8 Mistakes Dachshund Owners Make (and the Easy Fixes)
This article contains affiliate links. Learn more.
As an Amazon Associate, StorehouseDirect earns from qualifying purchases. Prices are approximate at the time of writing. This article is general care information, not veterinary advice — always ask your vet about your own dog.
Dachshunds are stubborn, hilarious, and built like nothing else in the dog world — and that long, low body comes with an owner’s manual most people never get. Roughly 1 in 4 Dachshunds will deal with back trouble (IVDD) in their lifetime, and most of the everyday mistakes that make it worse are easy to fix. Here are the eight we see most, with the fix for each.
1. Letting them fly off the couch and bed
The single biggest one. Every leap off furniture slams a long spine built for digging, not skydiving. The fix: a dog ramp for the couch or bed (around $80) or, for tighter spaces, low-rise pet stairs (around $35). Train with treats for a week and they’ll use it forever.
2. Walking them on a collar
All that leash pressure lands on a small neck attached to a fragile spine highway. The fix: a no-pull harness (around $28) that spreads pressure across the chest. Keep the collar for tags only.
3. Letting the sausage get too sausage-y
Extra weight is extra load on that bridge of a back — vets call weight control the #1 thing owners control in IVDD risk. The fix: measured meals, fewer table scraps, and you should be able to feel ribs without pressing hard.
4. Skipping the brain work
Dachshunds were bred to out-think badgers underground. A bored Dachshund is a barking, digging, couch-shredding Dachshund. The fix: a puzzle treat toy (around $30) turns dinner into a hunt. More ideas in our full brain training guide.
5. The cheap flat bed
Thin bedding on hard floors is rough on long spines and older joints. The fix: an orthopedic memory-foam bed (around $19) with a low entry edge — no climbing required.
6. No coat in the cold
Two inches of ground clearance and a thin coat means winter walks are colder for them than your Lab-owning neighbors understand. The fix: a layered dog coat (around $32) that covers the belly — the part closest to the snow.
7. Marathon stair sessions and rough wrestling
Occasional stairs won’t break a healthy adult, but daily full-flight sprints and big-dog wrestling matches add up. The fix: carry them down long flights when you can, gate the steepest stairs, and match play partners to their size.
8. Ignoring the early warning signs
A Dachshund who suddenly won’t jump, yelps when picked up, walks stiff, or hides is telling you something. The fix: don’t wait it out — back issues caught early have dramatically better outcomes. Call your vet the same day.
The 30-second recap
- Ramp or stairs for furniture — around $35-80
- Harness, never a collar for walks — around $28
- Keep them lean
- Puzzle toy for the hunter brain — around $30
- Orthopedic bed — around $19
- Belly-covering winter coat — around $32
- Limit stairs and rough play
- Same-day vet call for back signs
Keep reading
More vetted picks for small-dog households: dog beds that actually last, beating boredom and anxiety, and our pet ownership statistics if you like knowing what everyone else spends on their dogs.
