When can a Dachshund be bred for the first time?
Females on the second heat, around 18 to 24 months. Males from 12 months, only after DNA, knee, and current eye results are filed.
Everything you need before breeding a Dachshund: the four health tests, the right pairing, and the back-care promise every puppy buyer makes.
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Responsible Dachshund breeding is mostly about protecting the spine. About one in five Dachshunds will damage a disc in life, so most of the work happens before any mating.
Get a current eye exam, OFA knee exam, cardiologist heart exam, and the CDDY/IVDD DNA test (chondrodystrophy and intervertebral disc disease) on file for both parents before you breed.
Match coat to coat, size to size, keep the inbreeding coefficient under 6.25%, and never pair dapple with dapple (the merle pattern). Double-dapples are a welfare problem, not a coat color.
Start progesterone blood draws around day 6 of the heat and breed when the numbers call for it. Most Dachshunds tie naturally; AI is rarely needed.
Confirm pregnancy by ultrasound around day 28, get a puppy count by x-ray around day 55, and plan a quiet home whelp. Most moms deliver three to seven puppies without help.
Short answer
Both parents need four results on file: a yearly eye exam, an OFA knee evaluation, a cardiologist heart exam, and the CDDY/IVDD DNA test from UC Davis. That’s the Dachshund Club of America baseline. An Embark panel adds two-hundred-plus extra markers from the same cheek swab.
The FGF4 retrogene that gives Dachshunds their long body is also what the CDDY/IVDD test reads, so almost every Dachshund carries at least one copy. Batcher’s 2019 sample found 96% of Standards came back M/M (two copies), only 4% N/M (one copy), and Minis nearly all M/M. A fully clear N/N is almost never on the table; your real choice is N/M over M/M when both exist.
Testing rests on four pillars: eyes, knees, heart, and the IVDD DNA test. The AKC Bred with H.E.A.R.T. program asks for current eye, knee, and heart exams before any mating[9]. The Dachshund Club’s code of ethics tightens that further: redo the eye exam every year, current within twelve months of breeding[6].
The CDDY/IVDD DNA test from UC Davis is the one test that changes how you pair Dachshunds. It reads the FGF4 retrogene on chromosome 12[14]; Brown’s 2017 PNAS paper showed this gene drives both the breed’s shape and its disc disease[11]. Batcher’s 2019 follow-up confirmed the test flags real clinical risk[12].
Nearly every Dachshund carries at least one FGF4 copy, so pick N/M over M/M when you can, and select against the most extreme body length. Packer’s 2013 study found back length relative to leg length is its own risk factor: a longer, lower dog carries more disc risk at the same genotype[10].
How to read a CDDY/IVDD DNA result
The test costs $60 to $100 at UC Davis or partner labs[14].
The OFA patellar (kneecap) check is a five-minute hands-on palpation by your vet, filed with the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. Grades run 0 (normal) to 4 (worst); Grade 2 or above is a do-not-breed result. Standards are less affected than toy breeds, but Mini Dachshunds carry real risk on their smaller frame[5].
A board-certified cardiologist runs the heart exam with a stethoscope. Dachshunds aren’t high-risk for congenital defects; you’re screening for mitral valve disease, which appears later in life. Catching the early murmur at breeding age keeps it out of the next litter[7].
The Embark or Wisdom Panel screen layers on top of the four-test baseline rather than replacing any piece of it, and it runs off a single cheek swab. That one swab covers PRA (a slow-progressing inherited eye disease that shows up most often in Mini Dachshunds), Lafora disease (a serious form of epilepsy heavily concentrated in wire-haired lines), drug sensitivity through the MDR1 gene, and more than two hundred additional markers[23]. It’s a complement, not a substitute: a broad DNA panel doesn’t excuse you from the yearly ophthalmologist exam, so a serious Dachshund breeder runs both.
Short answer
Breed the female on her second heat, around 18 to 24 months. Breed males from 12 months, but only once DNA, knee, and yearly eye results are on file. Retire females after 3 or 4 litters or by age 7 to 8.
Wait for the second heat. The spine needs the extra months to finish maturing.
Fertile from 6 months. Hold him back until the DNA, knee, and eye results are in writing.
First heat usually arrives between 7 and 12 months. Skip it; the cycle is hard to time and the spine has not finished growing. Most Dachshunds come into heat twice a year[18], so the second heat lands cleanly in the 18 to 24 month window.
Retirement is earlier than for Huskies or Labs because every pregnancy loads a spine already at risk. Any back episode, even a recovered one, means retire immediately. Most breed clubs cap lifetime litters at 3 or 4 and retire by age 7 to 8[6].
When in the heat is mating most likely to work?
Calendar timing (day 10 to 14) misses the fertile window in older bitches and quiet-heat lines. Progesterone bloodwork fixes it.
Start draws around day 6 of heat and repeat every 2 to 3 days. Each draw runs $50 to $150; most cycles need 2 or 3[21].
On the male side, fertility comes before paperwork: a 9-month-old stud without a CDDY/IVDD DNA result, knee grade, and current eye exam is not ready, regardless of show wins.
Both dogs need a brucellosis test (a reproductive bacterial infection) within 30 days of mating; one missed test can seed a whole kennel. The pre-breeding eye exam must be current within 12 months of the mating date[6]. For wider retirement guidance across breeds, see our dog breeding hub.
Short answer
Match coat and size (smooth-to-smooth, Mini-to-Mini). Keep the inbreeding score under 6.25%. Pair an M/M to an N/M when both are on the table. Never pair dapple to dapple; the breed club bans the cross because roughly 1 in 4 puppies is a double dapple, with deafness, eye defects, and blindness.
Inbreeding score thresholds
Target. Roughly the same as great-grandparent relatedness.
Caution. Hidden disease risk goes up fast. Common in show lines.
Most breed clubs say no.
Three filters do most of the work: coat-and-size match, DNA result, and inbreeding score. Smooth pairs with smooth, long with long, wire with wire; cross-coat litters are allowed in some lines but hard to place. Mini pairs with Mini and Standard with Standard, because a cross produces "tweenies" that fit no AKC class.
Two dapple parents produce roughly 1 in 4 double-dapple puppies: missing or microphthalmic eyes, deafness, and blindness are all common. Pair a dapple only to a solid-coloured mate[17].
Dapple x Dapple: what a litter of 4 looks like
The DNA rule is looser here than in most breeds because excluding M/M dogs would shrink the gene pool dangerously. Pair toward N/M when both are available, avoid M/M-to-M/M when you have a choice, and select for less extreme back length on top of the gene[10].
The third lever is relatedness. Aim for an inbreeding coefficient under 6.25% across 5 generations, calculated from an AKC pedigree or an Embark relatedness report[24]. Popular-sire effect shrinks the pool fast: avoid the stud everyone else is using.
Close the checklist with a brucellosis test on both dogs within 30 days of mating, and a signed stud contract before any tie.
5 questions to ask the other owner
Short answer
Colour comes from E (red and cream), A (black-and-tan, sable, wild boar), and K (brindle). Pattern comes from M (dapple) and S (piebald). M is the gene with ethics attached: two dapple parents produce double-dapple puppies with serious eye, ear, and vision defects.
Common Dachshund colors and patterns
Two e copies produce a red coat with no facial black; layer the chinchilla modifier on top and you get English Cream. Cream is common in UK pedigrees and non-traditional in some US show lines.
A drives black-and-tan, sable, and the wild boar pattern that dominates wire-haired lines. K adds brindle stripes on red or tan. S (piebald) blocks pigment from reaching white areas and is AKC-approved[2].
One M copy is a regular dapple; two copies is a double dapple, often with large white patches, microphthalmia or missing eyes, deafness, and poor vision. LSU deafness data show merle-to-merle rates many times higher than single-merle[17].
The AKC standard calls dapple-to-dapple wrong, and the AKC will refuse to register many double-dapple puppies[2]. The rule is hard: a dapple only ever pairs with a solid.
Piebald-to-piebald is a separate gene and a milder problem; two piebald parents lift mild-hearing-loss rates slightly, and some authorities still suggest pairing piebald to non-piebald.
Avoid "exotic" or "extreme" dapple sellers. The large white patches and merle modifiers they market as premium are the same traits that signal a welfare problem, and the breed club refuses membership to anyone breeding double dapples[6].
Short answer
AKC recognises 6 varieties: 3 coats (smooth, long, wire) crossed with 2 sizes (Standard 16 to 32 lb, Miniature 11 lb and under). Wire-haired lines carry the highest Lafora epilepsy risk. Mini and Standard share the same body shape, so the "Minis have lower back risk" belief is not supported by the data[10].
The smooth is the original German badger hound; long-hairs came from spaniel crosses, wire-hairs from terrier crosses (which still shows in their personality)[1].
Minis are size-bred-down Standards, not a separate breed. AKC sets Miniature at 11 lb and under measured at 12 months; Standards at 16 to 32 lb[2]. Dogs between 12 and 15 lb (called "tweenies") usually come from accidental Mini-to-Standard crosses and fit no AKC variety.
Do Mini Dachshunds have lower IVDD risk?
No. Back-to-leg ratio drives risk, not size; Minis share the Standard's body shape and sometimes show slightly higher rates because owners let small dogs jump from furniture more often[10].
Wire-haired lines need a Lafora DNA test (late-onset epilepsy, concentrated in this coat type); test before breeding and pair carriers only to clear mates[23].
FCI recognises a third size, Kaninchen (under 8 lb), bred in Europe for burrow-hunting rabbits. AKC does not. US "Kaninchen" or "teacup" labels are usually low-end Minis or Mini-to-Mini downsizing, which compounds health risk.
Which variety fits which home
Short answer
Standard litters average 3 to 7 puppies; Miniatures average 1 to 4[20]. Pregnancy runs about 63 days. Most Dachshunds whelp naturally and rarely need a planned c-section. Confirm with day-28 ultrasound, count puppies on a day-55 x-ray, and keep your vet on call for the first litter.
The three stages of a Dachshund birth
Restless, panting, nesting, off food. Temperature drops below 100°F (37.8°C) 12 to 24 hours before puppies.
Pushing. First puppy inside 4 hours; 30 to 60 minutes between each[19].
One placenta per puppy. Count them; a missing placenta is a vet emergency.
Dachshund births are usually uncomplicated: a roomy pelvis and average-sized puppies. Pregnancy runs 58 to 68 days, with 63 the typical mark. Day-28 ultrasound confirms pregnancy; day-55 x-ray counts the puppies[20].
Unlike French Bulldogs (around 80% planned c-sections), Dachshunds whelp on their own: 6 to 12 hours of pre-labour, 3 to 6 hours of active pushing, first puppy inside 4 hours of stage 2, and 30 to 60 minutes between each. See Cornell's dystocia (trouble giving birth) guide for the escalation triggers[19].
Call the vet right away if any of these happen
Puppy stuck or malpositioned.
Stalled labour or uterine fatigue.
Placental separation; puppy in distress.
Shock or eclampsia (low blood calcium).
Mini exception: a single oversized puppy in a 1 or 2 puppy litter can be too big for the small dam, and that is the breed's most common reason for an emergency c-section. The day-55 x-ray catches it in advance so a planned section can be scheduled.
Healthy puppies gain 5 to 10% of birth weight per day for the first two weeks. A puppy that has not gained in 12 hours needs intervention; the two smallest in a 6-plus litter often need supplemental bottle feeding.
Place at 8 to 10 weeks; eight is the minimum in most US states, and most experienced breeders hold to 9 or 10 for socialisation. Every contract should include a lifetime return clause; for Dachshunds the back-care commitment makes this non-negotiable.
Short answer
IVDD (intervertebral disc disease) hits an estimated 1 in 4 to 1 in 5 Dachshunds in life, per Packer 2013. The driver is the FGF4 retrogene on chromosome 12 (Brown 2017), and a UC Davis cheek-swab tests for it. A truly "clear" Dachshund essentially does not exist; the same gene gives the breed its shape.
About 1 in 5 Dachshunds will suffer a serious back injury in life[10]. Plan for it from day one; if surgery is needed, expect $4,000 to $10,000.
Two FGF4 retrogenes drive it: Parker 2009 mapped the chromosome 18 copy that gives Dachshunds, Bassets, and Corgis short legs[13], and Brown 2017 mapped the chromosome 12 copy that drives the disc damage itself[11]. Batcher 2019 quantified prevalence: 96% of Standards are M/M, 4% N/M, Minis nearly all M/M[12]. The breeding target is N/M over M/M, never the unicorn N/N.
Two kinds of IVDD (and which one Dachshunds get)
Early signs are a hunched back, tense belly, refusing stairs, or a wobbly gait; treat any as a same-day emergency[15]. Grades 1 to 2 usually resolve with crate rest and pain control; grades 3 to 4 need surgery (over 90% recover walking inside 24 to 48 hours); grade 5 recovers walking in roughly half of cases even with fast surgery.
IVDD prevention: the non-negotiable list
Breeding levers reduce, never remove, the risk: pair toward N/M, select for less extreme back-to-leg ratio[10], retire any dog with an episode (even fully recovered), and skip dogs with a sibling IVDD case before age 5. Every puppy packet should include plain-English IVDD basics and your phone number for life-of-the-dog back questions.
Short answer
A Dachshund buyer commits, for 12 to 16 years, to ramps on furniture, gates on stairs, a harness (never a collar), a lean dog, and a reserved $4,000 to $10,000 in case of back surgery. Pet insurance is effectively a requirement. Good breeders screen for this before handing over a puppy and write a lifetime return clause into the contract.
The Dachshund Club's code of ethics requires a return clause in every puppy contract: if the buyer ever cannot keep the dog, it comes back to the breeder. The clause keeps surrendered IVDD dogs out of rescue[6].
The leading reason Dachshunds reach rescue is not behaviour but back trouble: a couch jump, a $7,000 surgery quote, a family that cannot pay. Breed rescues see it weekly. Responsible breeders prevent it through up-front home screening and a lifetime take-back guarantee.
Lifelong cost of a Dachshund (back-care budget)
Insurance is the highest-leverage line item: a $10,000 annual limit with back-injury cover runs $50 to $80 per month for a young Dachshund, still less in total than a single surgery.
For owners without a breeder return clause, breed-specific rescues handle the harder cases. Our Dachshund adoption page lists both rescue dogs and owner-to-owner rehome listings.
Short answer
Budget $1,200 to $2,500 per dog for the pre-breeding workup (eye, knee, heart, DNA, Embark). US stud fees run $500 to $1,200 for pet lines and $1,200 to $3,000 for show or wire-haired champions. Natural mating and home whelping keep a total per-litter cost in the $3,000 to $6,000 range.
Estimated cost of a first Dachshund litter
Typical US pricing, per litter (not per puppy). Standards average 3 to 7 puppies; Minis average 1 to 4.
What can the puppies sell for?
Market range, not a Petmeetly endorsement. Untested-parent puppies should sell for less because the buyer carries more risk.
Stud fees swing on variety and pedigree: $500 to $1,200 pet line, $1,200 to $3,000 for wire-haired or show champions. Show-line stud owners often take "puppy back" (pick of the litter) instead of a cash fee.
Mating and whelping costs are small: $100 to $450 in progesterone draws, $150 to $300 day-28 ultrasound, $80 to $200 day-55 x-ray. C-sections are rare; the day-55 x-ray flags the one common scenario (a single oversized Mini puppy). Reserve $2,000 to $4,000 for any emergency.
Compare with the Pomeranian breeding guide (similar litter economics) and the Labrador breeding guide (similar testing baseline). For US listings, see Dachshund puppies for sale.
Females on the second heat, around 18 to 24 months. Males from 12 months, only after DNA, knee, and current eye results are filed.
Standards average 3 to 7 (range 1 to 9). Minis average 1 to 4. Confirm with day-28 ultrasound; count on day-55 x-ray.
No, about 98% whelp naturally. The breed has a normal pelvis and average-sized puppies; c-sections are emergencies, not scheduled events.
IVDD is not curable. A truly clear (N/N) Dachshund essentially does not exist; the FGF4 gene that drives the disease also produces the breed's shape. The realistic choice is N/M over M/M.
No. Roughly 1 in 4 puppies will be a double dapple, with high rates of deafness, eye defects, and blindness. The Dachshund Club bans the cross. Pair a dapple only to a solid-coloured mate.
About 63 days from ovulation (range 58 to 68). Day-28 ultrasound confirms pregnancy; day-55 x-ray counts the puppies.
No. AKC treats them as separate varieties (Standard 16 to 32 lb, Mini under 11 lb). Crosses produce "tweenies" that fit no class. Pair size to size.
Most breed clubs cap at 3 or 4 lifetime litters and retire by age 7 to 8, with a heat cycle of rest between. Any back episode means retire immediately.
US pet-quality Standards run $1,500 to $3,000, Minis $2,000 to $3,500, and wire-haired puppies at the top of those ranges. Untested parents should sell for less.
No. Packer 2013 showed back-to-leg ratio drives risk, not size. Minis share the same shape and sometimes show slightly higher rates.
The four baseline tests are an ACVO eye exam (within 12 months), OFA patellar evaluation, cardiologist heart exam, and the UC Davis CDDY/IVDD DNA test. A broad Embark panel adds 200+ markers.
Eight weeks is the US legal minimum; experienced breeders place at 9 or 10 for stronger bite inhibition. Every contract should include a lifetime return clause.
Sources
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