Are Dachshunds Smart Dogs?

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Shell & Katy Updated 19 August 2026 · 7 Min Read

Shell & Katy are two style-savvy dog mums celebrating the best in pet-friendly living. A pet photographer and dog lifestyle writer, together they share trending pet products, recipes, inspiration and expert tips with discerning dog lovers around the world.

Are dachshunds smart? It's the age-old question on the minds of doxie parents the world over. Dachshunds are among the most adorable dog breeds in the world for sure, but what about their intelligence? How smart are dachshunds really?

While the answer to this question may vary among doxie parents, science can help us work out the answer once and for all. Let's take a ~weenie~ good look into the matter and see just how smart dachshunds are, compared to other popular dog breeds!

Quick answer: Yes, dachshunds are smart, just not in the way obedience rankings measure. Stanley Coren's famous study places dachshunds 92nd out of 138 breeds for working and obedience intelligence, largely thanks to their independent streak. But dachshunds shine in instinctive and adaptive intelligence, the resourceful, problem-solving smarts a standard obedience test was never built to capture.

What the Science Says About Dachshund Intelligence

Want the TL;DR? The short answer is yes, dachshunds are smart! However, the real question is just how smart dachshunds are compared to other dog breeds, and how dog intelligence is even measured in the first place. A dog's IQ depends on two factors: the genetics of their breed, and the environment they grow up in.

Remember the ol' nature vs nurture debate? Both sides play a role here. While it's true that some dog breeds are genetically predisposed to be smarter than others, if a dog isn't properly trained, their natural-born intelligence won't be so obvious.

But how can we actually know which are the smartest dog breeds? Luckily for us, psychologist and researcher Stanley Coren developed a study and created a ranking of the 138 smartest dog breeds.

Stanley Coren's Ranking of 138 Dog Breeds

In 1994, psychologist Stanley Coren wrote a book called The Intelligence of Dogs, which, in addition to delving into the inner workings of your dog's mind, includes a famous ranking of the world's smartest dog breeds. To build it, he surveyed obedience trial judges across the U.S. and Canada, gathering 199 responses ranking different dog breeds. As a surprise to many dachshund parents, doxies ranked #92 out of 138 of the smartest dog breeds. Dachshunds were part of the "average intelligence" dog breeds group. But what does this mean? According to this study, the breeds that made the "average intelligence" group, including dachshunds, could:

• Learn a new command with 25 to 40 repetitions
• Obey a known command on the first attempt with a 50% or better success rate

How Dachshunds Compare to the Smartest Dog Breeds

Thanks to Coren's book, we know that dachshunds rank #92 on the list of smartest dog breeds and are considered to have an "average intelligence." But what about all the breeds that ranked higher? The top 10 dogs on the list were placed in the "brightest dogs" category, which included breeds such as the German shepherd, golden retriever, rottweiler, poodle, doberman, and, no surprises here, the beautiful border collie taking out the top spot. These super-smart dogs can:

• Learn a new command with fewer than 5 repetitions
• Obey a known command on the first attempt, with a 95% or better success rate

The category following the "brightest dogs" is called "excellent working dogs," which includes breeds such as the schnauzer, cocker spaniel, weimaraner, and bernese mountain dog. These smart and hard-working dogs can:

• Learn a new command with 5 to 15 repetitions
• Obey a known command on the first attempt with an 85% or better success rate

Why Dachshunds Rank Low for Obedience Intelligence

So why do dachshunds rank so low for dog intelligence according to the "smartest dogs" list? When dachshund parents learn why, they might not be so surprised by the ranking after all. There are two main reasons.

Classic Dachshund Stubbornness

Many dachshund parents agree that their doxies are pretty stubborn. This means that if they don't want to do something, it ain't gonna happen, no matter how many times you repeat the same command. This is a big part of why dachshunds performed poorly on the working and obedience intelligence trials devised by Coren.

Coren's Narrow Measure of Intelligence

A dog's intelligence is defined by three measures: instinctive intelligence, a dog's ability to perform the tasks they were bred for, such as guarding, herding, and companionship; adaptive intelligence, a dog's ability to solve problems on their own; and working and obedience intelligence, a dog's ability to learn from humans.

What's important here is that Coren only focused on one of these measures to evaluate the smartest dog breeds: working and obedience intelligence. To assess it, he looked at how many repetitions a dog needed to learn a new command taught by a human, and the success rate of a dog obeying a command it had already learned on the first attempt. By running these trials, Coren and his team devised the dog intelligence list with the rankings and categories mentioned above. However, the problem with Coren's methodology is that two other measures of dog intelligence were left out of the equation: instinctive and adaptive intelligence. And as it happens, dachshunds really shine in these two areas. If you enjoy an underdog story, our 12 Least Intelligent Dog Breeds We Absolutely Adore makes the same case for a whole lineup of lovable, obedience-ranking underachievers.

Why Dachshunds Are Actually Very Smart

So while dachshunds might not be the best at working and obedience intelligence, they sure do excel at instinctive and adaptive intelligence. Which means a dachshund isn't a bad choice at all.

Instinctive Intelligence

As we touched on above, instinctive intelligence refers to a dog's ability to develop the tasks they were bred for, such as guarding, herding, and companionship. Dachshunds were specifically bred for hunting badgers. Their tiny, long bodies keep them low to the ground, allowing them to pass through small holes to capture their prey. While you're not likely to come across a working dachshund in the city these days, hunting was definitely a skill of theirs back in the day, and still is in some parts of the world. So a dachshund's instinctive intelligence is based on their ability to sniff out, hunt, and capture prey.

Adaptive Intelligence

Adaptive intelligence is a dog's ability to solve problems on their own and learn things by themselves, without being taught by humans or their pet parents. While there isn't scientific research specifically measuring the adaptive intelligence of dachshunds, there's plenty of anecdotal experience from dachshund owners that proves doxies are very good at learning new things by themselves and solving problems. Many dachshund parents claim their doxies can recognise words they benefit from, such as "going for a walk," "food," or "water." No one actually taught them these words, but thanks to their adaptive intelligence, they learned to positively associate that word with an object or experience they like.

How to Test Your Dachshund's Intelligence at Home

Want to know how smart your dachshund really is? Here are two games you can play with them at home to find out:

1. Place 3 empty cups in front of your dachshund. Place one of their favourite dog treats under one of the cups, distract your doxie for a few seconds, and then let them look for the treat. If they go directly to the cup with the treat under it, they have strong information-absorbing skills.
2. To assess their problem-solving skills, hide their favourite treat somewhere they have a decent chance of finding it. The sooner they find it, the better their problem-solving skills.

We recommend practicing these dachshund intelligence tests with healthy dog treats that are beneficial for your doxie's overall wellbeing. It's always a good idea to choose a dog treat that's best for them, such as multivitamins, joint supplements, allergy relief treats, or calming chews.

So if you've ever asked yourself "are dachshunds dumb or smart?" the moral of the story is: the more you train your dachshund, the smarter they will be. Check out our pet lifestyle tips and dog training articles to help you and your doxie live your best lives together.