That long back and short legs aren't just a cute silhouette — they're a genuine spinal deformity (chondrodystrophy) that gives Dachshunds one of the highest disc-disease rates of any breed, and a dog that's jumped off the couch for years without incident can still end up suddenly paralyzed.
13.2years, median
0.7 years above the all-dog median of 12.5.
Measured, not estimated: the middle age at death across 584,734 UK dogs, 284,734 of them deceased. Based on 3,231 dogs of this breed. 95% confidence interval 13 to 13.5 years. Half lived longer than this, half did not. UK dogs, so treat it as the best available figure rather than a promise about yours.
In the same study, medium breeds as a group had a median of 12.5 years and long-muzzled breeds 12.1. This breed is medium and long-muzzled.
McMillan et al. 2024, Scientific Reports 14:531 — open access · CC BY 4.0Health tests to ask the breeder for
Dachshund Club of America sets the tests a Dachshund needs for a CHIC number in the OFA's open database. A CHIC number means the tests were done and the results are public. It does not mean the dog passed them: ask for the results for both parents, or look them up yourself on ofa.org.
- Patellar Luxation (OFA Evaluation)
- Cardiac Evaluation
- Eye Examination by a boarded ACVO Ophthalmologist
When to spay or neuter a Dachshund: the UC Davis study of 35 breeds has a suggested guideline for the breed. For males it is any age. For females, any age. The spay and neuter page has the numbers behind it and what the guidelines say for a dog this size.
- Progressive Retinal Atrophy cord1/crd4 DNA test (Miniature varieties)
- Lafora Disease DNA test (Miniature Wirehaired)
Test names as the club lists them; checked September 2026. OFA CHIC breed page. How to use this at the breeder: check a breeder.
Adopt a Dachshund near you
Shelters and rescues list Dachshunds and Dachshund mixes on Petfinder. Enter a ZIP code to see who is waiting within 100 miles.
Listings come from Petfinder and open there. Petipedia does not take part in adoptions and earns nothing from them.
Living with a Dachshund
Dachshunds are big personalities in a small body — bold, often stubborn, bred to independently hunt badgers underground, and that shows in their willfulness and their bark. Day to day, the real management issue is physical: limiting jumping on and off furniture, using ramps or stairs for some dogs, and keeping them lean, because those interventions measurably reduce IVDD risk in ways that supplements and vitamins do not.
Health you should know about
- Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) — the breed's defining health problem; studies put lifetime risk at roughly 15-25% depending on variety and study, and it can cause sudden severe pain or hind-limb paralysis requiring emergency surgery.
- Obesity — excess weight substantially raises IVDD risk in this breed specifically, making weight control more consequential here than in most breeds.
- Progressive retinal atrophy and other inherited eye disease — can lead to blindness; dapple-coated dogs also carry elevated risk of vision and hearing defects.
- Patellar luxation — kneecap instability, an added mechanical strain on a body already shaped to stress the spine and joints.
Read the full Dog Care Guide first — costs, daily time, and everything a dog needs before you choose a breed.
Naming a Dachshund? German dog and cat names, 88 of them, with what they mean.
Sources — 5 references
Last reviewed October 2026. 5 sources listed below. Written and maintained by Petdeals.io. General care information, not veterinary advice — for a sick animal, call a vet.