> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.doxiereport.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Are Dachshunds Hard to Train? No — But You're Probably Doing It Wrong - URL: https://www.doxiereport.com/are-dachshunds-easy-to-train/ - Published: 2026-08-27T02:15:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-27T02:15:13.000Z - Author: Stefan Lenassi - Tags: Doxie Life > Dachshunds are trainable — but they're not Golden Retrievers, and training them the same way will frustrate everyone involved. Ranked in the "average working intelligence" tier by canine psychologist Stanley Coren, dachshunds were bred since the 1500s to hunt badgers underground and make independent decisions without human guidance. That independence looks like stubbornness in a living room, but with short sessions, positive reinforcement, and patience, most dachshunds learn commands and house rules just fine. A while back, I posted something about dachshund training on Facebook. Within about an hour, the comments looked like a support group that had given up. "Oliver says there's no shutting him up!" ... "Even though these two bark, it doesn't bother me that much!" ... and my personal favorite: "Dachshunds don't even have behavioral problems!" I chuckled hard at that last one. Look — I get it. When you've got a twelve-pound sausage with the confidence of a German Shepherd and the selective hearing of a teenager, "trainable" can feel like a stretch. But here's the thing. The people who say dachshunds can't be trained are almost always the people who trained their dachshund like it's a Labrador. And that's like trying to teach a cat to fetch. It's not that the animal is dumb. It's that you're speaking the wrong language. ## Why Do Dachshunds Have a Reputation for Being Stubborn? Two words: badger hunting. Dachshunds were bred [as far back as the 1500s in Germany](https://www.dachshundclubofamerica.org/dachshund-history/?ref=doxiereport.com) to chase badgers — animals that weigh up to 30 pounds, have razor claws, and fight like they mean it — down into underground tunnels where no human could follow. Think about that for a second. Your dog's ancestors had to crawl into a dark hole, find something angry, and make a decision about what to do next. Alone. No treats. No "good boy." No handler standing above them with a clicker. The AKC puts it plainly: dachshunds are ["bred to be an independent hunter of dangerous prey" and "brave to the point of rashness"](https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/dachshund/?ref=doxiereport.com). That's not stubbornness. That's centuries of carefully selected problem-solving. When your doxie looks at you, processes your command, and then decides to [burrow under the blanket instead](https://www.doxiereport.com/why-do-dachshunds-burrow/), they're not being defiant. They're running a cost-benefit analysis. And right now, the blanket is winning. ## Where Do Dachshunds Actually Rank in Intelligence? Here's where it gets interesting. Canine psychologist Stanley Coren ranked dachshunds in the ["average working/obedience intelligence" tier](https://www.prettyfluffy.com/dog-breeds/are-dachshunds-smart/?ref=doxiereport.com) in his book *The Intelligence of Dogs*. That means they typically need 25 to 40 repetitions to learn a new command and obey the first time about [50% of the time](https://formydachshund.com/are-dachshunds-smart/?ref=doxiereport.com). Sounds mediocre, right? But here's what that ranking actually measured: *one* type of intelligence — working and obedience intelligence. How quickly a dog follows human instructions. Coren identified [three types of canine intelligence](https://www.prettyfluffy.com/dog-breeds/are-dachshunds-smart/?ref=doxiereport.com): 1. **Instinctive intelligence** — what the dog was bred to do 2. **Adaptive intelligence** — how well the dog solves problems on their own 3. **Working/obedience intelligence** — how quickly the dog learns from humans Dachshunds score average on #3 — because they were literally engineered to NOT rely on humans underground. But instinctive intelligence? Off the charts. Adaptive intelligence? Ask anyone who's watched their doxie figure out how to open a door, unzip a bag, or locate a treat hidden inside a puzzle toy in eleven seconds flat. Your dachshund isn't dumb. They just don't see the point in sitting on command when nobody asked them to sit in the tunnel. ## Is Potty Training a Dachshund Really That Hard? OK, let's talk about the elephant in the room. Or the puddle on the carpet, rather. Dachshunds are consistently cited as one of the more challenging breeds to housetrain. Spend five minutes on any dachshund forum and you'll find owners swapping war stories like veterans. There are a few real reasons for this: **Small bladder, big opinions.** Minis especially have tiny bladders relative to their body size. They physically need to go more often — and if it's raining outside, well... your doxie has already decided that the hallway rug is the compromise. **Temperature sensitivity.** Dachshunds don't love being cold or wet. Their low-to-the-ground body means rain hits them differently than a Lab. If you've ever stood at your back door watching your dachshund look at the rain, look at you, and then slowly turn around — you know exactly what I mean. **Independent decision-making again.** A Golden Retriever wants to please you. A dachshund wants to evaluate the situation. "You want me to go outside in the rain, walk down wet grass, do my business, and come back... when there's a perfectly good spot behind the couch?" The good news: it's not impossible. It just takes more consistency, more patience, and more trips outside than you planned for. Most trainers recommend taking a dachshund puppy out [every 30 to 60 minutes when awake](https://www.chewy.com/education/dog/new-dog/how-to-potty-train-your-dog-in-7-days?ref=doxiereport.com), and immediately after eating, drinking, playing, or napping. It's a lot. But it works. ## What's the Best Way to Train a Dachshund? Here's the thing nobody tells you: the problem is almost never the dog. It's the method. Dachshunds respond poorly to punishment-based training. Yelling, nose-rubbing, alpha-rolling — all of it backfires with this breed. They don't get scared into compliance. They get resentful. And a resentful dachshund is the most creative form of passive resistance you've ever seen. What actually works: ### Use Positive Reinforcement — Period Dachshunds are [extremely food-driven](https://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/tips-for-training-a-dachshund/?ref=doxiereport.com). Use it. High-value treats — real chicken, cheese, freeze-dried liver — not those cardboard biscuits from the pet store. But [watch the portions](https://www.doxiereport.com/how-much-to-feed-a-dachshund/) — training treats should be tiny. When your doxie does what you asked, reward immediately. Every single time at first. They'll start connecting the dots faster than you think. ### Keep Sessions Short Five to ten minutes, tops. Multiple times a day beats one long session. Dachshunds have the attention span of a brilliant but easily bored child. When they check out, they're done — and pushing past that point teaches them that training is something to endure, not enjoy. ### Make Them Think It Was Their Idea This is the secret weapon with dachshunds. Instead of demanding a "sit," lure them into the position with a treat above their nose. When their butt hits the ground, treat and praise like they just won the Olympics. The dachshund thinks: "I chose to sit, and good things happened." That's a completely different equation than "I was told to sit." With a breed that was designed to make autonomous decisions in a dark hole, that distinction is everything. ### Exercise First, Train Second A dachshund with pent-up energy is a dachshund who's going to ignore every word you say. Get them out for a [proper walk](https://www.doxiereport.com/dachshund-exercise-needs/) first — enough to take the edge off — and then train. The difference is night and day. ### Be Relentlessly Consistent Same commands, same rules, same consequences — every person in the house, every time. A dachshund will find the one family member who lets them on the couch and exploit that gap until the end of time. They're not being naughty. They're being logical. ## What About Barking? Can You Train a Dachshund Not to Bark? Let me be honest with you: not entirely. Dachshunds were bred to bark. That was literally part of the job description — alert the hunter above ground to where the badger was hiding below. The AKC describes them as ["ever-alert"](https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/dachshund/?ref=doxiereport.com) for a reason. You can train a dachshund to stop barking *on command*. You can reduce unnecessary barking with consistent redirection and positive reinforcement. But expecting a dachshund to never bark is like expecting a retriever to never carry things in its mouth. It's in the wiring. The ones who tell me their dachshund "doesn't bark" either have the rarest doxie on Earth, or they've gone partially deaf. In my humble (but definitely right) opinion. ## FAQ ### Are dachshunds smart or dumb? Dachshunds are smart — just not in the way obedience rankings measure. They rank in the ["average" tier for working/obedience intelligence](https://formydachshund.com/are-dachshunds-smart/?ref=doxiereport.com) but excel at independent problem-solving and instinctive intelligence. They were bred to make decisions without human help, which is a different kind of smart than following commands on the first ask. ### How long does it take to train a dachshund? Basic commands like "sit" and "come" can be learned in a few weeks with consistent short sessions and [positive reinforcement](https://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/tips-for-training-a-dachshund/?ref=doxiereport.com). Housetraining typically takes longer — anywhere from a few months to six months or more, depending on consistency. The breed isn't slow to learn; they just need more repetitions and higher motivation than people-pleasing breeds. ### Are dachshunds the hardest dogs to potty train? They're among the more challenging breeds, yes. Their independence, small bladder size, and sensitivity to weather all make housetraining slower. But with frequent outdoor trips, consistent schedules, and positive reinforcement, [most dachshunds get there](https://www.chewy.com/education/dog/new-dog/how-to-potty-train-your-dog-in-7-days?ref=doxiereport.com). The owners who struggle most are usually the ones who punish accidents instead of rewarding successes. ### What age should you start training a dachshund? Start the day they come home — usually around 8 to 12 weeks. Puppies are sponges, and early socialization and gentle training set the foundation for everything that follows. The longer you wait, the more your dachshund's independent streak fills the gap with its own house rules. ### Can you train a dachshund not to bark? You can train a "quiet" command and significantly reduce excessive barking, but you can't eliminate it entirely. Barking is a breed trait — dachshunds were bred to bark underground to [signal the hunter above](https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/dachshund/?ref=doxiereport.com). Consistent redirection and positive reinforcement help, but expecting silence from a dachshund is expecting them to be a different breed. --- ## Your Daily Dose of Dachshund Love If you're the kind of person who just read 1,500 words about training a wiener dog — you're one of us. We send a free email for doxie people who want the real talk — the stories, the breed intel, and the occasional thing that'll make you laugh out loud and then show your dog. [Join the pack here](https://www.doxiereport.com/#/portal/signup) *(No spam. No ads for things your dog doesn't need. Just doxie love.)*