Dachshund That click of tiny nails on hardwood, speeding up as she rounds the corner. The grunt before the couch launch. The thud on the other side.
Dachshund people know that soundtrack by heart. Most of us stopped flinching at it years ago.
Here’s the uncomfortable part: some of the most serious problems in this breed make almost no sound at all. They build quietly, over months, in a spine or an eye or a mouth you can’t see into.
Which is exactly why screenings matter more for a dachshund than they do for the average mixed-breed lab mix down the street. You’re not being paranoid. You’re being proactive, and there’s a real difference.
Below are five screenings worth putting on the calendar, plus what actually happens during each one so you can walk in knowing what you’re paying for.
1. A Spinal and Neurological Assessment
Roughly one in four dachshunds will deal with intervertebral disc disease at some point. That’s not a scare statistic. That’s just the math of putting a normal-length spine on very short legs.
What your vet is actually checking
A good neurological exam is weirdly hands-on and takes about ten minutes.
Your vet will run fingers along the spine watching for flinching, check reflexes in all four legs, and do something called conscious proprioception testing, where they gently flip a paw upside down to see how fast your dog rights it. Slow correction can signal nerve compression long before your dog yelps.
They’ll also watch your dachshund walk. Down a hallway, in a circle, up a small step if there’s one handy.
Wobbling. Scuffed nails on the back feet. A hind end that swings a beat behind the front. All of it means something.
The genetic test nobody mentions
Ask about the CDDY genetic test.
It screens for the chondrodystrophy variant strongly linked to early disc calcification, and it’s a cheek swab or a small blood draw. Knowing your dog carries one copy versus two changes how aggressively you manage ramps, jumping, and weight from day one.
A spine that’s already compromised gives you very little warning. The whole point of screening is to buy back that warning time.
Breeders should be testing. Rescue dogs almost never come with results, so it’s on you.
2. A Proper Eye Exam
Dachshunds carry a handful of inherited eye conditions, and the frustrating thing about most of them is how well dogs compensate.
Your dog can lose a shocking amount of vision in familiar rooms and you’d swear nothing changed. Then you rearrange the furniture and suddenly he’s bumping into the ottoman.
Progressive retinal atrophy
PRA is the big one. It’s degenerative, it’s inherited, and it typically shows up first as night blindness.
Watch for hesitation at the top of dark stairs. Reluctance to go out for the last potty break. A dog who suddenly wants the hall light on.
Cataracts and dry eye too
Diabetic and juvenile cataracts both appear in the breed, and keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eye) is common enough that many vets run a Schirmer tear test as routine.
That test involves a small paper strip tucked into the lower lid for sixty seconds. Your dog will look mildly betrayed. He’ll get over it.
Why a specialist is worth it once
General practice vets do solid eye exams. A veterinary ophthalmologist does a dilated exam with equipment that sees the retina itself.
Getting one baseline specialist exam, ideally before age three, gives every future vet something to compare against. That comparison is the whole game with progressive conditions.
3. A Dental Evaluation Under Anesthesia
Nobody wants to hear this one. Anesthesia sounds scary and dental work sounds optional.
Neither assumption holds up.
Small mouths, standard-issue teeth
Dachshunds have forty-two teeth crammed into a narrow, tapered jaw. Crowding traps food, plaque hardens into tartar fast, and periodontal disease sets in earlier than it does in bigger breeds.
By age three, the majority of dogs already show signs of periodontal disease. In this breed, it tends to be worse and start sooner.
Awake exams only see the tip of it
Your vet can lift a lip and spot tartar. What they can’t see is what’s happening below the gumline, which is where the actual damage lives.
Dental X-rays under anesthesia reveal root abscesses, bone loss, and retained baby teeth that would otherwise go undetected for years.
Bad breath is not a personality quirk. It’s usually the first symptom your dog is able to give you.
What the appointment looks like
Pre-anesthetic bloodwork, a monitored sedation, full-mouth radiographs, scaling above and below the gumline, polishing, and extractions if needed.
Most dogs go home the same afternoon, groggy and slightly offended.
Plan on this every one to three years depending on your dog’s baseline, and brush at home in between. Even three times a week helps enormously.
4. Comprehensive Bloodwork
An annual blood panel feels like the boring one on this list. It’s also the screening most likely to catch something while it’s still cheap and fixable.
Thyroid function
Hypothyroidism runs in dachshunds, and the symptoms are easy to misread as "he’s just getting older."
Weight gain without more food. A dull, thinning coat. Flaky skin, cold-seeking behavior, a dog who’s suddenly less interested in the walk he used to demand.
A full thyroid panel (not just a basic T4) sorts it out. Treatment is an inexpensive daily pill, and the turnaround in energy can be dramatic.
Cushing’s disease
Hyperadrenocorticism shows up in this breed more than average, usually in middle-aged and senior dogs.
The classic trio: drinking constantly, urinating constantly, and developing a rounded, pot-bellied silhouette. Hair loss along the flanks is common.
Baseline bloodwork won’t diagnose Cushing’s by itself, but elevated liver values and a few other markers are what prompt the follow-up testing that does.
Establish the baseline early
Run a panel around age two or three when your dog is healthy.
Numbers within the "normal range" still vary enormously between individuals. Knowing your dog’s normal makes an abnormal result years later far easier to interpret.
5. Cardiac Screening and Body Condition Scoring
Two things that get folded into one visit, and both punch above their weight.
Listening for a murmur
Mitral valve disease is the most common heart problem in small breeds, and dachshunds sit squarely in the risk category as they age.
Early murmurs are quiet. A vet with a stethoscope and a quiet exam room catches them long before your dog coughs or tires on walks.
If something turns up, an echocardiogram maps out exactly what’s happening. Medication started early genuinely extends life in these cases.
The number on the scale
Weight is the single biggest modifiable risk factor for disc disease in this breed, full stop.
An extra pound on a twelve pound dog is the equivalent of a fifteen pound gain on a person. That load goes straight through the spine.
Keeping a dachshund lean is not about looks. It is spinal protection you administer at the food bowl, twice a day, for their entire life.
Ask your vet to score your dog on the nine-point body condition scale and, more importantly, to show you how they got there. Where the waist should tuck. What the ribs should feel like under your fingertips.
Then check it yourself once a month at home. Takes ten seconds, catches drift before it becomes a problem, and it’s the one screening on this entire list you never need an appointment for.