What Breeds Were Used to Make Dachshunds?

You see a Dachshund walking with that unmistakable bounce, its long back and short legs making every step look like a tiny engine powering a big personality. The shape is so distinct that it’s easy to assume the breed was carefully engineered rather than evolved — and that assumption is partly right. The Dachshund didn’t appear fully formed; it was shaped by hunting needs and careful crossing over hundreds of years.

The honest answer to what breeds were used is less a neat list and more a collection of theories. Enthusiasts and historians agree the dog was assembled from German hounds, terriers, and pointers — likely including Bloodhounds, Basset Hounds, and various terrier types — but no “recipe” was ever written down. What we know comes from studying the breed’s job and its physical traits.

Why the Ancestry Is Hard to Pin Down

Breed development in 16th- and 17th-century Germany wasn’t recorded the way it is today. Farmers and hunters didn’t keep pedigrees; they crossed dogs that worked well together. The Dachshund’s job — following badgers into tight underground burrows — demanded a very specific combination of traits: a long, flexible body, short but powerful legs, a keen nose, and a fearless temperament.

That job required contributions from several dog groups. Hounds brought scenting ability and endurance. Terriers contributed tenacity and the willingness to fight prey underground. Pointers added tracking instincts and trainability. The result was a hybrid that outperformed any single breed for the task.

Many breed historians point to three likely categories:

Hound Ancestors

Bloodhounds and Basset Hounds are among the possible hound contributors. The Bloodhound’s extraordinary scenting ability and the Basset’s short legs and strong build would have been useful for tracking and following badgers into setts.

Terrier Ancestors

Terriers of the time — like the now-extinct German terriers — were bred for vermin control and underground work. Their courage and aggression toward burrowing animals made them natural partners for the badger-hunting project.

Pointer Influence

Various German pointing breeds likely contributed trainability and a strong prey drive. The combined traits produced a dog that could track, chase, fight, and retrieve.

The Answer Depends on Which Trait You Look At

When people ask “what breeds were used to make dachshunds,” the answer depends on whether you’re looking at body shape, coat type, size, or temperament. Each of these features points to a different set of possible ancestors.

• Long body and short legs: This dwarfism trait is rare in dogs and is shared with the Basset Hound and the now-extinct Dachsbracke, suggesting a common ancestor with those breeds.
• Keen nose and tracking instinct: Strong association with scent hounds like the Bloodhound, which were used to track badgers across fields before the dog entered the burrow.
• Fearless, tenacious temperament: Terrier-like courage for fighting a badger underground, where the dog had no escape and the quarry was fierce.
• Vocal nature: The Dachshund’s loud, deep bark — surprising for a small dog — is a hound trait used to alert the hunter of its location underground.
• Coat variety: Long-haired, wire-haired, and smooth-haired varieties emerged later, likely from crosses with spaniels (for longer coats) and terriers (for wiry coats).

No single ancestor contributed all these traits. The Dachshund as we know it is a mosaic of hunting breeds, each selected for a specific job requirement.

What the Official Sources Say

The American Kennel Club, which recognizes the Dachshund as a hound breed, treats the ancestry as a matter of educated theory. Their breed history article lists possible ancestors pointers terriers, along with Basset Hounds and Bloodhounds, as the likely contributors. The article notes that the breed was developed specifically to hunt badgers, which explains the combination of a long body for burrow entry and a tenacious personality for fighting the badger underground.

Per the AKC, the Dachshund cannot claim an ancient lineage like some other breeds, but there is wide agreement among enthusiasts that it has a unique and practical origin story. The club’s official parent breed club, the Dachshund Club of America, echoes this view on its history page.

These theories are based on physical and behavioral similarities rather than written records. The Dachshund’s development happened before formal breed registries, so most conclusions are drawn from the dog’s purpose and the breeds available in Germany at the time.

How the Breed Was Developed Over Time

Creating the Dachshund wasn’t a single event; it was a gradual process of refining crosses over several generations. The following steps reflect what breed historians believe happened:

1. Select for badger-hunting shape: Early crosses between stocky hounds and long-bodied terriers produced dogs that could fit into badger setts. Breeders kept only those with the ideal body proportions.
2. Add scenting ability: Bloodhounds were likely introduced to improve the dog’s ability to track badgers from a distance before entering the burrow.
3. Develop coat varieties: As the breed spread to different regions of Germany, coat types adapted to climate — long-haired varieties emerged in colder areas, wire-haired in rough terrain, and smooth-haired for general hunting.
4. Standardize size: Over the 17th and 18th centuries, two sizes emerged: standard Dachshunds for badger and wild boar, and smaller dogs (eventually called “miniature”) for rabbits and other small burrowing game.
5. Formalize the breed: By the mid-19th century, German breed clubs established the Dachshund as a distinct breed, and its ancestors were no longer crossed in. The breed has remained relatively pure since then.

The process took well over 200 years. The Dachshund you see today is the result of purposeful selection driven by a specific hunting need, not a random mix of any two breeds.

Modern Dachshund Varieties — What They Tell Us About History

Today’s Dachshund comes in three coat types and two sizes, each reflecting a different historical purpose. The standard Dachshund was used for larger game like badgers and wild boar, while the miniature was developed later for rabbits. The coat types hint at the additional breeds that may have been involved.

According to Wikipedia’s German breed of hound entry, the Dachshund’s classification as a hound is well-established, though its working style — burrowing and fighting underground — is unique among hounds. The entry notes that the breed’s shape is the result of selective breeding for a specific hunting technique, with no single ancestor accounting for all its traits.

The three coat types — smooth, long, and wire — add further clues. Smooth-haired Dachshunds likely retain the most direct connection to the original hound ancestors. Long-haired Dachshunds may have spaniel blood from crosses made in colder regions. Wire-haired Dachshunds likely had terrier crosses for a harsher coat that resisted brambles.

The Bottom Line

So what breeds were used to make dachshunds? The short answer is a blend of German hounds, terriers, and pointers — with Bloodhounds and Basset Hounds among the possible contributors. The longer answer is that no one wrote the recipe down, and the breed was created through centuries of practical crossing, not a single deliberate mix.

If you’re curious about your own Dachshund’s specific lineage, a DNA test can offer clues, though no test can trace back to the 16th-century badger hunters. For a deeper dive into the breed’s history, your best source is the Dachshund Club of America, which maintains the official breed history resources.