Dachshund Carrying a dachshund up the stairs is often worse for their back than letting them walk. That sounds backwards, especially when every article warns you about spinal injuries, but the way most people scoop up a long dog (one hand under the chest, back legs dangling) puts more strain on those vertebrae than a careful climb ever would.
Welcome to dachshund ownership, where the obvious answer is frequently the wrong one.
These dogs were bred to fight badgers underground. That single fact explains almost everything confusing about them: the stubbornness, the digging, the surprisingly enormous bark, the way they will absolutely not come when called if something interesting is happening.
You did not get a small dog. You got a working terrier-adjacent hunter in a very silly package.
Here are the ten things that actually matter in your first year together.
1. Learn to Pick Them Up Properly (Then Do It Less)
Two hands. Always. One supporting the chest, one supporting the rear, keeping the spine level like you are carrying a loaf of bread out of the oven.
Never lift under the front legs alone. That lets the spine sag in the middle, and the middle is exactly where dachshunds get into trouble.
The Stairs Question
Puppies under a year old should not do stairs, full stop. Their growth plates are still closing and repetitive impact is genuinely risky.
Adult dachshunds with healthy backs can handle a few stairs a day. What they should not do is bomb down a flight of hardwood steps at full speed every morning because the doorbell rang.
Ramps solve the furniture problem better than anything else. Get one for the couch and one for the bed, and start training them on it before your dog decides jumping is more fun.
2. Their Weight Matters More Than Almost Any Other Breed
An extra pound on a dachshund is roughly equivalent to fifteen pounds on a human. On a spine that already spans an unusual distance, that math gets ugly fast.
You should be able to feel their ribs with light pressure. Not see them, feel them.
A dachshund at a healthy weight is a dachshund with a fighting chance against back problems. Everything else is secondary.
The problem is that dachshunds are world-class beggars. They will look at you with those eyes and you will believe, in that moment, that they are starving.
They are not starving. They are running a con.
Measure their food. Do not free-feed. And count treats as part of the daily total, because training treats add up faster than anyone expects.
3. Start Socialization Immediately, Not Eventually
The socialization window closes around sixteen weeks. What happens (or does not happen) in that period shapes your dog for the next decade and a half.
Dachshunds skew suspicious by default. Left to their own devices, they decide that strangers are threats, other dogs are competition, and the mail carrier is an ongoing criminal conspiracy.
What Socialization Actually Means
It does not mean throwing your puppy into a dog park. It means controlled, positive exposure to a wide variety of people, surfaces, sounds, and situations.
Umbrellas. Wheelchairs. Men with beards. Vacuum cleaners. Children moving unpredictably. Cars, bicycles, skateboards, other dogs of wildly different sizes.
Keep every exposure short and pleasant. A puppy who has a bad experience with something at ten weeks may carry that association for life.
4. Housetraining Will Take Longer Than You Expect
Dachshunds have a reputation for being difficult to housetrain, and honestly, the reputation is earned.
Small bladders, a stubborn streak, and a strong dislike of going outside in bad weather add up to a challenge.
Consistency beats everything. Same door, same spot, same reward, every single time.
Crate training helps enormously here, because dogs generally will not soil where they sleep. Size the crate so they can stand, turn around, and lie down comfortably, and no bigger.
Accidents happen. Clean them with an enzymatic cleaner, not a regular household spray, because if any scent lingers your dog will consider that location officially approved.
5. Give the Digging Instinct Somewhere to Go
Your dachshund is going to dig. This is not a behavioral problem you can train away, any more than you can train a border collie to stop herding.
It is hardwired. Badgers live underground, and this dog was built to go get them.
Trying to eliminate a breed’s core instinct is a losing battle. Redirecting it is a winnable one.
Build a digging box. A sandbox, a corner of the yard, a plastic tub filled with sand or loose soil. Bury toys and treats in it and make a huge celebration when they excavate something.
Then, when they start on your tomato plants, you have somewhere legitimate to redirect them.
Same principle applies to burrowing indoors. Give them a blanket nest, because otherwise they will build one out of your laundry.
6. The Barking Is Not a Malfunction
That bark is enormous. It came standard on a dog that needed to be heard from inside a badger tunnel, and it did not get quieter when the breed moved indoors.
Some barking is negotiable. Some is not.
Managing It Realistically
Teach a "quiet" cue early, and reward silence rather than punishing noise. Punishment tends to make anxious barkers more anxious, which produces more barking.
Block visual triggers where you can. A dachshund posted at a front window watching the street will find something to announce every four minutes.
Exercise and mental stimulation cut the volume considerably. A bored dachshund is a loud dachshund.
7. Train the Recall Like Your Dog’s Life Depends On It
Because it might. Scent hounds follow their nose, and a dachshund on a trail has genuinely stopped hearing you.
This is not disobedience in the way people usually mean it. Their brain has switched to a different channel entirely.
Practice recall indoors first, then in a fenced yard, then on a long line. Never call them to something they will dislike, like a bath or nail trim, because they will remember.
And be honest with yourself about off-leash reliability. Plenty of dachshunds never get there, and that is fine. A long line in an open field is a perfectly good compromise.
8. Groom According to Coat Type
Three coats, three routines.
Smooth coats need the least: a weekly wipe with a rubber curry brush and they are set. They shed more than people expect, though.
Longhairs need brushing several times a week, with attention behind the ears and under the legs where mats form quietly.
Wirehairs need hand-stripping a couple of times a year to keep the texture right. Clipping softens the coat permanently, so find a groomer who knows the breed.
The Parts Everyone Forgets
Nails. Long nails change how a dog distributes weight, and on a dachshund that means altered spinal loading. Trim every two to three weeks.
Ears, especially on floppy-eared dogs who go nose-first into everything. Check weekly for redness or smell.
Teeth. Dachshunds are prone to periodontal disease, so brush regularly and get professional cleanings when your vet recommends them.
9. Know What IVDD Looks Like Before You Need To
Intervertebral disc disease affects roughly a quarter of dachshunds. Knowing the early signs is one of the highest-value things you can do as an owner.
Watch for: reluctance to jump or climb, a hunched back, yelping when touched or picked up, shivering, wobbly back legs, or dragging a paw.
Time matters enormously with disc injuries. The window between "manageable" and "surgical emergency" can be a matter of hours.
If you see any of these, restrict movement immediately and call your vet. Do not wait to see if it resolves overnight.
Know where your nearest emergency vet is now, before you need to look it up at midnight with a shaking dog on your lap.
10. Match the Exercise to the Body
Dachshunds need real exercise, more than their size suggests. Two solid walks a day, plus play, keeps them physically and mentally sound.
But the type matters. Sustained trotting is excellent. Sprinting, sharp turns, and repeated jumping are not.
Swimming is fantastic if your dog takes to it, since it builds core muscle without loading the spine. Support them the whole time, and never assume a dachshund can swim well by default. Those legs are short for a reason.
Mental work counts as exercise too. Snuffle mats, puzzle feeders, and scent games tire a dachshund out in a way that a walk around the block never will.
Fifteen minutes of nose work can buy you an afternoon of peace. Use that information wisely.