An adult dachshund of 9 kg, neutered and moderately active, needs about 367 kcal a day; a 5 kg miniature about 236. There is no special ‘dachshund food’: in the DachsLife survey of 2,031 dachshunds, neither dry, wet nor raw feeding was linked to fewer slipped discs. What is in your hands is the portion: between a miniature and a standard the energy need almost doubles, and a UK study found that in miniature dachshunds even moderate excess weight raises the risk of a disc extrusion.
In the UK the answer is in the breed standard: the Kennel Club gives an ideal weight of 9-12 kg for the standard dachshund and 4.5 kg for the miniature, with a desired maximum of 5 kg. The American Kennel Club is broader: 16-32 lb (about 7-14.5 kg) for standards and 11 lb (5 kg) or less for miniatures. The FCI standard used across continental Europe capped the standard dachshund at about 9 kg in its 2001 version, a figure still quoted online; the version valid since 2021 gives no weight at all, and standard, miniature and rabbit dachshunds are told apart by chest circumference, measured from 15 months.
Real dogs often sit above the standard. In the DachsLife 2015 survey, mostly of UK dachshunds, the median miniature weighed 5.4-5.5 kg, so at least half were over the Kennel Club's 5 kg maximum; standards ranged from a median of 9.5 kg (smooth-haired) to 12.6 kg (long-haired). A heavier dog is not necessarily a fat one, but it is a good reason to check body condition rather than trust the number.
The practical consequence: ‘dachshund’ is not a portion size. Between a 5 kg miniature and a 12 kg standard the daily energy need almost doubles (236 vs 456 kcal for a neutered dog), so a single dachshund feeding chart is of little use. The table below gives one row per weight; for a rabbit dachshund or an in-between weight, the quiz works from your dog's real weight.
Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) is the dachshund's signature health problem: the breed's risk is estimated at 10-12 times that of other breeds, and 19-24% of dachshunds show signs of it during their lifetime. In DachsLife it ranged from 24.4% in standard smooth-haired dachshunds to 7.1% in standard wire-haired.
DachsLife was also the first study to look for a link between diet and IVDD, and the answer is surprising: the type of diet showed no link with IVDD. Dry, wet, raw or a mix, with or without snacks: none was associated with more or fewer dogs affected. Among dachshunds given glucosamine or chondroitin, on the other hand, about 35% had had IVDD, against 14-15% of the rest; the authors suggest owners may have started the supplements after a first episode, so the data show neither harm nor protection. What went with fewer cases was exercise: more than an hour a day was linked to roughly half the odds (OR 0.50), although dogs already affected may simply have been walked less.
In a study of 700 dogs seen at a UK referral hospital, being overweight raised the risk of a thoracolumbar disc extrusion overall, but in miniature dachshunds even moderate excess weight was enough: the authors recommend keeping them at a body condition score of 4-5 out of 9, never above 5. The evidence is not unanimous: in DachsLife and in a US study of 75 dachshunds, body condition was not linked to disc problems.
The hard part is noticing. In the hospital study, where a researcher scored body condition, 46.2% of miniature dachshunds were overweight, much like the nearly half of all dogs in that study; in DachsLife, where owners did the scoring, 74-86% were rated at ideal weight. These are different populations and the figures cannot be compared directly, but the DachsLife authors themselves acknowledge that owners' scores may not have been reliable. Your hands matter more than the scales: at ideal weight (4-5 on the WSAVA 9-point scale) you can easily feel the ribs under a thin layer of fat and see a waist from above. That is the body condition to enter in the quiz: the real one, not the one you would like.
Then there are the snacks: in DachsLife 91.8% of dachshunds regularly got them. WSAVA recommends keeping treats under 10% of daily calories: for a neutered 9 kg dachshund, less than a tenth of its 367 kcal. If your dachshund needs to lose weight, talk to your vet, who will draw up the plan.
The dachshund is one of the breeds most affected by cystine stones, caused by an inherited defect that stops the kidneys reabsorbing cystine. At the urinary stone analysis centre in Bonn, Germany, 594 of 1,760 cystine stones analysed over 35 years came from dachshunds, about one in three, almost all of them from males. The share of cystine among dachshund stones has fallen sharply (from 42.1% in 1979-1985 to 12.5% in 2007-2013), but the predisposition remains.
Here diet really does matter, just not in the direction you'd expect from a dog food company: for dogs that have already had cystine stones, the ACVIM consensus recommends limiting animal protein and sodium, keeping urine dilute and less acidic, and avoiding high-protein diets. If your dachshund has had cystine stones, the diet is your vet's call: a meat-rich food, ours included, should not be chosen without their go-ahead.
Pappa Fresh uses one meat per recipe, and every label lists the percentage of each ingredient, so you always know what your dachshund is eating and can discuss it with your vet:
Turkey is poultry: if your dog has reacted to chicken, ask your vet before trying it. The recipes are cooked in the pouch and keep out of the fridge until opened; after that the pouch goes in the fridge and should be used within 2-3 days: for a 9 kg dachshund one 400 g pouch lasts about 1.2 days, well within that limit. If you'd rather keep the kibble you already use, the Mix plan covers half the daily ration and costs about €2.92 a day for a neutered 9 kg dachshund.
An adult dachshund of 9 kg, neutered and moderately active, needs about 367 kcal a day: with our Chicken recipe that's about 322 g, with the richer Beef 270 g. An intact dachshund burns more, about 459 kcal. A neutered 5 kg miniature eats about 207 g a day, a 12 kg standard about 400 g.
Most dachshund feeding charts online give grams of kibble, which is why these figures look high: kibble is far more concentrated (around 350-400 kcal per 100 g, against 110-136 for our recipes), so for the same calories wet food weighs about three times as much. How portions are worked out in general is explained in how much should a dog eat.
| Weight | Energy need (kcal/day) neutered / intact | Grams per day neutered / intact | Complete plan | Mix (½) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 kg | 236 / 296 | 207 g / 260 g | €3.76/day | €1.89/day |
| 9 kg | 367 / 459 | 322 g / 403 g | €5.96/day | €2.92/day |
| 12 kg | 456 / 570 | 400 g / 500 g | €7.26/day | €3.63/day |
Grams based on the Chicken recipe (114 kcal/100 g); with Beef, which is richer (136 kcal/100 g), you need about 16% less. Prices for a neutered dog.
Figures calculated with the same method as our quiz (FEM×K: maintenance energy adjusted for breed, activity, neutering and body condition). They are an estimate: take the quiz for your dog's exact plan, and talk to your vet about any health concern.
Two minutes: enter weight, age, activity and body condition to get the exact portion, with 30% off your first order.
An adult miniature dachshund of 5 kg, neutered and moderately active, needs about 236 kcal a day, which is about 207 g of chicken wet food; if intact, about 260 g. A rabbit dachshund eats less: the quiz works out the portion from its real weight.
A neutered, moderately active standard dachshund of 9 kg needs about 367 kcal a day, or 459 if intact. Across the weights in our table, a neutered dachshund needs from about 236 kcal at 5 kg to 456 at 12 kg. Snacks count too: keep them under 10% of the total.
The Kennel Club gives 9-12 kg for standard dachshunds and 4.5 kg for miniatures, with a desired maximum of 5 kg; the FCI standard no longer sets one. More than the number, body shape counts: ribs you can feel, and a score of 4-5 on the WSAVA 9-point scale.
No diet has been shown to protect a dachshund's back: in the DachsLife survey of 2,031 dachshunds, the type of diet (dry, wet or raw) was not associated with IVDD. Exercise and a lean body look more promising: in one UK study, even moderate excess weight raised the risk in miniature dachshunds, although two other studies found no link with body condition.
For the back there is no difference. For teeth, it helps to know that miniature dachshunds have about 1.8 times the odds of being diagnosed with periodontal disease compared with crossbreeds: whatever you feed, WSAVA advises brushing their teeth every day.
Written by the Pappa Fresh editorial team from published veterinary studies (see sources). Not a substitute for your vet's advice.
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