The Best Dog Crate for a Dachshund (2026 Guide)

Written by the team at Impact Dog Crates. We build dog crates for a living, which means our days are spent around trainers, breeders, working dogs and anxious rescues. Learn more about us here.

The right crate for a dachshund isn’t the biggest one you can afford. It’s a snug, den-style aluminum crate sized to that long back and low build, which for most adult dachshunds means a 24” crate built around their actual proportions instead of rounded up out of habit.

What Size Crate Does a Dachshund Actually Need?

Most adult dachshunds, standard or miniature, fit correctly in a 24” crate. That’s the smallest size we build with a dachshund named directly in the fit guidance, and it’s sized for dogs starting around 10 lbs, which covers a mini dachshund with real room to spare and a standard dachshund at a comfortable, not cramped, fit.

You don’t need to size down further for a mini, and you don’t need to size up for a standard on the heavier end of that range. The 24” size on both our Collapsible Dog Crate and the Impact Dog Den names “Dachshund” directly in its fit guidance for 10 lbs and up, which is as close to a direct answer as a buying guide gets. If your dachshund is on the larger end of standard size or you want more lounging room for a dog who’ll spend real daytime hours in the crate rather than just sleeping in it overnight, the Stationary Dog Crate’s next size up is a reasonable step, but for the breed as built, 24” is the size that actually fits.

The 24” Collapsible Dog Crate in White, with the door and latch hardware in full view.

Why a Dachshund’s Weight and Length Matter More Than Its Height

A standard dachshund runs 16 to 32 lbs and stands under 9” at the shoulder, while a miniature dachshund is 11 lbs and under once fully grown, standing around 5 to 6” at the shoulder, according to Hill’s breed data. VCA Animal Hospitals puts the breed’s overall weight range at 12 to 32 lbs. Either way, height is the dimension that matters least when you’re sizing a dachshund’s crate. A dog this low to the ground will clear the interior height of nearly any crate built for a 10+ lb dog with room to spare. What actually determines fit is the length of that back and the dog’s weight, which is exactly why our own sizing guidance for this breed is built around weight brackets, not a height chart.

Why Do Dachshunds Have a Reputation for Back Problems?

Because of genetics, not anything about how they’re raised or exercised. Dachshunds are chondrodystrophic, meaning their trademark long back and short legs come from the same genetic trait that causes their discs to degenerate early. Dr. Buzby’s ToeGrips, a veterinary-run resource, puts the number at an estimated 19 to 24% of dachshunds developing intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) in their lifetime, roughly 10 times the rate of most other breeds, with most diagnoses landing between ages 4 and 7. A separate review from World Dachshund puts the lifetime figure even higher, around one in four. VCA Animal Hospitals is direct about it: “Spinal health is the most important concern in Dachshunds due to their long backs,” and names excess weight and high-impact activity as the drivers.

The risk factors vets point to, jumping on and off furniture, taking stairs at speed, carrying extra weight, mostly come down to everyday habits, not crate size. What a crate can do is give your dog a space he actually settles into instead of pacing, twisting, or launching himself at the door the second he hears you coming home, which is really a fit and comfort question. A crate sized to his actual proportions, not rounded up “for extra room,” should still let him turn around and lie flat without feeling cramped. It’s a reason to pick the size we actually built for this breed instead of sizing up out of habit.

Is Crate Training Hard for a Stubborn Dachshund?

Not if you work with the temperament instead of against it. The AKC describes the breed’s “famously long, low silhouette, ever-alert expression, and bold, vivacious personality,” and VCA is blunter about the part that trips owners up: dachshunds are “confident, curious, and often independent,” forming strong bonds with their owners but turning stubborn without consistent training, on top of a strong prey drive that makes a squirrel outside a real competitor for your dog’s attention. None of that means a dachshund can’t be crate trained easily. It means the approach that works on a more eager-to-please breed often stalls out here, and food, not just praise, is what actually closes the deal.

1. Start with the door off or propped open. Let your dachshund investigate the crate as furniture, not a trap, for the first few days.
2. Feed every meal inside it. A dachshund’s independence softens fast once the crate is where the food consistently shows up.
3. Add a cue word the moment he walks in on his own. “Kennel” or “place,” said right as it happens, builds the association faster than saying it as a command first.
4. Close the door for seconds, not minutes, the first few times. Open it again before any whining starts, not after. You’re teaching him the door opening is inevitable, not something he has to earn by escalating.
5. Stretch the duration gradually, and stop increasing it the moment he struggles. A stubborn dog who hits a wall and gets pushed past it anyway tends to dig in harder next time, not give in.
6. Keep a worn, unwashed piece of your clothing in there early on. It does real, low-effort work for a breed this attached to its people.

Can a Dachshund Use a Wire Crate?

Technically yes, but it’s not a good match for what this breed actually does with a crate. The word “dachshund” itself comes from the German for “badger dog,” per Merriam-Webster: the breed was developed specifically to follow a badger into its den and fight it underground, which is a long way of saying your dachshund was bred to dig, burrow, and apply real, sustained pressure to anything standing between him and where he wants to be. A standard wire crate’s frame flexes under that kind of repeated pressure, and the gaps between bars are wide enough to catch a nail or a tooth on a dog built low and digging-focused. That doesn’t mean every dachshund in a wire crate has a bad experience. It means the construction itself has real structural limits that don’t change based on which specific dog owns it.

Which Impact Crate Fits a Dachshund Best, the Collapsible or the Dog Den?

It depends on whether you need to move it. The Collapsible Dog Crate sets up and breaks down fast, which makes it the right call if your dachshund’s crate needs to move between rooms, head out for a boarding stay, or get put away when it’s not in use. The Impact Dog Den is the better pick for a dachshund who has one permanent spot in the house, styled to actually sit in a living room rather than look like equipment.

A dachshund completely relaxed with the Collapsible Dog Crate close by, equally at home set up in a living room.

The Collapsible Dog Crate in White, built to stand up to a determined digger and still look right at home in the living room.

How Do You Keep a Dachshund From Jumping On and Off Furniture Near the Crate?

Place the crate on the floor, not on a platform, stand, or raised dog bed base, so there’s never a jump down built into using it. Beyond the crate itself, the same prevention advice vets give for IVDD applies to everything around it: block access to jumping on and off couches and beds, use a ramp or a set of pet stairs for the car and any furniture your dachshund is allowed on, and don’t let him take a full flight of stairs at a dead run. None of this is about restricting a dachshund’s life. It’s about removing the specific, repeated high-impact movements that the research keeps pointing back to.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size crate does a dachshund need?
Most adult dachshunds, standard or miniature, fit correctly in a 24” crate, which is the smallest size we build with “Dachshund” named directly in our own fit guidance.

Are dachshunds hard to crate train?
Not when you work with their independent, food-motivated temperament: short sessions, meals fed inside the crate, and a consistent cue word work faster than relying on praise alone.

Can a dachshund use a wire crate?
A wire crate’s flexing frame and wide bar gaps aren’t a great structural match for a breed bred to dig and burrow under sustained pressure, even though a calm individual dog may never personally test those limits.

A 24” Crate Is Built for a Dachshund’s Actual Proportions, Not Rounded Up

A dachshund doesn’t need the biggest crate on the page. He needs the size we actually built for his body: a 24” aluminum den, named directly for the breed in our own fit guidance, built to hold its shape against a dog who was bred to dig his way through anything softer. Start with the Collapsible Dog Crate if it needs to move around with you, or the Impact Dog Den if it’s staying put in your living room.