The Dachshund ticks almost all the boxes for a breed exploding in popularity.

It's small, instantly recognizable, full of character, easy to photograph, highly present on social media, and gives the impression of a "practical" dog: not too big, not too cumbersome, compatible with city living, and unique enough to stand out.

This is precisely what makes the breed dangerously easy to misinterpret.

Because the Dachshund is not just a small compact companion dog. It's a specialized hunting dog, with a strong personality, a true temperament, and above all, a morphology at risk, which requires health to be considered differently than for many other breeds. The current success of the breed changes nothing about this.

Quick Breed Profile

The Dachshund belongs to FCI Group 4, a group entirely dedicated to it. This is already a useful clue: we are not dealing with a simple small "companion" dog, but with a historically specialized breed, recognized as such in its own right. The FCI standard describes it as a hunting dog on and under the ground.

The breed exists in three coat types (smooth, long, wirehaired) and three size categories, totaling nine varieties. The FCI standard distinguishes these sizes by chest circumference, not just by weight.

3 Dachshund coat types

Visual representation of the 3 different Dachshund sizes

In France, the Dachshund has confirmed its recent surge: 4,654 LOF registrations in 2023, 5,065 in 2024, then 5,582 in 2025. It's not just an impression: the breed is truly experiencing strong growth.

3 key figures to remember

5,582

Number of Dachshund LOF registrations in France in 2025, compared to 5,065 in 2024. 

+10%

Increase in registrations between 2024 and 2025. 

15.7% to 24.4%

Reported lifetime prevalence of disc disease across varieties in the DachsLife 2015 study, with particularly high values in certain subpopulations. 

Origin and Standard: a Hunting Dog, Not a Lapdog

The Dachshund was not created to be cute. It was created to be useful.

The FCI standard reminds us that the breed has been known since the Middle Ages and descends from dogs selected for digging, specializing in hunting above and below ground. Its very name historically refers to working on badgers. Its low-slung silhouette, elongated body, developed chest, and short limbs were therefore not originally an aesthetic whim. They are the consequences of functional selection.

The problem is that this functional silhouette has become an object of massive visual appeal. And when an atypical morphology becomes trendy, many people forget that it also comes with a biological cost.

Daily Character: More Assertive Than Its Size Suggests

The Dachshund is often marketed as an easy small dog.

This is a half-truth.

Yes, its size can suit many homes. Yes, it can be very endearing, funny, affectionate, even intensely bonded with its humans. But it often remains tenacious, assertive, noisy, a hunter, and more independent than one might imagine before living with one.

The Dachshund is not a small retriever.

It was not bred to docilely follow commands instantly.

It was bred to act alone, in a context where it had to make decisions without waiting for a human to tell it what to do underground. This historical autonomy is still very evident in the modern dog. 

Owner Profile

The ideal owner for a Dachshund is not necessarily an ultra-athletic person or an "expert" owner, but it's also not someone who just wants a funny little dog to put on a couch.

You need someone consistent, capable of handling:

• a dog that can be stubborn,
• a true hunting instinct,
• sometimes sustained barking,
• concrete preventive measures for its back,
• and rigorous weight management.

The Dachshund is much better suited to someone who accepts adapting their daily life to the breed than to someone who hopes the breed will adapt to everything, without effort.

Family Life and Cohabitation

The Dachshund can live very well in a family. Many do. But again, you have to move beyond the stereotypes.

Its small size often leads adults to treat it as a "simple" dog and children to handle it like a plush toy. This is exactly what should not be done. A Dachshund can be affectionate, playful, and close, but it can also be intolerant of physical restraint, clumsiness, or repeated handling. The problem isn't that it's "mean." The problem is that its discomfort threshold is too often underestimated.

With other animals, it all depends on the individual, socialization, and context. But it should never be forgotten that we are talking about a breed with a real hunting instinct. Rodents, birds, small mobile animals, or unknown cats can awaken a very concrete interest in some individuals.

Physical and Mental Needs

One of the most common mistakes with Dachshunds is confusing small size with low needs.

The Dachshund is not an inactive dog. It is an active, curious, often energetic dog that needs to walk, sniff, explore, search, and use its brain. The DachsLife study also found an association between very low levels of exercise and a higher prevalence of IVDD, although this alone does not prove a strict causality.

In practice, the most relevant activities are often the simplest: regular walking, sniffing, searching, controlled exploration, enrichment, learning routines. The Dachshund does not need to be treated as a fragile display dog. It needs intelligent activity, with real vigilance regarding unnecessary impacts.

Growth and Adolescence

A Dachshund puppy or adolescent can surprise people who expected a "practical" dog.

It can be very self-assured, very expressive, very vocal, very opportunistic, and quickly excellent at understanding how to get what it wants. In some individuals, adolescence also reinforces noise vigilance, social assertiveness, and chasing instinct.

The classic mistake is to have too loose a framework because the dog is small. Many behaviors that would not be tolerated in a large dog are overlooked in a Dachshund because it is "cute." Then they become ingrained.

Health: The True Heart of the Matter

(Dachshund joint pathologies have been covered in a dedicated Canithermo Explique article)

- Disc Herniation and Chondrodystrophy

The Dachshund is a breed that cannot be honestly presented without centering IVDD in its portrait.

Its morphology results from chondrodystrophy, with earlier aging of the intervertebral discs. This predisposition is well documented. The DachsLife 2015 study reported a lifetime prevalence of IVDD ranging from approximately 15.7% to 24.4% depending on the varieties, with an overall risk much higher than that of the general canine population. More recent work continues to confirm that Dachshunds show signs of disc degeneration very early, including in young asymptomatic adults.

This is the central point of the breed.

- Spaying/Neutering: A Topic to Discuss

Dorn and Seath's 2018 study found a higher risk of IVDH in spayed female Dachshunds compared to intact females, with a risk ratio of 1.81, and a higher risk with spaying/neutering before 12 months in both sexes. We must be precise in the interpretation: this is a retrospective study, useful but not perfect. It does not say "never spay/neuter." It says that, in this breed, the question of timing and the individual benefit-risk ratio deserves a real veterinary discussion.

- Patellar Luxation

This is not the defining characteristic of the breed, but it is one of the plausible points of vigilance, especially in smaller sizes. Patellar luxation is a well-known condition in small breeds; it simply needs to be kept in mind in a breed where the musculoskeletal system already requires special attention.

- Lafora Disease

Lafora disease deserves to be mentioned because it is not a folkloric detail of the breed. It is well documented, especially in wire-haired Miniature Dachshunds, with a genetic test available. The study by Ahonen et al. showed that, before screening efforts, the cumulative frequency of carriers and affected individuals in this variety could reach high levels in the United Kingdom.

What this concretely changes

The real issue with the Dachshund is not just knowing that it has a "fragile back."

It's understanding what that means in real life:

• constantly monitoring weight,
• regular but reasoned activity,
• intelligently designed home environment,
• vigilance for neurological or painful signs,
• and potentially high veterinary budget if a disc episode occurs.

What it changes in prevention

For the Dachshund, prevention is not a bonus. It's the normal way to handle the breed.

Concretely, this means:

• maintaining a strict ideal weight,
• avoiding excessive fat accumulation,
• encouraging regular activity,
• prioritizing scent work, walking, and calm activities,
• limiting unnecessary repetitive strain,
• seriously discussing the timing of spaying/neutering,
• and choosing a breeder who doesn't treat the back issue as a minor detail.

An owner who thinks "we'll see" is making a poor choice when buying a Dachshund.

Care

Dachshund care depends somewhat on coat type. The smooth coat is obviously simpler for daily life. The long coat requires more grooming. The wire coat has its own grooming specificities. But let's be honest: the truly important care for a Dachshund is not cosmetic.

The true care for a Dachshund is:

• weight,
• movement,
• living environment,
• early recognition of pain signs,
• and daily discipline to prevent morphology from dictating an unfavorable health trajectory.

Real Cost

This is a breed whose financial implications are often underestimated.

As long as it's healthy, a Dachshund may seem reasonable in terms of ongoing costs. But a disc episode immediately changes the scale: consultations, advanced imaging, neurology, potential surgery, hospitalization, rehabilitation. At that point, it quickly moves beyond the "economical small dog."

In other words: the Dachshund may be small in space, but it can be very cumbersome in veterinary risk. This is exactly the kind of breed where serious health insurance can make sense, provided you carefully read the exclusions.

Legal Framework

The Dachshund is obviously not concerned in France by the categories of so-called dangerous dogs. So the legal issue is not there.

The real challenge is the practical responsibility of the owner: not to buy a risky morphology as one would buy a fashion accessory, and not to pretend afterwards to discover that the back is an issue.

Choosing a breeder

For Dachshunds, breeder selection is crucial.

You should look at:

• seriousness regarding spinal health,
• their discourse on weight,
• the type of temperament they produce,
• transparency about bloodlines,
• available tests depending on the varieties, especially for Lafora in wire-haired miniatures,
• and, if merle/dapple, a true mastery of coat genetics.

A breeder who primarily sells "fashion," "rare colors," or "too cute mini size" without frankly addressing the back issue is already giving you useful information: it's probably not the right one.

Who the Dachshund suits

The Dachshund can suit people living in the city or in a house, provided they understand that small does not mean passive.

It suits those who like dogs with character, capable of strong attachment, amusing, intelligent, lively, and who accept a real discipline of prevention.

Who it suits less

It is less suitable for:

• those who want a decorative dog,
• those who think a small breed doesn't need training,
• those who don't want to deal with a barking dog,
• those who completely normalize being overweight,
• and those who want to buy a trend without taking on the biology that comes with it.

Thermography

For a breed so exposed to spinal and locomotor problems, anything that improves comfort, recovery, the quality of observing the dog, and attention paid to its body mechanics makes sense.

But one must remain realistic: no textile, no accessory, and no supplement replaces proper weight management, a consistent environment, serious selection, appropriate activity, and proper veterinary follow-up. For the Dachshund, prevention begins well before the first visible pain.

Conclusion

The Dachshund is not just a trendy breed. It's an old, specialized, brilliant, funny, strong-willed breed, but objectively marked by a major morphological constraint.

You can live very well with a Dachshund. You can even be passionate about them. But you must choose them wisely.

The Dachshund is not an "easy" small dog. It's a very specific small dog. And the more its popularity grows, the more important it becomes to state this clearly.