Have loved this movie, since first seeing it 40 years ago. Sweet and charming, witty and fun. The dogs are of course adorable, and the plot simple and captivating. Mark Garrison, who is referred to in the summary as Jim, I believe someone has their movies mixed up, Jim Douglas was in the Love Bug. Anyway, Mark and Fran are likable folks, the movie is also a favorite of my Grandsons, 3 and 5. Love Bug, Swiss Family Robinson, Old Yeller and Ugly Dachshund, are repeated often. The movie opens with a race to the hospital for the birth of the Dachsie puppies. Danke has three little girls puppies, and a Great Dane is pawned off on Mark, to be nursed by Danke. Seems the Dane has too many puppies, and so this begins the story. The Dane is the dog Mark has been yearning for, so he conspires to keep him in the family, even after he is weaned. The yarn scenes and the paint scenes genuine comedic antics of the best kind, and the party scenes at the end, classic. Don't miss this one, if you enjoy the Disney movie greats.

The Ugly Dachshund is a fun family film for dog lovers, especially Dachshund or Great Dane fanciers. It is both a charming dog movie, as well as a romantic comedy.

Mark (Dean Jones) and Fran Garrison (Suzanne Pleshette) are dog lovers, with Fran's choice breed being Dachshunds. After Fran's blue ribbon dog Danca has a litter of three female puppies, Mark begins to feel overwhelmed by the "girly" dogs. But when Mark goes to pick up Danca and her pups, he finds the vet Doc Pruitt (Charles Ruggles) trying to feed a rejected runt from his Great Dane's litter. After some persuasive suggestions, Mark takes the puppy home with his wife's dog so she can wet nurse him. Even when grown, the Great Dane Brutus doesn't seem to understand he is any different from his adoptive family. Brutus' clumsiness and the doxies' mischievous natures regularly wreak hilarious havoc on the home and lives of their owners. The dogs often cause discord and conflict, as they both blame the other's dog(s) for all the problems. But eventually the entire family, human and canine, find a way to live together.

It's a fun and silly to watch, just a lighthearted family movie. A must for anyone who has a Great Dane or Dachshund!

Mark and Fran Garrison (Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette) are a young married couple who spend the entire movie at each other's throats. You really wonder why they remain married in the story and I really think this is a major problem with the film....the couple simply hated each other.

The story begins with the couple racing like the devil to get their pet Dachshund to the vet because it's in labor. Never mind that dogs have been giving birth for thousands of years without vets....the dog is apparently quite pampered. After having three puppies, Mark learns that the vet has a bit of a predicament...his Great Dane had too many puppies and one of them wasn't going to survive. Since the Dachshund only had three puppies, Mark agrees to take the Dane and have it nursed by the mama Dachshund.

So far all this makes sense. However, Mark doesn't tell Fran that their fourth puppy is a Great Dane...and it takes her several weeks to notice! This makes no sense...nor did it make any sense that Mark would not talk to his wife about this. In fact, this is THE model for the rest of the movie--with the couple not communicating and each using the dogs against the other. Mark loves the Great Dane and Fran always sides with her Dachshunds and scapegoating the Great Dane....blaming it for the damage generally begin done by her Dachshunds. What's to become of this bickering family? And, will Fran ever come to like and accept the Dane?

My oldest daughter and I loved watching the scenes with the doggies. However, when the story centered on the couple, the film bogged down because down deep they don't seem to love each other--and what fun is it seeing an arguing couple?! More dogs...less bickering couple and you would have had a better movie. Overall, very watchable but a film that manages to just miss the mark...and all of this has to do with the total lack of chemistry between the two leads.