KENAI
Dachshund

The breeds · scenthound · scenthound / blood tracker

AKC Hound · UKC Scenthound · FCI standard 148

Dachshund.

FCI 148: hunting dog above and below ground; passionate, persistent, fast hunting dog with an excellent nose; also tracking of wounded game, flushing and hunting giving tongue; 'with working trial' (FCI Group 4). UKC: excellent hunting dog for small ground game, persevering above and below ground, with good nose and loud tongue; RKC: used for tracking wounded game such as deer, and for going to ground after badger or rabbits. UBT (North America): one of the best arguments for a dachshund tracking prospect is that it is easy to train and eager to please, and a good dachshund learns to stay on the right scent line quicker than most hound breeds that are not as handler-oriented..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

14YRMedian lifespan13.7 to 14.2, measured on real dogs.
6 / 9INHeight · miniature standardall 5.5, all 8.5. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
10–32LBWeight, all linesminiature 10 lb; standard 11 to 32 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayUp to 1 hour per day (RKC, all three miniature varieties).. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The lines

Within one breed the line can matter more than the breed. Where the lines differ, the page says which one a value belongs to.

miniature

Miniature size. UKC: up to 11 lb, ideal 10 lb. AKC page: 11 lb and under. FCI 148: chest circumference over 30 / 32 cm up to 35 / 37 cm. UK: preferably under 5 kg. A separate Kaninchen (rabbit dachshund) size exists in FCI countries and is not modelled here. Smooth, wire and long coats.

standard

Standard size. UKC: over 11 lb up to 25 lb. AKC page: 16 to 32 lb. FCI 148: chest circumference over 35 cm (bitches) or 37 cm (dogs) up to 45 / 47 cm, measured at 15 months or older. Smooth, wire and long coats.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

miniature line5.5 in (5 to 6)

Breed clubAKC

AKC page header summary, same caveat as the standard line. Center is the midpoint.

standard line8.5 in (8 to 9)

Breed clubAKC

AKC page header summary; the AKC standard PDF could not be fetched, so the figure is not checked against the standard text. Center is the midpoint of the printed range. UKC prints no height.

Weight

miniature line10 lb

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2008

UKC prints the ideal (10 lb). AKC, UKC and the RKC wording agree on the 11 lb ceiling. No floor is printed.

standard line11 to 32 lb

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2008

UKC and AKC differ and both are shown (Oct 8 2026 ruling). Low and high span both so a filter finds the dog under either; no single ideal, so no center. UKC revised Jan 1 2008.

Coat

Three coat varieties in each size. Smooth-haired: short, dense, shiny, tight and harsh. Wire-haired: perfectly even, close-fitting, dense wiry topcoat with undercoat, beard, bushy eyebrows, shorter almost smooth ears (UKC adds: the wire coat should resemble a smooth from a distance; soft hair is a fault). Long-haired: plain shiny coat with undercoat, longer at throat and underside, feathering behind legs, a full flag on the tail, hair extending beyond the lower edge of the ears. Colors: one-colored red, two-colored (black or chocolate etc. with tan), dappled (tiger) and brindle (UKC); FCI also lists these with colour patterns.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2021

FCI 148 and UKC agree on the three varieties. RKC: six varieties share one standard, divided by size and coat.

Shedding

Shedding 2 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Smooth: short, dense, shiny coat (FCI 148). Wire: tight, rough, hard coat with finer undercoat (UKC) / dense wiry topcoat with undercoat (FCI). Long: long, silky coat with feathering, flag tail, undercoat (UKC, FCI).

DerivedUnited Kennel Club, 2008

Derived from coat (short dense = 4; medium double = 3). Smooth 4; wire 3 to 4; long 3 at best. Range 3 to 4, no center. No measured data.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

miniature line14 years (13.7 to 14.2)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

UK pet dogs; the separate Miniature Dachshund row. The miniatures outlive the standards by 0.8 year with non-overlapping intervals.

standard line13.2 years (13 to 13.5)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

UK pet dogs. The Dogs Trust table splits standard and miniature; this is the table's 'Dachshund' row, read as the standard size. The AKC figure is shown beside the study and does not set low/high.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

miniature lineUp to 1 hour per day (RKC, all three miniature varieties).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'Up to 1 hour per day' = 60 min by the ruled mapping.

standard lineUp to 1 hour per day (RKC, all six varieties).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'Up to 1 hour per day' = 60 min by the ruled mapping. AKC energy band is 3 of 5 (AKC's own band).

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

miniature line2 of 5 · Miniature smooth: once a week (RKC). Miniature wire and long: more than once a week (RKC).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

As for the standard line.

standard line2 of 5 · Smooth: once a week (RKC). Wire and long: more than once a week (RKC). AKC coat grooming frequency 2 of 5 and shedding 2 of 5 for the breed (AKC bands).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC bands: once a week = 2, more than once a week = 3. The coat varieties differ, so low is the smooth coat and high the wire and long coats; no center.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 148: hunting dog above and below ground; passionate, persistent, fast hunting dog with an excellent nose; also tracking of wounded game, flushing and hunting giving tongue; 'with working trial' (FCI Group 4). UKC: excellent hunting dog for small ground game, persevering above and below ground, with good nose and loud tongue; RKC: used for tracking wounded game such as deer, and for going to ground after badger or rabbits. UBT (North America): one of the best arguments for a dachshund tracking prospect is that it is easy to train and eager to please, and a good dachshund learns to stay on the right scent line quicker than most hound breeds that are not as handler-oriented.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2021

FCI 148 history and utilization; UKC; RKC; UBT breed page.

Primary game

Badger and fox in burrows (earth work), rabbit and other small ground game (UKC, RKC); wounded deer by scent trail (RKC, FCI).

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2008

UKC history: the name means badger dog; RKC: 'badger and rabbit hunter ... still used for tracking wounded game such as deer'.

Also used on

Flushing; hunting while giving tongue; tracking wounded game (FCI 148 history). Beating the bush for small game (UKC). Blood tracking of wounded deer in North America (UBT).

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2021

FCI 148 history paragraph; UKC general appearance paragraph; UBT breed page.

Range

Close: a small, low dog working a scent line at the handler's end of a lead (UBT tests are on lead for UBT I to III; off-lead only in UBT-OL); fast above ground when hunting giving tongue (FCI).

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2021

No published range figure for the Dachshund; the lead description is the UBT test format, not a statement about the breed. Marked as editorial reading of sources.

Search pattern

UKC: hunting spirit, good nose, loud tongue and small size make him especially suited for beating the bush; his figure and fine nose give him the advantage over most other sporting dogs for trailing. FCI 148: passionate, persistent, fast hunter giving tongue. UBT: learning to stay on the right scent line is the hardest thing a tracking dog learns, and dachshunds pick it up fast. Work on lead in UBT tests (see field_trial_standard).

Breed clubUnited Kennel Club, 2008

UKC standard text, FCI 148 temperament, UBT breeds page. No source read gives a trail age for the Dachshund.

Field trial standard

UBT blood-tracking tests, open to any breed (dog and handler team, blind track, deer blood and a deer part at the end): UBT I about 400 to 500 yards, track at least 2 hours old, two 90-degree turns, one wound bed; UBT II about 800 to 900 yards, at least 8 hours old (up to 20 hours overnight), at least three turns; UBT-OL off lead, 800 to 900 yards, at least 4 hours; UBT III 800 to 1,000 yards, 3 to 5 turns plus challenges. 8 oz of blood (or tracking shoes and 3 oz). FCI classifies the Dachshund Group 4 'with working trial'. German Deutscher Teckelklub tracking and hunting tests and AKC / DCA field trials not read.

Breed clubUnited Blood Trackers, 2025

UBT Chapter 3 PDF (Feb 2025). UBT does not publish pass rates by breed. A Texas Parks and Wildlife account (2014) describes a UBT test with a trail 12 hours old and at least 800 yards, 8 oz blood, and a wirehaired dachshund among the dogs waiting to test.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

4.7% · 507 OFA hip evaluations, all data as served Oct 8 2026; 4.7% dysplastic (mild 4.5, moderate 0.2, severe 0.0); normal 94.7% (excellent 17.9, good 62.3, fair 14.4). OFA rank 182.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own current breed statistics for the Dachshund as a whole; OFA does not split standard and miniature. Submitted dogs are breeding-stock and owner-selected, so this describes the submitted dogs, not every Dachshund.

Elbow dysplasia

1.9% · 162 OFA elbow evaluations, all data as served Oct 8 2026; 1.9% abnormal (grade I 1.9, II 0.0, III 0.0); normal 97.5%. OFA rank 129.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA's own current breed statistics, same skew and no size split. Small sample (162).

What the studies found

Population-level findings, shown as a spread. Breed sets the odds; the parents set the dog.

Toward strangers

of 4 (most dogs 0.9 to 1.4) · Duffy, Hsu & Serpell 2008, stranger-directed aggression mean (C-BARQ, 0 to 4): online survey 1.37 (n 68, rank 1 of 8 breeds common to both samples); breed-club sample 0.88 (n 120, rank 1).

StudiedDuffy D.L., 2008

Two samples of the same paper, shown as low and high; no center because they are different samples, not a published single mean. Rank 1 = most aggressive of the 8 breeds common to both samples (Dachshund, English Springer Spaniel, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, Poodle, Rottweiler, Shetland Sheepdog, Siberian Husky). This is a behaviour questionnaire of owner reports, not bite statistics.

Toward other dogs

of 4 (most dogs 0.9 to 1.5) · Duffy, Hsu & Serpell 2008, dog-directed aggression mean (C-BARQ, 0 to 4): online survey 1.46 (n 68, rank 1 of 8); breed-club sample 0.89 (n 120, rank 1). Owner-directed: 0.27 online (rank 1), 0.13 breed club (rank 2).

StudiedDuffy D.L., 2008

Same samples and caveats as stranger-directed. Breed names are AKC breeds; sizes and coats of the Dachshunds are not split in the paper.

Aggression, as studied

Duffy, Hsu & Serpell 2008: of 8 breeds common to both of the paper's samples, the Dachshund ranked highest for stranger-directed (1.37 / 0.88) and dog-directed (1.46 / 0.89) aggression and first or second for owner-directed (0.27 / 0.13); the paper names Dachshunds, Chihuahuas and Jack Russell Terriers as aggressive in most contexts. FCI 148: friendly by nature, neither fearful nor aggressive, even temperament.

StudiedDuffy D.L., 2008

Paper text and Table 5. Owner-report questionnaire (C-BARQ), not bite data. The standard's temperament line is the ideal, not a measure.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 5; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 4; Good With Other Dogs 4; Shedding Level 2; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

No KENAI kennel lists the Dachshund yet. If you breed them, list your kennel free: it shows on this page and in the hunting dog breed finder, under every handler whose answers land on the breed.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 8 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Teckel, Dackel, Wiener dog, Doxie

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

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