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# Why Are Dachshunds So Stubborn? (They're Not — and Here's the Proof)
- URL: https://www.doxiereport.com/why-are-dachshunds-so-stubborn/
- Published: 2026-10-05T02:20:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-05T02:20:59.000Z
- Author: Stefan Lenassi
- Tags: Doxie Life

> Dachshunds aren't stubborn — they're independently intelligent. Bred to hunt badgers alone underground, dachshunds were selected for centuries to make life-or-death decisions without a handler's input. What looks like defiance is actually a dog doing exactly what 600 years of German engineering told it to do: think for itself.

You know the look.

You say "come." Your Doxie looks right at you. Makes direct eye contact. And then — nothing.

Not because they didn't hear you. Not because they're confused. They heard you just fine. They just... considered it. Weighed their options. And decided, respectfully, no.

Every Golden Retriever owner on the planet would call that stubborn.

But here's the thing.

Your dachshund isn't stubborn. Your dachshund is doing exactly what it was built to do.

## Why Were Dachshunds Bred to Ignore You?

Here's what most people don't know about the dog sleeping on their couch right now.

Three hundred years ago, that same dog — well, its great-great-great-grandparent — was being shoved headfirst into a hole in the ground to fight an animal that outweighed it five to one.

A [badger](https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/dachshund-history-badger-dog-breed/?ref=doxiereport.com). In its own home. In the dark.

And the handler? The handler was standing up top. Couldn't see a thing. Couldn't give commands. Couldn't help.

The AKC puts it plainly: ["Trapped in tight tunnels, relying on its own wits, the Dachshund needed to be independent, bold, and not a little bit combative."](https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeds/dachshund-history-badger-dog-breed/?ref=doxiereport.com)

Think about that for a second.

A dog that waited for instructions in a badger sett didn't survive. A dog that thought for itself, made its own call, and refused to back down — that one came back up.

Your dachshund is the descendant of the dogs that came back up.

So when your Doxie ignores your "come" and follows a scent trail instead, that's not rebellion. That's [600 years of breeding](https://www.doxiereport.com/what-were-dachshunds-bred-for/) working exactly as designed.

## What Does the Breed Standard Actually Say?

Here's where it gets interesting.

The [AKC Official Standard for the Dachshund](https://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/Official%5FStandard%5FDachshund.pdf?ref=doxiereport.com) describes the breed's temperament as:

*"Clever, lively and courageous to the point of rashness, persevering in above- and below-ground work, with all the senses well-developed."*

Courageous to the point of rashness. That's in the breed standard. The document that defines what a dachshund is *supposed* to be.

And here's the line that really puts it in perspective: *"Scars from honorable wounds shall not be considered a fault."*

This is a breed standard for a dog most people dress in Halloween costumes. And the official document talks about battle scars like it's writing about a gladiator.

The UK Dachshund Breed Council [adds their own observation](https://www.dachshundhealth.org.uk/caring-for-your-dachshund?ref=doxiereport.com): "They are Hounds and when they are off the lead, if they get a scent, they can 'go deaf' when it suits them."

They literally put "go deaf" in quotes. Because everyone knows it's not the ears. It's the priorities.

## The Intelligence Test That Got It Wrong

You've probably seen those "smartest dog breeds" lists online. And you've probably noticed dachshunds aren't exactly at the top.

That's because of Stanley Coren.

In 1994, Dr. Coren — a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia — published [*The Intelligence of Dogs*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FIntelligence%5Fof%5FDogs?ref=doxiereport.com). He surveyed 199 obedience trial judges and ranked 131 breeds. Dachshunds landed at #49 — the "Average Working/Obedience Intelligence" tier.

Average. The dachshund — the dog that was bred to fight underground predators alone in the dark — scored "average."

But here's the catch that nobody mentions.

Coren's ranking measures one thing: [obedience](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/200907/canine-intelligence-breed-does-matter?ref=doxiereport.com). How fast does a dog learn a command? How reliably does it obey the first time?

He defines three types of intelligence: instinctive (what a breed was built to do), adaptive (problem-solving on their own), and working/obedience (learning from humans). The published list measures *only the third type*.

Coren himself writes: ["Whether a dog is 'smart' or 'dumb' depends on the specific aspects of its behavior we consider."](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/canine-corner/200907/canine-intelligence-breed-does-matter?ref=doxiereport.com)

Look at the top 10 on his list: Border Collie, Poodle, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Labrador. Every single one was bred to take instructions from a human. Herding, retrieving, working alongside a handler — obedience IS the job.

Now look at the bottom: Basset Hound, Beagle, Bloodhound, Afghan Hound. All independent hunting dogs. All bred to make decisions on their own.

Ranking a dachshund on obedience is like grading a cat on its ability to fetch. You're measuring the wrong thing entirely.

## It's Not Stubbornness — It's a Motivation Problem

Here's what professional trainers actually say when they work with dachshunds.

Nathan Woods, a professional dog trainer with 25 years of experience and 10 AKC-titled dogs, [puts it this way](https://nathanwoodsdogtrainer.com/guides/dachshund/?ref=doxiereport.com):

*"It is an independent working dog that was bred to make decisions out of sight of its handler, and that wiring does not switch off for the purposes of a rainy morning."*

That line right there should be on a T-shirt.

Science-based trainers at [Freak on a Leash Dog Training](https://freakonaleashdogtraining.com/why-your-dogs-behavior-isnt-stubborn-understanding-motivation-in-training/?ref=doxiereport.com) frame it even more directly: ["What we often label as stubbornness is actually a lack of motivation, confusion, or an unmet need."](https://freakonaleashdogtraining.com/why-your-dogs-behavior-isnt-stubborn-understanding-motivation-in-training/?ref=doxiereport.com) And on independent breeds specifically: ["This independence isn't defiance — it's genetic."](https://freakonaleashdogtraining.com/why-your-dogs-behavior-isnt-stubborn-understanding-motivation-in-training/?ref=doxiereport.com)

Your dachshund isn't being bad. Your dachshund just doesn't see the value proposition.

A Golden Retriever sits because making you happy *is* the reward. A dachshund sits because there's a treat in your hand and they've done the math.

Different motivation structure. Not inferior. Different.

## The Genetics Are Real

This isn't just trainer intuition. The research backs it up.

[MacLean et al. (2019)](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0716?ref=doxiereport.com) studied behavioral heritability across 14 traits in 101 breeds and found an average heritability of 0.51 — meaning roughly half of breed-level behavioral variation is genetic. For some traits the figure ran as high as 0.77\. Your dachshund's independence isn't a training failure. It's written into their DNA.

A 2025 Japanese study published in *Animal Genetics* ([Zemmoto et al.](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11783580/?ref=doxiereport.com)) went even deeper — studying 183 Miniature Dachshunds with genetic SNP analysis. They found that "human-directed sociability" had a heritability of 0.514\. Meaning roughly half of how your dachshund relates to people is hardwired from birth.

And [Duffy, Hsu, and Serpell at the University of Pennsylvania (2008)](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2008.04.006?ref=doxiereport.com) used the C-BARQ behavioral assessment on over 15,000 dogs and found dachshunds were among the breeds least likely to back down from a confrontation. Not because they're [aggressive](https://www.doxiereport.com/are-dachshunds-aggressive/) — because they're courageous. To the point of rashness. Just like the standard says.

## How to Actually Train a Stubborn Dachshund

So now that we know it's not stubbornness — it's independent intelligence — what do you actually do with it?

You stop fighting the wiring and start working with it.

**Make it their idea.** Dachshunds respond to rewards, not corrections. If "come" means nothing happens, they'll keep following the scent. If "come" means a piece of chicken, suddenly their hearing gets a lot better.

**Keep it short.** A dachshund's attention span for obedience work is about 5-10 minutes before the internal cost-benefit calculator kicks in. Short, high-value sessions beat long, boring ones every time.

**Don't repeat yourself.** This is the biggest mistake. You say "sit" once. Then again. Then again louder. Your dachshund just learned that "sit" actually means "sit... sit... SIT!" Say it once, wait, reward. They're smart enough to figure it out — they just need a reason to care.

**Respect the nose.** Your dachshund was [bred to dig](https://www.doxiereport.com/why-do-dachshunds-dig/), to track, to follow scent. Nose work, puzzle toys, and scent games are worth more than a thousand recall drills. A mentally tired dachshund is a cooperative dachshund.

**Be more interesting than the environment.** That's the whole game, honestly. If you can't compete with a squirrel, your training rewards aren't high enough. Upgrade the treat.

As Nathan Woods [puts it](https://nathanwoodsdogtrainer.com/guides/dachshund/?ref=doxiereport.com), the key is treating housebreaking as a supervision and schedule problem — for longer than you'd expect — rather than as a defiance problem.

Your Doxie isn't broken. [They're not hard to train](https://www.doxiereport.com/are-dachshunds-easy-to-train/). They just require a different approach than a Labrador. And honestly? Once you crack the code, you'll appreciate the intelligence behind every calculated refusal.

## The Part Nobody Tells You

Here's the real truth about dachshund "stubbornness."

The same trait that makes your Doxie ignore you on a walk? That's the trait that makes them [bark at threats three times their size](https://www.doxiereport.com/why-do-dachshunds-bark-so-much/). The trait that makes them plant themselves between you and a stranger. The trait that makes them refuse to quit when they're hurt, which is why [back problems](https://www.doxiereport.com/dachshund-back-problems/) can go unnoticed until they're serious.

That independence, that refusal to be pushed around, that *you-can't-make-me-and-we-both-know-it* energy — that's not a bug. That's the whole dog.

Encyclopaedia Britannica — quoting dog breed expert Caroline Coile — [describes it perfectly](https://www.britannica.com/animal/dachshund?ref=doxiereport.com): "The Dachshund was bred to confront badgers in an enclosed space underground. As such, it can be fearless, relentless, and even reckless."

Fearless. Relentless. Reckless.

That's not a stubborn dog. That's a brave one.

And you're lucky they chose your couch.

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## FAQ

### Are dachshunds the most stubborn dog breed?

Dachshunds aren't actually stubborn — they're independently intelligent. They were [bred to hunt alone underground](https://www.doxiereport.com/what-were-dachshunds-bred-for/) and make decisions without a handler, which means they evaluate commands before following them. This looks like stubbornness but it's really a different motivation structure than obedience-bred dogs like retrievers and shepherds.

### How smart are dachshunds really?

Dachshunds ranked #49 out of 131 breeds on [Stanley Coren's intelligence list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FIntelligence%5Fof%5FDogs?ref=doxiereport.com), but that ranking measures only obedience — how fast a dog follows commands. In adaptive intelligence (problem-solving, independent thinking), dachshunds excel. Research shows breed-level behavioral traits average [roughly 51% heritable](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0716?ref=doxiereport.com), and independence is one of them.

### Why won't my dachshund listen to me?

Your dachshund almost certainly hears you — they just don't see the value in complying. Professional trainers recommend high-value rewards (real meat, not kibble), short training sessions, and never repeating a command. Dachshunds respond to motivation, not repetition. If "come" leads to something better than what they're currently doing, they'll come.

### Can you train stubbornness out of a dachshund?

You can't — and you shouldn't try. Independence is [genetically hardwired](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11783580/?ref=doxiereport.com) (roughly 50% heritable). What you can do is work with the wiring: use rewards-based training, keep sessions short, make yourself more interesting than the environment, and channel their drive into nose work and puzzle games. A dachshund who's mentally stimulated is far more cooperative.

### Are dachshunds harder to house train than other breeds?

[House training a dachshund](https://www.doxiereport.com/how-to-potty-train-a-dachshund/) takes longer than with most breeds — the [UK Dachshund Breed Council](https://www.dachshundhealth.org.uk/caring-for-your-dachshund?ref=doxiereport.com) notes that dachshunds are among the harder breeds to housetrain, with Miniature Smooths being the most challenging variety. The fix is supervision and schedule consistency for longer than you'd expect, not punishment. Treat it as a logistics problem, not a compliance problem.

*(This article reflects breed behavior research and owner experience — not veterinary advice. For behavioral concerns, consult a certified animal behaviorist or your vet.)*