The great North Queensland debate: Dachshund or Jack Russell

These are the Dachshund and Jack Russell.

Growing up in New South Wales my family only ever owned large dogs, predominately cattle dogs, and I dreamed of the day when I could buy my own Dachshund.

Those big beady eyes, long floppy ears and short legs stole my heart and it was all I wanted when I got my new-found freedom.

Once I graduated university and moved to Mount Isa, every campdraft and rodeo I went to seemed to be flooded by short-legged bed warmers, and it made me want one even more.

I easily convinced myself that I would buy one that came through the Mount Isa animal rescue, Paws, Hoofs and Claws, and sure enough I added Dixie to my family.

She was a Dachshund cross and held the typical Dachshund traits; loyal, extremely affectionate, stubborn and playful.

Over the years the Dachshunds have been inside dogs, due to their extreme neediness to be around people.

Dixie wanted to be around people so much all the time that she even hitchhiked to town!

You heard me right. Dixie managed to dig (another Dachshund trait) out of the yard and chase my husband down the driveway without him seeing her, onto the highway, until another vehicle picked her up and took her to town.

Over the years I've seen a shift, with owners ditching Dachshunds and their $2000+ price tag for a more affordable and just as loveable, Jack Russell.

And we were one of them.

We have three kids and this year they started asking for a cat - and by no means are we a cat family - so I surprised them (and my husband) with a Jack Russell.

My husband is a very practical person and disliked the idea of getting a dog like a Dachshund that didn't have a purpose.

So I introduced him to Rosie, our new snake dog.

Jack Russells are a super popular breed and very active, they could literally run for days.

Don't be fooled by their small stature, even though they're tiny, these dogs are big dogs at heart.

They have also got really high prey drives. We really noticed this difference to the Dachshund when 2-3 dead lizards were showing up on our lawn every day and a dead snake near our chook shed.

Living on a cattle station, the idea of having a snake dog heading into summer was what sold me on the Jack Russell.

I have typical bush kids who love being outside, and I have some peace of mind knowing that if the kids are outside, Rosie is around to help keep an eye on them.

However not only does she like to chase lizards, she also likes to chase and bark at everything! The horses, the chooks, the birds, cars and her latest obsession is cane toads!

While she is still a puppy and we work to educate her on station animals, her pros outweigh her noisiness, and has easily converted me from a Dachshund lover to a Jack Russell mum.