DogTails King Island
Breeding miniature dachshunds on King Island, Tasmania, since 2010


DogTails Mazeppa
Welcome top Dog Tails Mazeppa!
We are Marian and Fanie Pretorius.
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DogTails Avalon
Welcome to Dog Tails Avalon!
We are Johan & Larissa Pretorius.
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DogTails Lionsgate
Welcome to Dog Tails Lionsgate!
Where all the dogs have happy wagging tails! We are Harriet and Marian Jnr.
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Our aim is to breed exceptional puppies with excellent health and temperament
To maintain the exemplary standard of our dogs genetics we have studs from all over Australia, and a few imported from respected breeders internationally as well. Our dogs receive the best of care, with daily exercise and love, and the highest quality food, including formulated kibbles and fresh, locally sourced meats and vegetables. Our main focus is the love and care we provide to our dogs. From dawn to dusk we care for our beautiful fur family.
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About DogTails
Dog Tails is a small family owned Dachshund kennel based on the wild and picturesque King Island, Australia. It is run by Marian and her husband. Marian has been breeding dogs for over 60 years, since she was a small child. Marians parents owned a breeding kennel and she grew up rearing puppies with her family in South Africa. In 1972 she began her own kennel with her husband Stephanus and bred little toy Pomeranians. That was the beginning of what has been a lifelong passion for dogs and puppies. Over the years Marian moved from Pomeranians to miniature Dachshunds and then to Basset Hounds. Then came Great Danes, one of her favourite dogs she’s ever bred. Marian bred Great Danes for a decade before giving it up to move to Australia in 2006.
In 2010 the family moved to King Island, a small island of the coast of Melbourne and Tasmania. Not long after she returned to her old passion and began breeding miniature Dachshunds once again.
We have a varied bunch of breeding males and females and breed a variety of colourations including; dapples, piebalds, creams, chocolates, black and tans, and different combinations of all those colors. Our dogs are mostly miniature long hairs with a few short hairs and one beautiful long hair standard, Susan. We have also recently added a pair of wonderful miniature wild boar wire hairs.
To maintain the exemplary standard of our dogs genetics we have studs from all over Australia, and a few imported from respected breeders internationally as well. Our dogs receive the best of care, with daily exercise and love, and the highest quality food, including formulated kibbles and fresh, locally sourced meats and vegetables. Our main focus is the love and care we provide to our dogs. From dawn to dusk we care for our beautiful fur family.
Our aim is to breed exceptional puppies with excellent health and temperament so that other families can experience the love and dedication these pups have to offer, as they truly do enrich ones life. A few of our pups have now become companion therapy dogs to special needs kids and adults because of their amazing temperaments and intelligence. We aren’t registered with the ANKC, but we strive for excellence with our dogs and we maintain and exceed the required standard of care. They are a part of our family, and are born and raised under our roof. They have ample space to run, play and breathe the fresh island air. We have some of the cleanest air in the world!
All our dogs have full DNA testing courtesy of Pawprints genetics in America, as they are much more advanced than anything in Australia related to testing. We have a wonderful Vet that regularly visits us at our homes to make sure each and everyone of our fur kids are happy and healthy. We make sure that all our puppies are well socialized and given heaps of attention from birth . We also ensure that they are used to household noises such as the vacuum and TV, and that they interact with people of all ages and genders to properly socialize them. Our puppies are all toilet trained on grass mats, with access to to an outdoor area so that they learn to do their business outside. Each puppy receives early neurological stimulation, a method for increasing early neurological activity and intelligence from Dr. Carmen Battaglia.
We understand that it’s important to have peace of mind when making any investment, and as such we are more than happy to answer any questions you may have, no matter how many, as we have an open and honest approach to the breeding and health of our dogs.
Pups can be flown Australia wide and to select international destinations.
Please feel free to contact us using the form on this website or through our social media platforms.