About us

I have always been a dog person. I grew up in Wisconsin with a toy poodle that was a gentle, caring little guy and lived to the ripe old age of 16.5 years. After a dogless year, my parents decided that we should have another dog and along came Lexi, a high-spirited American Eskimo dog. We started training courses with her, but she was very much an American house dog. When I moved away to University in 2001, it was my longest stretch without a dog. During that time there were some pets- a rabbit and cat- but nothing could fill the void of my dog. First, I moved a 16 hour drive from home across 3 states to Colorado. A Master’s degree and a year of working in industry and I was off again on a new adventure. I then moved across the ocean to the little town of Basel in Switzerland in 2008.

In 2010, after much pestering to my boyfriend, we decided to get a dog… but what type? After a lot of research, humane society visits, web searches, and dog shows, we had decided on our breed. We were looking for a dachshund, specifically, a wirehaired dachshund. In June 2010, with the help of our friends and mentors we “fell” into our first dog: Fallilou du Sangre Bleu “Freddie.”

Freddie was, quite frankly, the most adorable puppy you could have imagined. Green eyes, chocolate brown, a total heartbreaker. He was supposed to be a companion dog, but he proved to be much more than that. Above or below ground, the instinct that he has is amazing. Despite his amazing hunting skills, he is a wonderful companion dog. Loving and playful, his favorite spot is under the covers on any bed.

After two years we decided to get a companion for Freddie and a dog “for me” as Freddie was definitely more bonded to my boyfriend. Our friends at Barbwired Kennel in Finland trusted us with this little gem of a Teddy bear: Barbwired Better than the Rest “Baxter.” He was a little guy with very accomplished parents and a head to die for, but more than that, I had met my “Seelenhund”- The dog that stole my heart and will forever take it with him.

With Baxter we started into the show world and continued with all our hunting practices. Baxter is a more thoughtful dog than Freddie, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t talented. At 3.5 years old he has almost as many titles behind him name as he does in front. He is a handsome boy for sure, but he isn’t just looks! That boy can work- tracking, water retrieving, chasing bunnies, meeting the badger, he has tried it all with success.

2014 was a year of change: change of country, change of work, change of life. During some of these changes a little girl dropped into my life. Barbwired Champagne “Liina”, my first female and, later I would find out, my first mini wire.

She is a whirlwind and even at her young age, is accomplished in her own. She is sassy, loving, and commands attention, but I love her. I am hoping for great things for her in the future and to begin my kennel and breeding with her.

In January 2015, my kennel was officially recognized by the FCI as well as that SKK.

Why Moniker you may ask? Moniker basically means “name, nickname, aka” and all of my dogs have their names, in fact, Freddie had about 10 names before we ever got him home to Basel. It is my tribute to my Freddog, Bixtron, and Putsi.

Although we are a new, small kennel, we have big aspirations. I breed by the FCI standard and prefer the “old European type”. I firmly believe that a dachshund is an all-around dog. If the dog has no hunting instinct and is “only” a show dog, it isn’t for me. Sticking to this, all of my dogs have been tried in multiple trials around Europe above and below ground. Additionally, all of our dogs are Blood tracking Champions and both boys have passed underground tests on badger here in Sweden. Liina has trained on badger and fox and shows great promise and will be tested in the future. I am also very keen on underground tests with the dogs as they were developed to be underground hunters. These tests also challenge the size of the dogs as there is always a narrow point (in Sweden it is 15x17cm), so the dog cannot be too big in order to enter the den. Form should always follow function. All that being said, a working dog can also be beautiful. I strive to breed and develop healthy dogs that can do it all and go from sofa to forest to show effortlessly.