A Dachshund enters a room as if it owns it. Four short legs, a long body and enough confidence for a dog twice the size. To understand it, you need to know its purpose: hunting underground, where a dog must decide alone.
| FCI | Group 4 (Dachshunds), Standard No. 148, with working trial |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Size | three sizes by chest circumference (measured from 15 months): Standard over 37 to 47 cm (females over 35 to 45 cm), Miniature over 32 to 37 cm (over 30 to 35 cm), Rabbit 27 to 32 cm (25 to 30 cm) |
| Weight | not specified in the FCI standard |
| Life expectancy | median 14,0 years for Miniature Dachshunds in a British analysis of 584.734 dogs (McMillan et al. 2024); no figure given in the text there for other sizes |
| Coat | three coat types: smooth-haired, wire-haired, long-haired |
| Colours in the standard (smooth-haired) | solid red; bicolour deep black or brown with tan; dapple (merle); brindle. Wire-haired also wild boar and brown wild boar |
Origins
The FCI standard describes the Dachshund, also known in German as Dackel or Teckel, as known since the Middle Ages. Scent hounds were used to develop dogs particularly suited to hunting underground. It also works above ground, giving voice on trails, flushing and tracking wounded game. The oldest breed club is the Deutsche Teckelklub, founded in 1888. Today, three sizes and three coats make nine varieties.
Temperament
According to the standard, it is friendly, neither fearful nor aggressive, even-tempered, and a passionate, enduring hunting dog with a fine nose. Day to day, this appears as courage and independence. A Dachshund thinks alongside you and likes making its own decisions, including about recall. It reliably announces anything it notices.
Exercise and activities
It walks farther than those legs suggest and has an excellent nose. Scent work, tracking games and varied walks provide better activity than wild ball games with jumps. Take the hunting instinct seriously in woodland.
Grooming
Smooth hair is easy to maintain, wire hair needs regular stripping and long hair regular brushing. For all varieties, watch the nails and keep the body lean.
Health
The back is the major issue. A Royal Veterinary College study of thoracolumbar disc extrusion found that a longer back relative to leg length and smaller body size increased risk. The four Dachshund varieties in the study together accounted for 38 per cent of disc cases, and almost half the Miniature Dachshunds examined were overweight (Packer et al. 2013). The authors recommend a lean body and breeding without excessively long backs. In practice: carry on stairs where possible or use ramps, avoid jumps from sofas and cars, and build muscle through steady exercise.
Who is a Dachshund right for?
People seeking a confident small companion with character, with humour for its stubborn streak and a willingness to carry it on stairs and watch its weight.
Who is it less suitable for?
Anyone expecting a quiet, consistently obedient dog, and flats with many stairs and no lift.
For more about backs and everyday Dachshund life, read our detailed Dachshund breed profile. The breed quiz and our book “Welcher Hund passt WIRKLICH zu dir?” (book in German) show whether it suits you. For puppy owners, there is the free Puppy Starter Pack. Your Dachshund as a magazine cover on canvas or in many other forms: Dachshund portraits and gifts.
Further reading
- Dachshund: the back shapes its whole life
- Is my dog overweight? How to check body shape and ideal weight
- Jack Russell Terrier: a working dog that happens to be small
Sources, accessed on 20.10.2026: FCI-Standard Nr. 148 Dachshund (fci.be, version dated 14.03.2022); Packer RMA et al., How Long and Low Can You Go? Effect of Conformation on the Risk of Thoracolumbar Intervertebral Disc Extrusion in Domestic Dogs, PLOS ONE 2013; McMillan KM et al., Scientific Reports 2024.
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