Dachshund nutrition: weight control, disc disease and teeth

Keeping a Dachshund lean is the part of its diet that matters most, because extra weight is one of the few risk factors for back disease an owner can change. Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) is common in the breed. A large owner survey, DachsLife 2015, cites earlier estimates that 19 to 24 percent of Dachshunds show signs of it during their lives, and found a prevalence of 15.7 percent across more than 2,000 dogs. The risk differed by variety, from 24.4 percent in Standard Smooth-Haired Dachshunds to 7.1 percent in Standard Wire-Haired.

Daily calories by body weight

Dachshunds come in two sizes. The Kennel Club asks for miniatures to weigh preferably under 5 kg, and standards are heavier. Their energy needs are small, and the feeding guide on a bag is only a rough starting point for a neutered house dog. The Merck Veterinary Manual calculates a dog's resting energy requirement as 70 × body weight in kg to the power 0.75, then multiplies it by 1.4 for an obesity-prone adult, 1.6 for a neutered adult and 1.8 for an intact adult. The table applies those figures to typical Dachshund weights.

Use the weight the dog should be, not its current weight, if it is already overweight. These figures are starting points; a quiet older dog may need less, and the right amount is whatever keeps the dog at a lean body condition. Merck gives puppies higher multipliers, 3 × RER under four months and 2 × RER after that. For a growing Dachshund, a practical approach is a puppy food portioned for its expected adult size.

Treats are where small dogs gain weight. A common guideline is to keep treats to about 10 percent of daily calories. For a 4 kg miniature eating around 315 kcal, that is roughly 30 kcal a day, which a single large biscuit or dental chew can exceed. Count chews, training rewards and table scraps, and reduce the meal on days when there are more of them. The guide to healthy treats for dogs lists lower-calorie options.

Weight, exercise and the back

Dachshunds are chondrodystrophic. Their discs, the cushions between the vertebrae, degenerate and often calcify early in life, and a degenerated disc can rupture and push material into the spinal canal. The result ranges from back pain and a hunched posture to wobbly hind legs or complete paralysis. Sudden reluctance to move, crying when picked up, a tense belly, knuckling of the back feet or weakness in the hind legs needs a vet the same day. A dog that cannot walk is an emergency.

Body shape and weight both affect the risk. A UK referral hospital study measured dogs of many breeds and found that relatively longer backs, smaller skeletal size and being overweight each raised the risk of thoracolumbar disc extrusion. The authors concluded that keeping high-risk dogs lean is particularly important. In the US, the Dog Aging Project found that owners of overweight dogs more often reported IVDD, while dogs with more daily activity and those that regularly used stairs were less likely to have it. Dachshunds had the highest owner-reported lifetime prevalence of any breed in that study, 15.3 percent.

Exercise points the same way. In DachsLife, dogs exercised for less than 30 minutes a day had higher odds of IVDD and dogs exercised for more than an hour had lower odds, although those results came from a survey and cannot prove cause. The Kennel Club lists the breed as needing up to an hour of exercise a day. Regular walks keep a dog fit and help with weight at the same time. In the UK, breeders can have breeding dogs x-rayed under the Kennel Club's IVDD screening scheme, which scores calcified discs, so puppy buyers can ask for the parents' results.

Check body condition every few weeks. At a healthy weight the ribs are easy to feel under a thin layer of fat, there is a visible waist when the dog is seen from above, and the belly tucks up behind the ribs from the side. Small changes matter at this size: 500 g gained by a 7 kg dog is about 7 percent of its body weight, similar to a 70 kg person gaining 5 kg. If the dog needs to lose weight, agree a target and a slow, steady plan with the vet rather than cutting food sharply.

Choosing a food

Any complete and balanced diet made for small breeds or all life stages can suit a Dachshund. What matters more is the calorie density and the portion, so compare kcal per cup or per 100 g on the label and measure every meal with scales. Small kibble is easier for miniatures to chew. Very high-fat foods sold for working or sport dogs pack a lot of energy into a small volume and make it easy to overfeed.

Adults do well on two measured meals a day. Puppies need three or four smaller meals, dropping to two by around six to twelve months. Free-feeding, where the bowl is always full, makes it hard to know how much a dog eats and suits few Dachshunds.

Supplements and the spine

No food or supplement has been shown to prevent disc disease in Dachshunds. Fish oil, glucosamine and chondroitin are widely sold for joints and backs, but there is little trial evidence that they protect the discs. In DachsLife, dogs given glucosamine or chondroitin actually had higher odds of IVDD. That may simply reflect owners giving supplements to dogs that already had back trouble, but it does mean the survey offers no support for them as prevention. For a dog already diagnosed with IVDD, discuss pain relief, rest, surgery and rehabilitation with the vet; supplements can be talked about as extras, not substitutes.

Teeth

Small breeds with crowded mouths often develop periodontal disease, and Dachshunds show one of its more serious results. In a retrospective dental study, Dachshunds were 3.3 times more likely than similar small dogs to have an oronasal fistula, an opening between the mouth and the nasal cavity caused by bone loss around a tooth. The upper canine teeth were affected most often. Sneezing, nasal discharge on one side, or food and water coming out of the nose can be signs.

• Brush daily or as often as possible with a dog toothpaste. This is the most effective home care.
• Dental chews and diets can help alongside brushing. Count their calories in the daily total.
• Have the teeth checked at every vet visit, and expect a Dachshund to need professional cleaning under anesthesia from time to time.

Sources

1. DachsLife 2015: an investigation of lifestyle associations with the risk of intervertebral disc disease in Dachshunds. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology, 2016.
2. Nutritional requirements of small animals. Merck Veterinary Manual.
3. How long and low can you go? Effect of conformation on the risk of thoracolumbar intervertebral disc extrusion in domestic dogs. PLoS One, 2013.
4. Demographic and lifestyle characteristics impact lifetime prevalence of owner-reported intervertebral disc disease: 43,517 companion dogs in the United States. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2025.
5. Dachshund (Smooth Haired). The Kennel Club, Breeds A to Z.
6. Oronasal and oroantral fistulas secondary to periodontal disease: a retrospective study comparing the prevalence within Dachshunds and a control group. Journal of Veterinary Dentistry, 2019.