
On-site Barn hunts and lure coursing
Family Reunions for anyone who has gotten a dog from Spottadachs, Badgerdachs, or Rockindachs. Weekend campout, weenie roasts, swap stories, etc..
Boarding for past pups
Dachshund safe splash pad/shallow pond