Dachshund Halfway through a Tuesday morning appointment, a woman in the waiting room had her phone out and a list going. Her dachshund, a smooth red named Waffles, had already disappeared under the hem of her coat and was breathing loudly somewhere near her elbow.
She got through four questions before the vet had even sat down.
That scene repeats itself in clinics, grooming shops, breed meetups, and puppy classes every single week, because dachshunds generate more questions per pound than almost any other dog on earth. They dig into laundry piles. They scream at delivery drivers. They hold strong opinions about stairs, blankets, and who gets the warm spot on the couch.
Below are the ten questions that come up most, along with what breeders, trainers, and vets actually say when you corner them about it.
1. Why does my dachshund burrow into everything?
Because burrowing is not a personality quirk. It is the original job description.
Dachshunds were built to follow badgers into tunnels, which means darkness and tight spaces read as safe rather than scary. Your laundry basket is just a very soft den.
Trainers who work with the breed say this instinct is nearly impossible to redirect and honestly not worth trying to. Give them a legal outlet instead.
What actually helps
A dedicated burrow bed, a thick fleece blanket, or a covered crate solves most of it. Dogs given a proper den tend to leave the couch cushions alone.
A dachshund without something to tunnel into will simply invent one, and the invention is almost always more expensive than the blanket you refused to buy.
2. Are they really that difficult to house train?
Yes. Anyone who tells you otherwise got lucky with one dog and has been dining out on it ever since.
Dachshunds have small bladders, a low tolerance for cold or wet grass, and a stubborn streak that runs deep. Rain in particular turns many of them into diplomats who will negotiate for hours.
The professionals almost universally recommend crate training paired with a rigid schedule. Consistency beats cleverness here, every time.
Expect the process to take longer than the internet promises. Six months is normal, and plenty of owners report progress well past the first birthday.
3. What is the deal with their backs?
This is the question that matters most, and the one people ask last.
Intervertebral disc disease, usually shortened to IVDD, affects a significant portion of the breed. Their long spine and short legs come from a form of dwarfism that also changes how the spinal discs age.
Vets will tell you the risk is real but not a sentence. Roughly a quarter of dachshunds will experience some form of disc problem in their lifetime, and many recover fully with rest or surgery.
The things that genuinely lower risk
Keeping your dog lean is the single biggest factor. Excess weight puts constant strain on a spine that was never engineered for it.
Ramps for the couch and bed help. Discouraging repeated jumping down from height helps more than people expect.
Every pound of extra weight on a dachshund does the work of five pounds on a normal dog, and the spine is the part that pays the bill.
4. Can they safely do stairs?
Mostly, with caveats.
Going up is far less risky than coming down, because descending compresses the spine repeatedly at speed. Puppies and seniors should be carried on stairs whenever possible.
Healthy adult dachshunds can usually manage a normal flight without drama. A dog who has already had a disc episode is a different conversation entirely, and that one belongs with your vet.
5. Why is mine so incredibly loud?
Scent hounds bark. That is the whole point of a scent hound.
Their voice was bred to carry through packed earth so a hunter above ground could locate them underground. A modern living room does not require that kind of volume, but nobody told the dog.
Barking usually spikes around windows, doorbells, and anything that moves outside. Managing the environment often works better than correcting the noise itself.
Quick fixes worth trying
Block the window view with film or furniture. Teach a "quiet" cue paired with a reward, and never reward the barking with attention, even negative attention.
6. How much exercise do they actually need?
Less than you think, but more than they will admit to needing.
Two moderate walks a day, totaling around forty to sixty minutes, suits most healthy adults. Sniffing counts as exercise, and for this breed it counts double.
Skip the high impact stuff. Frisbee, agility jumps, and long sessions of fetch on hard floors are not doing that spine any favors.
7. Are they good with kids and other pets?
Reasonably, with honest supervision.
Dachshunds tend to bond intensely with one or two people and can be prickly about being grabbed, lifted, or startled. Small children who scoop dogs up without warning are a genuine mismatch risk.
Households that teach kids to sit on the floor and let the dog come to them report far fewer problems. Early socialization does most of the heavy lifting.
With other dogs, they are often fine. With hamsters, rabbits, and anything that scurries, be realistic: this is a hunting breed with a very old set of instincts.
8. Are they trainable, or is stubborn just the truth?
Both things are true at once.
Dachshunds are smart, curious, and extremely capable of learning. They are also independent thinkers who were bred to make decisions alone, underground, without a human telling them what to do.
That means they will ask why before they comply. Repetition drills bore them fast, and a bored dachshund will simply opt out.
Short sessions, high value food, and a bit of theatrical enthusiasm from you get results. Harsh corrections generally produce a dog who has decided you are not worth listening to.
Training a dachshund is less like giving orders and more like making a persuasive offer, repeatedly, to a very small negotiator.
9. What is the difference between all the varieties?
There are three coat types and two official sizes, plus one unofficial size that causes endless arguments.
The coats
Smooth coats are the classic look, low maintenance, and prone to being cold. Longhaired dachshunds carry a bit of spaniel influence and tend to be the mellowest of the three.
Wirehaired dogs got terrier blood added to the mix, and it shows. They are typically the busiest, boldest, and funniest of the bunch.
The sizes
Standards run roughly sixteen to thirty two pounds and were bred for badger. Miniatures come in at eleven pounds or under and were built for rabbit.
You will also see "tweenie" used for dogs landing between the two. It is a real body type but not a recognized size class, so breeders use it informally.
10. How long do they live, and what changes with age?
Twelve to sixteen years is typical, and plenty of them push past that.
Senior dachshunds slow down noticeably around ten or eleven. Vision and hearing fade, sleep stretches longer, and the tolerance for cold drops through the floor.
Dental disease is a bigger issue in this breed than most owners realize, so yearly cleanings matter. Watch for stiffness, reluctance to jump, or a sudden change in how your dog moves, since those are the early flags for back trouble.
Older dogs also get more particular about routine. Feeding times, walk times, and bedtime become sacred, and you will be corrected loudly if you forget.