Why Are Dachshunds So Stubborn? What's Really Going On
Updated: 1 day ago
By Nick, co-founder of Doggy Styles Inc and owner of Bruno, a rescued French Bulldog. Last updated 15 October 2026.
Quick Answer
Dachshunds are stubborn because they were bred to work alone. Underground, hunting a badger, there was no handler to give orders, so the dogs that succeeded were the ones that made their own decisions. That independence is still there. A Dachshund usually understands exactly what you're asking. It's deciding whether it's worth it. Short, rewarding, consistent training wins it over. And when a normally willing Dachshund suddenly refuses to walk or climb, check for pain before blaming attitude.
Key takeaways
'Stubborn' usually means independent: they hear you and weigh it up.
Rewards work far better than force. Harsh methods tend to backfire, especially with this breed.
A sudden refusal to walk, jump or climb can be a back problem, not stubbornness.
If you're still getting to know the breed, start here:
👉 DACHSHUND GUIDE — Full Behaviour, Personality & Ownership Breakdown
Why are Dachshunds so stubborn? What people get wrong
Most people assume a stubborn dog either doesn't understand, or is trying to be in charge. Neither fits a Dachshund. He usually knows exactly what 'come' means. He simply has his own view on whether now is a good time, and he'd like it noted.
Owners describe it without much hesitation. Laurence Couturier calls her Dachshund Violette "stubborn as a mule" in an interview with DoxieLife. Jillian, who owns Peet, gives new owners one piece of advice in her interview with Witzig: "Beware of dachshunds' stubbornness and selective hearing."
A note on the stories in this post: the dated moments (week one, month two and so on) are illustrative scenes based on common Dachshund owner experiences, not the story of one real dog. The owner quotes are real, and link to where they were published.
The sit that wasn't
Week one. He learned 'sit' in a single afternoon. Gold star. On day four you ask for a sit in the garden. He looks at you, looks at the interesting smell by the fence, looks back at you, and goes to investigate the smell. You ask again. He sits, eventually, with the air of someone doing you a considerable personal favour.
Stubborn Dachshund behaviour: a quick guide
What you see | What's often behind it | What helps |
Ignores 'come' outdoors | A smell or sound is more rewarding than you | Higher-value rewards, practise recall indoors first |
Sits down and won't walk on | Tired, cold, wet, scared, or sore | Check for pain, shorten walks, try a different route |
Knows a command but won't do it | Not worth it right now | Make it worth it: better treats, shorter sessions |
Won't get off the sofa | Comfortable and unconvinced | Reward getting down, use a ramp, keep it consistent |
Refuses stairs or jumping suddenly | Possible back pain | See a vet, don't push him |
Owners recognise every row. The dog who stops mid-walk and becomes a small, long statue. The perfect sit in the kitchen that doesn't survive the journey to the park. The look that says 'I heard you', followed by the look that says 'and no'.
That independent streak is what Doggy Styles Inc designs around: clean, minimal Dachshund pieces for people who've learned that every request is the opening of a negotiation.
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Why are Dachshunds so independent?
Bred to work out of sight
A Dachshund's job happened underground, in the dark, out of sight of any person. A dog who waited for instructions would have been useless. The ones who succeeded kept going, made their own choices and didn't give up. That's the same dog who now won't leave a good smell just because you've asked. Centuries of breeding, versus you and a biscuit.
Persistence is a feature
Dachshunds were valued for not backing down. Persistence underground looks like stubbornness on a lead. The dog that won't come away from a rabbit hole is doing exactly what generations of breeding asked it to do. Understanding that makes it a lot easier to stay patient.
There's a practical side to this too. Underground, a dog that gave up when things got difficult was no use to the hunter, but neither was a dog that came straight back the moment it was called, abandoning the quarry. Breeders selected for dogs that stayed on task, ignored distractions and kept working until the job was done. In a living room, that same dog keeps scratching at the treat cupboard long after you've said no, and keeps sniffing the lamppost long after you've walked on. It's persistence, pointed at the wrong target.
What the research says
The PDSA advises that Dachshunds "need positive, reward-based training from an early age as they can be wilful", noting that their strong prey drive can pull their attention away in training. The wider research backs reward over force. In a survey of 364 dog owners, Emily Hiby, Nicola Rooney and John Bradshaw at the University of Bristol found that dogs taught more tasks with rewards were rated as more obedient, while punishment made no difference to obedience but was linked with more problem behaviour (Hiby and colleagues, 2004). With an independent breed, force simply gives them another reason to decide not to.
That independence sits alongside a sharp brain. Stubborn doesn't mean slow.
👉 ARE DACHSHUNDS SMART? — Dachshund Intelligence Explained
How stubbornness becomes a habit
It builds quietly. You ask for something. He ignores you. You ask again, louder. He still ignores you. Eventually you give up, or walk over and do it for him. What he learns is that the first few requests don't count, and that holding out sometimes makes the request go away altogether. He learns this very quickly.
Repeating commands, bribing after the event and letting it slide on busy days all teach the same lesson. The fix is to ask once, make it easy to succeed and make success well worth his while.
The kitchen negotiation
Month two. You ask him to go to his bed while you cook. He lies down halfway, on the kitchen floor, exactly where you need to stand. Technically a lie down. Strategically, a protest. You don't argue. You toss a treat onto his bed. He considers it, gets up and goes to the bed. The next evening he goes straight there. He didn't give in. He found a better deal.
Dachshunds are very good at finding better deals, which is why some owners swear they're manipulative.
👉 ARE DACHSHUNDS MANIPULATIVE? — The Science Behind the Stare
Teenage Dachshunds: why your good puppy stopped listening
If your star pupil suddenly forgot everything somewhere around six to eight months, you haven't broken him. You've got a teenager.
Researchers have actually measured this. A team led by Dr Lucy Asher at Newcastle University, working with the universities of Nottingham and Edinburgh and the charity Guide Dogs, tested 69 young dogs on a simple sit at five months and again at eight months, in the middle of adolescence. At eight months, the dogs were slower to sit and more likely to keep ignoring the cue, but only when their own caregiver asked. Strangers got a better response. A questionnaire covering 285 dogs found the same pattern: owners rated their dogs least trainable around eight months, and scores picked up again by twelve. Co-author Dr Naomi Harvey called it "a passing phase" (Newcastle University, study published in Biology Letters).
Here's the bit Dachshund owners will appreciate. The dogs in that study were Labradors, Golden Retrievers and crosses, the breeds we think of as easy. A Dachshund was never that keen on taking orders in the first place. Add a teenage brain to an independent hound and you get a few months of truly spectacular selective hearing.
What helps. Go back a level. Practise in easier places, raise the value of your rewards, and keep the long line on even if you'd started trusting him off it. Don't let him rehearse ignoring you, because every successful ignore is practice. And try not to take it personally. In the study, the defiance was saved for the people the dogs knew best, much like human teenagers. Annoying, yes. Also, in a funny way, a compliment.
Living with a stubborn Dachshund
Most of the time, the stubbornness is part of the charm. Fiona Sheldrick, who has two Dachshunds, admits to ABC Radio that "they can be a little bit hard to train". Walter's owner on Purina's owner stories offers a gentle reminder for anyone considering the breed: "Remember they are stubborn little characters."
The practical side is that recall can be unreliable, especially near rabbits and squirrels, and that training is never quite finished. Many owners keep their Dachshund on a long line in open spaces for life, and that's fine. There are no prizes for losing a Dachshund down a rabbit hole.
A Dachshund probably isn't the right fit if:
you want a dog that obeys first time, every time
you'd need reliable off-lead recall in open countryside
you find repeated, patient training frustrating rather than fun
you'd be tempted to use harsh corrections when you're tired
The squirrel standoff
Month five. Off lead in the garden. A squirrel runs along the fence. He's after it before you can blink, and when you call him he doesn't so much as twitch an ear. You stop calling. You crouch down, rustle the treat bag and run the other way, laughing. He hesitates. Then curiosity wins, and he comes barrelling back to find out what he's missing.
Being ignored is one thing. Being barked at for being ignored is quite another, and Dachshunds can do both.
👉 DO DACHSHUNDS BARK A LOT? — Why They're So Loud & What Helps
Common stubborn Dachshund moments, and what to try
Won't come back at the park. Of course he won't. The park is full of smells, and you're just the person holding the lead. Practise recall at home and in the garden first, where you're the most interesting thing around, and pay with the best treats you own. Use a long line in open spaces, and never call him only to clip him on and go home. Call, reward, let him go again. He'll learn that coming back doesn't end the fun.
Pulls on the lead towards every smell. He's not being rude. He's reading the news. Stop when the lead goes tight, move on when it's loose, and build proper sniffing breaks into every walk so he isn't trying to cram the whole morning's headlines into ten seconds.
Won't get off the sofa. The sofa is warm, it's next to you, and he got there first. Toss a treat onto the floor at the bottom of his ramp and reward him for using it. Hauling him off by the harness risks his back and teaches him to dig in deeper next time.
Won't let you clip his nails. A Dachshund holding a paw out of reach has the grip of a much bigger dog. Go slowly, one nail a day if that's what it takes, with a treat after every one. Many Dachshunds tolerate a nail file far better than clippers, and it's much harder to go too short by mistake.
Refuses to go out in the rain. Low to the ground means a wet belly, and he knows it. A waterproof coat, a sheltered spot by the back door and a treat the moment he does his business turn a protest into a quick dash.
When 'stubborn' is actually something else
Not every refusal is attitude. Dachshunds are prone to back problems, and a dog in pain often looks stubborn: he won't walk on, won't jump on the sofa, won't climb the stairs, or doesn't want to be picked up. Cold, wet weather, fear and plain tiredness can do the same thing. A dog who was happy yesterday and refuses today deserves a closer look, not a firmer voice.
The walk he wouldn't take
Month seven. Normally he's at the door before you've found the lead. Today he stands at the bottom of the steps and won't go down. He's not distracted. He's not looking at anything. He's just still, and slightly hunched. You carry him back in and call the vet, who finds a sore back and prescribes rest. Two weeks later he's bounding down those steps again. You're very glad you didn't drag him.
Knowing the early signs of a back problem is one of the most important things a Dachshund owner can learn.
👉 DACHSHUND BACK PROBLEMS — IVDD, Ramps & Everyday Care
Stubborn or sore? How to tell the difference
This might be the most important table in this post. A Dachshund in pain doesn't always limp dramatically or yelp on cue. Often, he just says no. And because 'no' is something he says a lot anyway, back pain is easy to mistake for attitude.
Clue | Sounds like stubborn | Sounds like sore |
When it happens | Near a good smell, a squirrel or the sofa | Suddenly, everywhere, even at home |
His body | Relaxed, tail up, eyes on the distraction | Hunched, tense, trembling or tail tucked |
Offered his favourite treat | Perks up and suddenly remembers his training | Still won't move, or barely interested |
Sofa and stairs | Won't get off | Won't get on, when he always used to |
Being picked up | Wriggles and protests as usual | Cries, yelps or goes rigid |
The next day | Same game, same places | Same or worse, or wobbly on his legs |
If the right-hand column sounds familiar, stop the training and ring your vet. If he cries in pain, wobbles, scuffs or knuckles over a back foot, or drags a leg, that's a same-day call. Keep him rested and confined, stop him jumping, and don't wait to see if it passes. The sit can wait. His back can't.
How to train a stubborn Dachshund
The aim isn't to win. It's to make doing what you ask the obvious choice.
In the moment
Ask once, then help him succeed, rather than repeating the command louder.
Use rewards he really wants: tiny bits of cheese or chicken beat dry biscuits.
If he freezes on a walk, check for pain, cold or fear before encouraging him on.
Long term
Keep sessions to five minutes. A Dachshund's attention comes in short, brilliant bursts. Three or four mini sessions a day beat one long one, and always stop while he's still keen. Ending on a win means he turns up to the next session wanting more.
Build up in layers. Kitchen first, then the garden, then a quiet street, then the park. Each new place is harder, and jumping straight from kitchen to park is where most 'stubborn' moments are born. He knew the sit. He just didn't know it applied in the park.
Use a long line for recall. A ten-metre line lets him explore while you practise. Only drop it once recall is genuinely reliable, and around rabbits, squirrels and open countryside, plenty of experienced owners keep it on for life. That's not failure. It's knowing your dog.
Agree the words and rules. If one person says 'come', another says 'here' and a third says his name twice in a rising voice, he has three different requests to weigh up and ignore. One word, used the same way by everyone in the house, makes a real difference.
Never use harsh corrections. Lead jerks, shouting and 'showing him who's boss' damage trust and, with a breed that was bred not to back down, usually make him dig his heels in further. Reward what you want, manage what you don't, and keep your sense of humour. You'll need it.
The recall that stuck
Month ten. The park, on a long line. A dog barks in the distance. He turns to look. You call his name once. He hesitates for half a second, then spins round and races back to you, ears flying. Cheese, praise, a game. He trots off again. You realise you only had to ask once.
When to get help: if your Dachshund suddenly refuses to walk, jump or use stairs, cries when lifted or moves stiffly, see your vet the same day. If stubbornness tips into growling, snapping or fear, ask your vet about a qualified behaviourist who uses reward-based methods.
Find his currency: what a stubborn Dachshund will work for
Every Dachshund has a price. Your job is to find out what it is, and to pay it at exactly the right moment.
Top shelf, for the hard stuff. Tiny pieces of cheese, cooked chicken or liver treats, saved for recall at the park, leaving a squirrel and anything new. If the reward isn't better than the distraction, he'll choose the distraction every time. It isn't personal. It's maths.
Everyday, for the easy stuff. His normal kibble, taken out of his daily allowance, is fine for sits in the kitchen and going to his bed. Spend the good stuff here and you'll have nothing left to bid with when it really matters.
Life rewards, the secret weapon. What he actually wants on a walk is usually the smell, not the biscuit. So use it. Call him back, reward him, then say 'go sniff' and send him straight back to it. Trainers call this the Premack principle: something he really wants to do becomes the reward for something he's less keen on. For a Dachshund, it turns recall from 'the fun's over' into 'the fun carries on'.
Keep treats tiny and counted. Pea-sized is plenty. Training treats add up quickly, and extra weight means extra load on that long back, so take them out of his daily food rather than adding them on top.
What not to do with a stubborn Dachshund
Don't repeat the cue. 'Come. Come. Come. COME.' He's learning that the first four don't count. Say it once, then make it easy to get right: crouch down, clap, or run the other way.
Don't chase him. To a Dachshund, you running after him is the best game ever invented, and you will lose. Turn and run the other way, and let him chase you instead.
Don't call him for the bad stuff. If 'come' means baths, nail clipping and the end of the walk, he'll start weighing it up. Go and fetch him for the things he doesn't like, and keep his recall word for good news only.
Don't drag him. Hauling a dog who's planted his feet strains his neck and spine, and teaches him nothing except that planting works for a while. Stop, check for pain, cold or fear, then make moving on worth his while.
Don't try to win. Pinning, scruffing and staring him down belong in the past. He isn't trying to be in charge. He's trying to work out what's in it for him. Answer that question, and most of the battles simply disappear.
Are Dachshunds more stubborn than other breeds?
Compared with a Labrador or a Poodle, yes. Those breeds were bred to work closely with people and take direction. Dachshunds were bred to work alone and use their judgement, and they've never quite let that go. Compared with other hounds and terriers, such as Beagles or Jack Russells, they're about the same: bright, independent and easily distracted by scent. Compared with a French Bulldog, it's a draw. Both will happily ignore you if lunch is more interesting.
Patience with that independence is one of the biggest things a first-time owner needs to bring.
👉 ARE DACHSHUNDS GOOD FOR FIRST-TIME OWNERS? — An Honest Guide Before You Commit
What Dachshund owners realise over time
Most owners stop seeing stubbornness as a problem and start seeing it as a negotiation. Once you know what your Dachshund values, you can nearly always make the right choice the obvious one. He'll still check the terms each time.
The sit, a year on
A year after he wandered off to sniff the fence. Same garden, same smell. You ask for a sit. He glances at the fence, then at your hand, then sits, instantly and neatly. He still has opinions. He's just worked out that listening to you pays better.
The verdict
Why are Dachshunds so stubborn? Because they were bred to work alone underground, where independence and persistence kept them alive. They usually understand you perfectly. They're simply deciding whether it's worth it.
Make it worth it with short, rewarding, consistent training, never force, and always rule out pain when a willing dog suddenly refuses. Do that, and the stubbornness stops being a battle and becomes one of the more entertaining parts of living with a Dachshund. You won't always win. You'll win more often.
If you're still getting to know the breed, the guide covers the full picture.
Living with a Dachshund means losing the occasional argument to someone a foot tall. The Dachshund range is for people who've stopped keeping score.
👉 Explore Dachshund women's t-shirts, unisex t-shirts and sweatshirts and hoodies
👉 or explore the full DACHSHUND COLLECTION
Got a Dachshund with a strong sense of negotiation? Show us. Tag @doggystylesinc on Instagram or find us on Facebook at Doggy Styles Inc, and your Dachshund could feature in a future post.
Continue Understanding the Dachshund Breed
FAQs
Why are Dachshunds so stubborn?
They were bred to hunt alone underground and make their own decisions. That independence means they often weigh up whether a request is worth it before responding.
Are Dachshunds difficult dogs?
They're not difficult, but they're not easy either. They need patient, consistent, reward-based training and owners who enjoy a dog with opinions.
Are Dachshunds hard to train?
They can be slower to train than people-pleasing breeds. Short sessions, great rewards and consistency make a big difference.
Why does my Dachshund ignore commands?
Usually because something else is more rewarding, the command has been repeated so often it's lost meaning, or he's in an unfamiliar place. Go back a step and make it easier.
Why does my Dachshund refuse to walk?
It could be cold, rain, fear, tiredness or a smell he doesn't want to leave, but it can also be back pain. If it's sudden or he seems stiff or hunched, see your vet.
Can harsh training make Dachshunds worse?
Yes. Research links punishment with more problem behaviour and no gain in obedience. Dachshunds tend to dig their heels in further.
Do Dachshunds grow out of being stubborn?
They usually become easier after adolescence, but the independence stays. Good training habits make it much more manageable.
Are Miniature Dachshunds more stubborn?
Not really. Miniatures and Standards share the same independent temperament.
How do you get a Dachshund to come back?
Practise recall indoors with great rewards, then build up slowly. Use a long line outdoors, and never call him to something unpleasant.
Is it ever OK to let a Dachshund off the lead?
In safe, enclosed areas, yes. In open countryside, many owners keep a long line on, because a Dachshund on a scent can be hard to call back.
Why has my Dachshund puppy suddenly stopped listening?
He's probably hit adolescence, often around six to eight months. Research on young dogs found they ignored their own owners more at eight months than at five. Go back a level, raise the rewards and keep the long line on. It passes.
What treats work best for training a stubborn Dachshund?
Tiny pieces of cheese, chicken or liver for hard tasks like recall, and his normal kibble for easy ones. Take treats out of his daily food to protect his weight and his back.
Is my Dachshund being stubborn or is he in pain?
If the refusal is sudden, happens everywhere and he's hunched, trembling, won't jump up or cries when lifted, think pain and call your vet. A stubborn Dachshund usually perks up for a good treat. A sore one often doesn't.
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