The breed standard for the Dachshund splits the breed by weight, not height: standard size 16 to 32 pounds, miniatures 11 pounds and under. Nothing is named between 11 and 16, and plenty of dogs finish there. The standard also calls the breed low to ground and long in body.
What the breed standard actually says
Most standards we quote are written in inches. The Dachshund standard sorts the breed by pounds instead, and the two sizes it names are weight figures from end to end.
| What | The standard | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Standard size | 16 to 32 pounds | Official breed standard for the Dachshund |
| Miniature | 11 pounds and under | Official breed standard for the Dachshund |
| Height | No figure we could source | Not published here |
| Build | “Low to ground, long in body and short of leg” | Official breed standard for the Dachshund |
| Temperament | “Clever, lively and courageous to the point of rashness” | Official breed standard for the Dachshund |
We publish no height figure here. We could not source one we were prepared to stand behind, so the row stays empty rather than carrying a guess. If you see inches quoted for a Dachshund elsewhere, ask where they came from.
The gap between 11 and 16 pounds
Look at the two figures again. Miniature stops at 11 pounds. Standard starts at 16. Between them sits a five-pound stretch the standard never names, and dogs land in it. A 13-pound Dachshund is not a miniature by the standard’s own definition, and not a standard-size dog either. It is simply a 13-pound Dachshund.
That is worth knowing before you shop, because listings force a choice the document does not support. A puppy described as a miniature may finish at 12 or 14 pounds. That does not mean anyone lied — the label went on a young dog before the number was in. “Miniature” describes an adult at 11 pounds and under, and nobody can promise it in advance.
“Teacup” appears in no breed standard, for this breed or any other. It is a marketing term, not a recognised size and not a smaller kind of Dachshund.
What a long back asks of an owner
This is the part of the page to read twice. The standard asks for a dog low to ground, long in body and short of leg. That build is the breed, and it has consequences a buyer should hear first.
VCA notes that breeds with long backs and short bowed legs show faster deterioration of the discs in the spine, and that obesity and repeated jarring add to the risk. Both of those are partly in an owner’s hands.
- Keep the dog’s weight down. Judge condition by feeling the ribs and looking for a waist rather than by the scale alone.
- Discourage jumping off furniture. The sofa and the bed are the usual culprits, and a dog that does it forty times a day jars the same back forty times.
- Ask your veterinarian what applies to your particular dog. A vet with hands on the dog can advise on stairs, exercise and what to watch for. A web page cannot.
None of that is a prediction. We are not telling you a given puppy will have back trouble, and we would not claim to know. We are telling you what the veterinary material says about the build the standard asks for, because you are choosing that build deliberately.
What decides final size, and when to ask a vet
Mostly genetics, and mostly out of sight at eight weeks. Veterinary guidance is clear that an individual puppy’s adult weight cannot be predicted from a photograph or a birth weight. Small breeds finish growing earlier than large ones, so you learn the answer sooner than with a big dog — but you learn it by waiting.
That is why this page carries no weight-by-age table. Nothing we could source publishes credible age-by-age weights for a Dachshund, and a breed whose standard spans 16 to 32 pounds is the last place to pretend otherwise. Bring growth questions to your vet, who can compare your dog against its own record rather than a chart.
Our other breed information pages follow the same sourcing rules, our breeds page lists everything we write about, and available puppies by breed shows what is in the Lawrenceville showroom now.
Temperament, as the standard phrases it
The standard calls the Dachshund “clever, lively and courageous to the point of rashness”. That last phrase is unusually frank for a breed document. Courage to the point of rashness, in a dog built low to the ground, is how a dog ends up launching off something it should have walked down from.
It is a breeding target, though, not a description of the dog in front of you. Individual dogs vary. We will not rank this breed against another as calmer or easier, because no one has measured that; our breed comparisons set standards side by side instead of declaring winners.
Common questions
How much does a full-grown Dachshund weigh?
The standard gives 16 to 32 pounds for standard size and 11 pounds and under for miniatures. A wide span, and the standard’s own rather than an estimate.
What is a Dachshund that weighs 13 pounds?
A 13-pound Dachshund. The standard names nothing between 11 and 16 pounds, so a dog in that range is neither a miniature nor a standard by the document’s own definitions. Plenty of dogs land there.
How tall does a Dachshund get?
We do not publish a height figure, because we could not source one we trust. The standard sorts this breed by weight and describes the build as low to ground, long in body and short of leg.
Does a long back mean my dog will have back problems?
Not as a prediction. VCA notes that long-backed, short-legged breeds show faster disc deterioration, with obesity and repeated jarring adding risk. Keeping weight down and discouraging jumping off furniture are the practical steps, and your veterinarian should advise on your individual dog.
Come and meet a Dachshund
Every puppy here is health-checked by our on-staff veterinarian, raised in our family home nursery, and waiting to say hello.
1848 Old Norcross Rd, Lawrenceville, GA 30044
Mon–Sat 12:00–7:00 PM • Sun 2:00–6:00 PM
