Hound group · Small · Germany
Dachshund
Also known as: Doxie, Wiener Dog, Sausage Dog
The Dachshund packs a full-sized hound's courage, voice, and stubbornness into a badger-hunting chassis, and America has made it a top-5 breed. The honest headline is the back: roughly one in four Dachshunds has an IVDD episode in its lifetime, and living with one means managing jumps, stairs, and weight from day one.
Height
5-9 in
Weight
11-32 lbs
Lifespan
12-16 years
Coat
Smooth, longhaired, or wirehaired varieties
Exercise
45+ min/day
Puppy price
$1,500-$3,500
AKC popularity
#5
Best for
Owners who want a big-personality, long-lived small hound and will take back health seriously — ramps, lean weight, and no stair marathons.
Trait Scores
What owners love
- +Enormous personality-per-pound — brave, funny, opinionated, and endlessly entertaining
- +Comes in a build-your-own format: two sizes (standard and miniature) and three coats (smooth, long, wire)
- +Devoted burrowing companions — a Dachshund under your blanket is the breed's default state
- +Long-lived, routinely reaching 14-16 with good care
- +Apartment-compatible size with a watchdog bark that punches far above its weight
- +Moderate exercise needs: solid daily walks and sniffing beat marathon fetch
What owners warn about
- −IVDD is the breed's defining risk — around 1 in 4 will have back disease, and surgery runs $5,000-$12,000; pet insurance from puppyhood is near-mandatory advice
- −That watchdog bark is loud, deep, and generously deployed; Dachshunds are one of the barkiest breeds
- −Notoriously difficult to house-train — the breed is a perennial member of every 'hardest to potty train' list
- −Stubborn badger-hunter brain: recall and obedience are negotiations with a hound that was bred to work alone underground
- −Obesity is common, catastrophic for their backs, and enabled by world-class begging
- −Prey drive and digging instincts mean flowerbeds, hamsters, and unfenced squirrels are all at risk
Common Health Issues
How the Dachshund Compares
Frequently Asked Questions
How worried should I be about a Dachshund's back?+
It should shape how you live with the dog: roughly 20-25% of Dachshunds experience IVDD, the highest rate of any breed. The playbook is keeping them lean, using ramps for furniture, limiting stairs and jumping, and using a harness instead of a collar. Get pet insurance while they're young and healthy — a disc surgery can cost more than the car you drove to the vet.
Are Dachshunds hard to train?+
They're smart but bred for independent underground work, so they ask 'what's in it for me' about everything — and house-training in particular is famously slow, often taking most of the first year. Food motivation is your lever; harsh corrections just entrench the stubbornness. Expect a sassy negotiator, not a shutdown, and you'll do fine.
Standard or miniature, and which coat?+
Miniatures (11 lbs and under) suit laps and apartments; standards (16-32 lbs) are surprisingly substantial, tough little hounds. Coat changes temperament slightly by reputation: smooths are the classic one-person dogs, longhairs a bit softer and calmer, wirehairs the terrier-spiced clowns. All three share the back risks and the bark.
Are Dachshunds good with kids?+
With respectful kids who won't pick them up wrong, yes — they're playful, sturdy-for-size, and devoted. The two dangers run both directions: rough handling can literally injure a Dachshund's back, and a startled or possessive Doxie is quicker to snap than most family breeds. Supervision plus teaching kids proper handling makes it work.