About Us

Our Beginning

My name is Rhiannon Davis, and I founded A Walk In The Park Dachshunds in 2020. My program is located in Neosho, Missouri, which is where I grew up. My family has raised and trained dogs for over 25 years, and I have grown up with them my entire life. I have been showing dogs since I was 5 years old. My parents were influential board members of the Missouri Pet Breeders Association and a member of the Farm Bureau whenever I was younger, so I was very involved in animals from a very young age. I grew up with Shiba Inus but I quickly fell in love with the spunky nature of dachshunds and have had both miniature and standard sizes. We've participated in animal rescue, animal training, dog grooming, conformation shows, and animal sports for my entire life. We show with AKC, UKC, International, APRI and ACA, and we compete in sports. Now, we have a small farm outside of town where our dogs have 5 acres of beautiful land all to themselves.

Read Reviews

Our Community Involvement

I am a board member of the Heartland Pet Breeders Association, where I attend monthly meetings and listen to official speakers or other members to continue my education, and host dog shows of our own. Our program is an official AKC Bred With Heart program, ensuring we are working to maintain health testing on our dogs and continue our education as breeders. I am also an official Preferred Good Dog Breeder and a part of the Better Breeder Institute, where I adhere to a strict code of ethics. We attend educational events like St Puppy’s Day and the MPBA seminar every year. I have also attended a Pinnacle Pet kennel tour where I was able to learn the ins and outs of other breeder’s programs.

View Our Certificates

Contact

I have a huge passion for all animals, especially dachshunds, and I would love to hear from you. Always feel free to reach out with any questions about us, our program, or dog breeding in general. We can offer delivery to most locations in the U.S. and are happy to work with other breeders. Always feel free to reach out to me at witpdachshunds@gmail.com. Otherwise, I have a waitlist and a notification list that you are more than welcome to apply for!

See Our Waitlist and Process

Have The Parents Been Health Tested?

Yes, absolutely! All of our dogs have health testing as recommended by the official Dachshund breed club. In Dachshunds, this is OFA eyes and patellas. But our boys also have hips and elbows, and we also preform DNA testing, cardiac, and dentition. All of their OFA health testing is publicly available on the OFA website. We are an official AKC Bred With Heart Breeder, which means we continue our education and health test all of our dogs.

What Is Your Experience With This Breed?

I founded A Walk In The Park (WITP) Dachshunds in 2020, but I have had a lifetime of experience with dogs and other animals. My family has raised, shown, and groomed dogs for 30+ years, and we have also raised rabbits, chickens, and goats! I have been showing and training dogs in conformation since I was 5 years old. I am an active member of my local dog breeding club, the Heartland Pet Breeders Association, and I attend seminars and events every year, like the MPBA seminar and St Puppy's Day event, so that I am always continuing my education. I have taken several online dog breeding courses through Good Dog, and I have been on a kennel tour with Pinnacle Vet as well.

See My Credentials

How Are Your Puppies Socialised?

Our puppies are very well-socialised. From day one, we are hands-on. They experience various sounds, such as radio music, kids playing, and TV. They also experience all types of surfaces: hardwood, carpet, linoleum, grass, gravel, and in the winter time, they get to play in the snow! I have several little nieces and nephews, aged 0-10, that also get our puppies used to being around kids of most ages. Our puppies get to experience both indoor and outdoor environments. These small experiences help your puppy become confident in their new home.

Do You Provide A Health Guarantee and Contract?

Yes. We offer a 1-year genetic health guarantee from the time you receive your puppy. We also do have a contract we require all of our puppy owners to abide to. Our contract states that no dog from us may be surrendered to a rescue or shelter, abandoned, or rehomed without our consent. Feel free to reach out, and I am happy to send you a copy of our contract and health guarantee!

When Can We Bring Our Puppy Home?

Our puppies go home at 10 weeks old, or older, without exceptions.

How Can We Contact You After Picking Up the Puppy?

We give all of our owners our phone number upon pickup so that they may keep in touch. But if you lose my number, you're always more than welcome to gmail me at witpdachshunds@gmail.com !

What Requirements Do You Have for People Looking to Get One of Your Puppies?

Our application has all of our questions for potential owners. You can see our application here: https://apply.gooddog.com/a-walk-in-the-park-missouri

Other Questions We Are Frequently Asked

You are always more than welcome to contact us at witpdachshunds@gmail.com if you still have questions for us!

What comes with a puppy?

All of our puppies come current on their vaccinations, microchipped, registered, and current on dewormings. All of our puppies see the vet before they go home. They will also come with a goodie bag if possible, and all of their parent's paperwork, including their health testing, pedigrees, and show titles.

Do you sell to breeders?

Yes! We love working with other dachshund breeders to either improve their program or our own program. We are always seeking to improve in temperament, health, and conformation, and we are happy to give the same opportunity of improvement to other breeders.

Who all is behind 'A Walk In The Park Dachshunds'?

I, Rhiannon Davis, am the breeder behind A Walk In The Park. However, we do have a sister program-- literally! My sister began raising dachshunds not long after me, and now has her own wonderful breeding program. She lives close by and so her dogs and my dogs spend a lot of time together and attend dog shows together. Feel free to reach out at any time if you're interested in knowing more about my sister's program.

Aside from this, my sister-in-law helps out tremendously. She helps us manage our flight schedule whenever we have puppies going home, and she babysits my dogs for me whenever I am away at shows.

Both my sister and my sister-in-law attend a lot of dog shows and educational seminars with me as well, so rest assured our pets (including your puppy) are in great hands whenever I am away from home!

And I of course can't forget my little nieces and nephews who help us play with puppies whenever we have them.

What Are Double Dapples?

We have a page dedicated to the education about Double Dapples. Read about it here: https://walkinthepark.dog/double-dapple-info

What Colours Do Dachshunds Come In?

We have a page dedicated to coat colours. Read about it here: https://walkinthepark.dog/coat-colours

What's The Difference Between AKC, UKC, APRI... Etc?

All of our dachshunds are registered with AKC, but many of them are ALSO registered with UKC and APRI. So, what's the difference?

The AKC stands for the American Kennel Club. The AKC (as well as parent breed clubs) helps to create, set, and enforce the standard for purebred dogs, as well as educate the people about purebred dogs and the art of breeding. The AKC also hosts nation-wide events, such as Meet The Breeds, in addition to lots of yearly AKC Dog Shows, such as Westminster. With AKC, you can also attend obedience classes, advertise puppies on their website's classifieds, and do sports such as agility for titles on your dog. Your dog is eligible for AKC registration if all of your dog's bloodlines go back to FULL AKC registered dogs. Your dog doesn't have to be AKC registered in order to compete in sports, events, or AKC obedience classes, but your dog DOES have to have AKC registration in order to compete in conformation showing and in order to have AKC registered puppies. With the AKC, there are two types of registration: limited and full. A Limited AKC registration does not allow any of the dog's puppies to be AKC registered and can limit what AKC activities you may do with your dogs. A Full AKC registration allows you to breed your dog and register their puppies with the AKC, as well as compete in any and all events that AKC hosts.

The APRI stands for the American Pet Registry, Inc. The APRI is a similiar group to the AKC, except that they do not set the standard for purebred dogs, and they are a much smaller, more local group. The APRI also hosts dog shows, events, and allows APRI registered litters to be listed on their website's classifieds. The APRI is a great registry for beginners and for pet owners, as their registration is cheaper, and their dog shows are more-beginner friendly. APRI's mission with dog showing is to create a stress-free environment that is supportive and very educational towards novice handlers. The AKC, while a wonderful organisation, has a reputation of being somewhat unfriendly towards beginners at purebred dog shows and events. We prefer to show with the APRI rather than the AKC for these reasons, and also because APRI shows tend to be much closer to our home than AKC shows. However, many prefer to show with the AKC because they are more strict in their judging of breeds than the APRI.

We also have several dogs that are dual-registered with or have champion bloodlines that come from the UKC, UABR, ACA, or CKC. These are all different pet registries, similiar to the AKC and APRI. The UKC in particular is a very well-known and well-respected registry, renowned for their conformation shows. The UKC is known to be similiar to the AKC in regards to conformation showing, but they are a little more easy going. For example, in AKC, many handlers/breeders must spend $1,000 or more on name-brand suits in order to be competitive when showing, whereas with the UKC, formalwear is expected but does not have to be perfect in order for your dog to win. The UKC is also known to be much more welcoming to novice handlers, depending on the show host, than the AKC.

Here at WITP, we show with many different registries, including AKC, UKC, and APRI.

Which company you want your future pup to be registered with is ultimately up to your personal preference!

It is a good idea to look for a future dachshund that has champion lines from a registry. Attending dog shows and participating in conformation is a great way to find the strengths and flaws of a dog, and is a great way to prove that they are breeding-quality in both temperament and structure. By purchasing a dog with champion lines, you are much more likely to get a well-bred dog.

The AKC and the APRI both have more information on their websites as well!