Hello.
We just adopted a female daschund named Twitch from my neighbor who bred his pair of (we think) purebred daschunds. She was the runt of the litter, and although she is almost a year old, she is still very tiny. She lived with her parents for about a year, but sadly the neighbor is moving away to a smaller place, and so we agreed to take her.
I want to have her spayed a.s.a.p because there are quite a few horny mutts in the neighborhood. However, I'm concerned because (I believe) they use anesthetic when performing this surgery. She is so tiny, I would hate for her to suffer any ill-effects from this.
Are there any special concerns spaying this tiny dog, or am I being a paranoid "new dad"?
Also- she occasionally trembles (her name is quite appropriate). Is she cold? Is she crazy? Is this something I should be worried about?
Finally- she is fairly well behaved, having grown up around her parents. However, she was never formally trained (i.e. sit, stay, stop peeing on the bed). Is it too late (old dog, new tricks) or is she still trainable?
This is my first daschund, so I would appreciate any advice you other "weiner lovers" might provide me.