How to train a Dachshund puppy – The Ultimate Guide

Don’t be surprised if your Dachshund puppy likes to sleep on you, whether they are the miniature or standard variety they are often very cuddly.

We recommend you let your puppy sleep in your room, don’t worry, it won’t be forever. Most puppies will wake up at least once in the night to go to the toilet. Add to this that they wake feeling unsure of their surroundings, lonely, missing their siblings and generally just a bit scared. Having them close means you can lean over and comfort them, talk to them gently, and reassure them that you’re there for them. 

If you want them sleeping in the bed then that’s fine too. We will not judge you, and don’t let others judge you either! Do what’s right for you and your sausage.

Check out full guides on how to get a puppy to sleep through the night, and how to get your puppy into a night time routine for more info. 

For some Dachshunds being home alone can be a challenge, but let us reassure you that no puppy comes pre-programmed to want to be on their own. It is something that needs to be trained to help prevent separation-related problems and dog separation anxiety.

For now, focus on teaching your Dachshund puppy that you’re never going to leave them longer than they can handle, and make sure their crate or puppy proofed area where you’ll want to leave them has lots of positive associations built up. Use enrichment food toys or Kongs to feed them. They’ll problem solve to get their meals, and eating just a little bit away from you will teach them that nice things happen even when you’re not close by. Easy does it, for now, don’t rush this bit.

We have a week by week alone training programme in the Zigzag puppy app, you might also want to get a puppy sitter for the times you need to leave them alone. 

Toilet training your Dachshund puppy will be easy if you follow these steps. 

• Write down a sleep, train, toilet, play schedule and stick it to your fridge
• Set a reminder in your phone so that (at least!) every hour you’re reminded to take your Dachshund puppy to the toilet
• Also take them out after playing, sleeping, eating and drinking
• Reward them heavily, lots of praise, really make your pups tail wag, and a treat for going in the right place
• Don’t worry accidents will happen, clean up and write down on your toilet training schedule what time the accident was.

If you don’t have a garden, it can be a little bit more challenging but we suggest you set up a puppy toilet using fake grass or soil, as pads can be a bit confusing, and often treated like toys – Dachshund puppies will LOVE to shred puppy pads, trust us! 

You can also consider bell training your Dachshund puppy to teach them to ring the bell to go outside – and pee! 

Socialising your puppy is an important thing to do for your Dachshund puppy. Socialisation is the process of experiencing the world around them, meeting people, other animals and giving them positive experiences so that they are confident in a wide variety of situations.

This week we suggest you 

• Let your Dachshund puppy explore the garden – it will be exciting for your Dachshund to explore their garden, don’t be surprised at how sniffy they are and that they might put everything in their mouth. 
• Teach your puppy about surfaces – your Dachshund puppy will need to learn that there will be different feelings and sensations under their feet. For now just lay out a little course of different textures in the room they spend the most time in and let them have a feel around them. Don’t worry about anything too slippery for now, we want them to feel safe when doing this. 

Training your Dachshund puppy should be done with positive reinforcement. This is how dog’s learn best, and create happy, confident, optimistic dogs with a positive attitude and outlook of the world. We use plenty of treats in training. You can also use your Dachshund puppies daily kibble ration for some of their training. Don’t worry about using food for training – Food = Currency for dogs. We can use it to pay for behaviour we want to see more of.

This week let’s start off with the basics of Dachshund puppy training, click on the links for the full guide

• Teach your Dachshund their name – hope you picked a good name for your Dachshund. Remember to use a nice happy voice. This is the first step in asking them to do something else like come back when you call them. Using a gruff or cross tone doesn’t make anyone pleased to see you. 

• Teach your Dachshund puppy to sit – It’s not far for your Dachshund to go from a stand into a sit, in fact you sometimes need two people, one to do the training and the other to say ‘yep they’re sitting’! 

• Recall – How to teach your Dachshund puppy to come back when called – call your puppy for nice things and give them some lovely verbal praise as they’re coming toward you. Recalls should be fun! 

• Retrieve/fetch – We know that Dachshunds aren’t really thought of as natural retrievers, but they love to play so you shouldn’t find it too hard teaching them to fetch. Teaching a retrieve is also really useful in getting them to swap their toy for something nice.

All puppies should be taught to give up items willingly, but we need to teach them to do it in a non-threatening way to prevent resource guarding. 

Swaps when playing fetch is a great way to start this off, as it teaches your Dachshund puppy to do it in a fun way.

If your puppy has anything you want, make sure you have something of higher value to swap it with, and don’t chase them as this can turn into a game!

Check out our full guide to puppy resource guarding, and you’ll find this easy with your Dachshund. 

There can be a temptation to pick puppies up a lot, you’ll need to be careful when people do this with your Dachshund as there is a risk of damage to their backs when doing this.

Also good to remember dogs aren’t toys, and can be left to be stroked on the floor quite happily.

Handling is a really important thing to teach your Dachshund; hands will not only stroke them but will be used to groom them, check their temperature or have their heartbeat felt at the vet.

• Handling your puppy – teach your puppy that hands are nice things by playing the vet game, touch one part of your Dachshund’s body then offer them a treat. Keep doing this all over, methodically checking eyes, ears, under their tail and give them a treat each time. You can also use a stuffed Kong, or a puzzle toy to keep them occupied. Keep an eye on your puppy’s body language to see how they’re feeling. If there’s an area they aren’t comfortable with being touched, make a mental note and do a bit more gentle work on getting them ok with being touched in that area another time.

Dachshund puppy training will involve a lot of socialisation training. Many Dachshunds are sensitive to noise. By doing step- by- step, week- by- week noise habituation exercises you can teach your puppy that these sounds are not scary.

• Fireworks – playing firework sounds in another room at a low level and feed your Dachshund, we don’t want them to notice the noise so start off with it quietly at first. Each time you play them you can turn the volume up a little bit.

• Watch the world go by  – grab a handful of treats and sit out the front of your house or building. Remain calm and give your puppy a treat every so often, particularly if something noisy like a refuse truck or a lorry or bus comes past.

• Play dress up – while there is a vast wardrobe available for your Dachshund, and we know you’ve looked, we want you to dress up for this exercise. Puppies need to get used to different looking people, high viz jackets, thick gloves, a walking stick can all be used by you to nonchalantly walk through your home like it’s no big deal. Your Dachshund puppy will understand that this strange and different looking person was around and nothing bad happened. 

• Sit in the car – For this exercise, sit in the car with your Dachshund puppy and let them explore it. They will likely want to climb over things, sniff and investigate. All of this is ok, give them a treat and every now and again to build up positive associations to the car. It’s also worth you choosing your preferred puppy car carrier for when it comes time to travel with your Dachshund. This might be in a travel crate clipped into the seatbelt, a car harness affixed to the seatbelt, or a crate or dog guard in your boot.  

In week two of Dachshund puppy training we’ll carry on teaching your Daxie puppy some Life Skills like being alone and crate training if you want to use one.

• Alone training – build up the time you leave your Dachshund by just a few seconds at a time. Remember to use puzzle toys and see if you can start moving around while your puppy is eating. 
• Crate training – continue with the crate training, we want the crate to be in a fun place to be not a prison. If your puppy is comfortable with the door closed, try extending this for a little bit longer.

• Teach them their name in the garden – the outside world will be hugely distracting for a dog so motivated by their nose! When you start to train your Dachshund puppy outside, give them some time to adjust to the new environment, otherwise you’ll be competing with lots of distractions straight away, so give your puppy time to sniff! We do need to teach puppies in different environments to help them generalise and understand that ‘X means X wherever you are’. Use high-value treats (maybe even home made treats you make yourself)  for training outside so that your Dachshund puppy realises you’re worth paying attention to!

• Recall training -: add a cue word. Cue words are information we give to dogs that we want them to perform a certain behaviour. We used to call them commands, but language and its meaning changes over the years, so you’ll generally see them referred to as cues by other dog trainers and us.
  
  Your cue for your puppy to come back might be ‘come’ or ‘here’. Say it right after you call your puppy’s name, so they start associating the behaviour of coming toward you with the word.
  
  Don’t forget to always reward your Dachshund puppy when they come to you!
  
• Fetch and drop – Your Dachshund puppy will enjoy playing with you, so teach them to drop toys by swapping them for food. Iif you always teach them at the very beginning that nice things happen when they give up items, you’ll find it easier when they pick up things in the street as they learn trading is worthwhile. 

Dachshunds are low to the ground so will probably put everything in their mouth, swapping items for food means you can take those, sometimes disgusting things from them without too much issue.

• Introduce lead walking training – before you start putting a lead or harness on your Dachshund puppy, start leadwalking training by rewarding close following around your house, this teaches your puppy ‘stay next to me and you’ll get wonderful rewards’.
  
  PRO TIP: Lead Walking training with a toy or small dog can be hard on the back, you can buy tubes of liver paste which can help bridge the gap between your hand and the floor, so when your Dachshund is walking close, you can use your marker word ‘good’ and then let them lick the end of the tube. Other options are some dog safe peanut butter on a long wooden spoon. 

• Brushing your puppy – How you groom your Dachshund puppy will vary depending on their coat types.
  
  Smooth Dachshunds – a smoothie’s short hair doesn’t need a lot of maintenance but they will enjoy being brushed with a rubber slicker like a Zoom groom. Brushing allows you to increase blood flow to the skin and distribute the oils through that sleek coat making it nice and shiny. It’s also great for bonding too.

Wirehaired Dachshunds – Wirehaired sausage dogs don’t shed in the same way the smoothies and the longhaired Daxies do and are better being groomed with a denser flexible slicker brush. They’ll need their thick undercoat taken out by a groomer later, so it’s worth doing a lot of work on making sure they enjoy being brushed.

Longhaired Dachshunds – a comb and flexible slicker brush will be your friend here.

Whichever type of Dachshund you have, teaching them that grooming is a nice thing to be involved with while they’re young is really important. Use lots of treats to avoid them biting the brush, or give them a lickmat to help focus their mind (and mouth!) on other things. We also recommend you do this on a non-slip surface like mat or a piece of vet bed, and give them plenty of breaks so they can choose when they want to be groomed. Choice is very powerful for puppies, and they learn to come back to the mat if you want treats quite quickly.

For now just do easy areas, so probably avoid doing the beard and face on your Dachshund just yet, these can be sensitive spots.

Each week you’ll be doing new activities to give your Daxie puppy positive early life experiences

• Scent trails – your little Daxie is going to be marvellous at this. Their noses are low to the ground, and they really do love to use them.

Setting up Puppy Scent Trails

1. Place your puppy outside the room or have someone hold them while you leave a trail of 10 treats on the floor, spaced about half a metre apart.
2. At the end of the trail, make a little pile of the remaining treats.
3. Bring in your Daxie puppy and show them the first treat on the floor. They’ll most likely follow the rest of the course on their own and won’t need much assistance getting there!
4. Use a cue word like ‘search’ or ‘find it’ as your puppy follows along the trail, chewing on the treats.

• Invite friends over – most Dachshunds are people friendly, but they can be overwhelmed and object strongly to being picked up and over handled. The miniature ones especially end up being carried a lot, and they don’t all like it. Bring your friends in, hand out some treats and ask them to sit down. Let your puppy approach them when they’re ready, and ask your friends to leave your puppy on the floor. 

• Go for a drive with your Dachshund puppy – with your puppy safely secured in a puppy car carrier go for a short drive with them. If you can have a friend to sit beside them and feed them a treat every now and again they’ll enjoy it even more. 

• Write a puppy socialisation checklist for your Dachshund puppy: think about things you experience in day to day life, are there horses near where you walk or where you’re going to want to walk? Perhaps you want to take your Dachshund across the country on the train, or you use buses or ride a bike. Teaching your Dachshund to like going in a bike trailer or a bike basket might be your thing. Teach them early on and add it to your list. 

• Recall – Teaching your puppy to come when called, outside. How well did your Daxie puppy do recalling in the garden? Did it go well? Great, let’s try it on a walk. Nope? OK! Let’s try it on a walk with a long line! Recalling outside will be more difficult as there are so many distractions out on a walk. Keep your recalls light and fun and maybe bring your puppy’s favourite squeaky toy to use play as a reward when they come back.

• Stop your puppy jumping up – A word of warning, you really want to make sure you don’t have a Dachshund who jumps up. Aside from the fact it’s not very nice for humans to be jumped up on, it’s also not good for your Daxie’s back. 
• Generalisation – different locations. Generalisation is the process of teaching dogs in different locations so that they understand the behaviour you’re asking for, wherever you ask them to do it. Dogs aren’t especially good at this so we need to show them. Make a list of dog-friendly locations like DIY stores, Shopping Centres and Malls, Coffee Shops, Pubs, Pet Stores, and try to train your Dachshund puppy in different places each week. Keep the exercises easy and something well rehearsed at home; that way, they’ll find it easier to get it right and learn effectively. 

• Teach your Dachshund puppy to lie down – Most Dachshunds will find it easier to learn the down as a fold-back position from a stand. Having them on a higher non-slip surface can help you in the early stages of teaching your Dachshund to lie down. 
• Alone training – increase the time you leave them, just a few more seconds each day will do it. Don’t forget your camera to see how they’re coping without you there. 

Harness fitting for a puppy -, There is a lot of conflicting evidence and opinion about Dachshunds wearing harnesses. We are big supporters of all dogs wearing harnesses, but you have to get the right size and shape for your particular dog. For a sausage dog we recommend the perfect fit fleece lined, Puppia sport or other Y-shaped harness that can distribute the weight comfortably. 

• Meeting another dog – Do you have a friend with an older dog who is fully vaccinated and likes puppies? Invite them over for tea in the garden. At first, keep them both on a loose relaxed lead and simply let your Dachshund puppy have a sniff, then call them back and reward both dogs for returning. 

• Find a good puppy class for your puppy – Finding a local puppy socialisation class can be a great way of meeting other owners, keeping your training on track, and having access to a professional dog trainer. We always recommend checking your trainer’s credentials and what professional membership bodies they belong to. They should be training using positive reinforcement, not punishers, on pups or humans!

• Settle on a mat – teaching your Dachshund puppy to calm down and relax on a mat will be useful when you want to take them out and about with you to places, but also just to chill out indoors too.

Before you start

Choose a mat – anything portable and non-slip, like a piece of vet bed, is ideal. A sticky bath mat will also do the trick.

Put on your puppy’s harness and lead.

Assemble a stuffed Kong or have a nice chew toy.

How to do it

1. Place the mat on the floor close to your sofa or favourite chair.
2. Sit down and turn on your TV or radio, securing your puppy’s leash to the leg of your chair or putting it under your foot.
3. You’ll need enough lead for your puppy to be able to stand, lie down, and shuffle around freely, so make sure the leash isn’t too short. Similarly, don’t let it get too long so your puppy starts sniffing around for trouble.
4. Place the Kong on the mat to keep your puppy amused while you relax – if your dog becomes too energetic, you may hold the Kong under your foot to encourage them to lick the contents and possibly lie down while doing so.
5. After your puppy has finished the Kong, continue watching TV or listening to the radio for 10/15 minutes. They could be eating the toy right now, awake or asleep.
6. The goal is for your Dachshund puppy to lie down and relax, but they may also move or stand up. This strategy, on the other hand, will teach them that sometimes they just have to settle next to you.

• Lead walking – continue practising the lead walking training as you have already done. Lead walking training is something you really just have to keep doing, but you can make it more interesting by playing lead walking training games with your Dachshund.
  
  It is typical for your Dachshund puppy to stop and sit down when you first take them out for walks. There will be many firsts and new experiences for them on their early walks as they learn about the world around them, and it can be scary! 

If your puppy does sit, simply wait and let them watch the world a little, there’s no rush. Be patient, and when they feel brave enough to move on, lavish them with praise and treats. Don’t expect to get too far any time soon. Dachshunds only have little legs, whether mini or standard, so they can’t be walked for long periods.

• Recall games – Play tennis with your puppy!

Playing Tennis with your puppy is a simple game to get a puppy to come when called, where your puppy becomes the tennis ball. Practice this at home with two family members or a friend.

Ping pong your Dachshund puppy between you by calling them and then rewarding them when they come, and then the other person does the same.

Check out some of the other training games in the Zigzag app to help strengthen your puppy’s recall.

• Grooming a puppy – focusing on sensitive areas this week, typically this will be  around your Dachshund puppy’s face and legs. Go gently and do a bit that isn’t so sensitive before moving on and doing a slightly more tricky area. Use plenty of treats to keep it rewarding, or use a stuffed Kong or puzzle toy so that they’re entertained/ distracted.

• Go to the pub/dog friendly café – you deserve it! Time out and about with your Dachshund will likely mean a lot of attention from other people. It’s important to remember that your Dachshund might not want people they don’t know all over them and that once they’ve had that high, it can take a while for them to settle and calm down.

Take along your settle mat and sit in a quiet corner so that your Daxie pup can learn to relax when you’re out and not be too much of a social butterfly.

• Tick 3 things off your personal socialisation checklist – what new things can your Dachshund learn about this week? Why not try a socialisation outing where you take your Daxie to the beach or to a new park, maybe even go on a bus or train? Just make sure these experiences are positive and not too overwhelming.

• Alone training – increasing time alone is an important thing to keep building on, so that your puppy can be left for longer periods. No dog should be left to cry it out. That’s old-fashioned thinking and really stressful for our pups and us. Make sure your Dachshund puppy is comfortable for the amount of time you leave them, and look at a puppy sitter for times you need to leave them.

• Recall – Outside, using a long lead, dealing with distractions

Using a long line can be an excellent way to keep your Dachshund safe and ensure they don’t ignore you calling them. They probably haven’t had much practice in distracting environments at this point, so make sure you pay high wages with some squeezy cheese or liver paste. A favourite squeaky toy reserved for walks can also make you the most interesting person in the park. 

• Lead walking – outside, loose lead walking can be challenging with so many smells, so much stopping and starting, and there are a lot of things that can distract your Dachshund. Practice going up and down the same street, so your pup has a chance to sniff all the smells and focus on you.
  
• Push/drop/stick on known exercises – refer to our earlier guide on this. Maybe you can increase the distance that you can recall your Dachshund? Or maybe they can sit while you move away?

• Start pretending to clip your dog’s nails – Dachshunds have the BEST feet! They look like little trotters, and we love them at Zigzag. However, they need claws clipped as sometimes they’re not naturally worn down.
  
  Read our detailed guide to trimming a Dachshund puppy’s nails here. You’ll need a treat bag, some delicious high value treats, a pair of nail clippers, and some time and patience.

Tick 3 more items off your socialisation checklist – whatever your lifestyle will involve, involve your Dachshund, they will love to be with you.

• Following on walks – Playing the ‘follow me’ game on walks is an ideal method to practice and boost your Dachshund’s recall. This ‘follow me’ game will help keep your puppy focused on you in areas where there are distractions, which is basically everywhere other than your home! 

How to prepare

Grab your treat pouch and fill it with small, smelly treats.

Choose somewhere secure and quiet so your puppy can go off lead safely. A corner of the park that’s fenced-in is ideal. 

Use a long dog lead (or what we like to call a long line or recall line – one that’s about 10 metres long is great) if you’re worried about letting your Dachshund off lead, or if the area is not totally secure.

How to do it

1. Choose a quiet place away from other people and dogs.

2. Ask your puppy to sit, either verbally or with a hand signal.

3. When your dog sits, say ‘good’ and throw your treat so they have to go away from you to get it.

4. Run away from your puppy when they are nearly finished with their treat; your puppy will almost surely follow you!

5. Come to a complete stop just before they approach you and request that they sit again.

7. Say “good,” throw the treat once again, and run!

8. Repeat as many times as you want, running a bit further each time.

• Push/drop/stick – increase your known exercises to keep your sausage dog challenged by training. It’ll help you work out what you need to practice more of, or where your pup could be pushed a little.

• Start checking your puppy’s mouth and teeth. Much like humans, Dachshund puppies need to learn that we might sometimes have to have our mouths checked (a bit like going to the dentist) and that it’s nothing to panic about.
  
  It’s a good idea to start checking your puppy’s mouth and teeth, as well as getting them used to the taste of toothpaste while they are still little.

Although it’s their adult teeth that will need to be cleaned, training your puppy for dental care early on will make it much easier once they have their adult teeth, so don’t put it off.

• Have a go at puppy agility – while regular agility might not be the one for your Dachshund there is a relatively new dog sport called Hoopers Agility. Rather than jumping, it’s all done on the flat and believe it or not Dachshunds can do great at it!
  
• Tick 3 things off your personal socialisation checklist – Maybe you’ll go and watch a Canine Hoopers show or class? There will likely be a lot of dogs there, so make sure your Dachshund puppy gets plenty of space so they’re not overwhelmed.

• Teach your Dachshund puppy to stay – your Dachshund is probably a bit of a velcro dog, but you can easily teach them to stay. It can be a good one to teach them for safety so they don’t launch themselves out of cars or off steps and potentially damage their backs.
• Go for a walk with a friend’s dog – we know, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. What could be better than a dog walk with a friend? Keep both dogs on lead at first. Then if they’re comfortable and you’re in a safe place, you can let your puppy off lead to have a run and a play. Just watch out they don’t get squished if the other dog is big and a rather exuberant player!
  
• Recall – off the lead – you have to do it someday! If you haven’t let your Dachshund puppy totally off the lead, try a nice safe corner of the park this week. 
  
• Push/drop/stick on known exercises

• Pretend ear drops – those beautiful ears can hide dirt and debris, so it’s worth cleaning your Dachshunds’ ears regularly and getting them used to having ear drops  in, just in case the need ever arises and they get dreaded ear mites! 

• Joggers and Cyclists – these guys are likely going to excite or even frighten your Dachshund puppy. They will give off a shout or even make chase if they get scared of the fast-moving lycra or whizzy wheels going past them.
  
  At a safe distance, reward them with treats for being calm and build up positive associations. 

• Tick 3 things off your personal socialisation checklist – perhaps your puppy would like a visit to a country park this week?

• Practice exercises in different locations – generalisation is an important part of puppy training. We have to teach them the same exercises in lots of different places so that they learn sit means sit wherever you are. Make a list of dog friendly places to train in so you can practise – DIY stores or car parks are often quite good as they’re distracting for your puppy! 

• Teach a hand target  – hand targeting is a great exercise to teach your puppy as it encourages them to really think about how to get the treat without the use of a lure. A hand target can also be a great visual recall as the puppy learns to come and touch your hand for a treat.
  
  Targeting also forms the foundation of many trick behaviours, such as weaving through your legs, or spins and twists. Give it a go and expand your puppy’s trick repertoire as they get older. Who knows what your dancing Dachshund can do?!
  
• Introducing nose work to your puppy – Dachshunds have a great nose! They were bred to sniff out badgers after all. This time let’s try hiding one of their favourite toys.

How to start

Get your puppy’s favourite toy. Tell them ‘find it!’ and toss the toy for your puppy to go and get, yes It’s similar to playing fetch.

Give them the verbal praise you do so well at when they bring the toy back – such a good dog!

Now, let’s shake things up a little. Put the toy behind a cushion on the floor this time.

Give your puppy the signal to ‘find it,’ and offer them lots of praise when they bring it back to you.

You can now begin hiding the toy in increasingly challenging locations, such as behind the sofa, table, or even up on a chair. Allow the games to begin.

Make the game even more enjoyable and increase the difficulty by concealing the toy when your puppy is not in the room.

• Trim your Dachshund puppy’s claws – getting your Daxie puppy used to having their claws or nails clipper will be important. Due to their confirmation, they often don’t naturally wear down the claws by walking on pavements so their claws will need clipping. We recommend you get some styptic powder as with Dachshund claws being black, it can be pretty hard to see the vein that runs down inside their claw.