Dachshund Bed: Best Type, Size and Height for a Burrower

The best dachshund bed is one your dog can burrow into or curl against, sized to its own body, not a small, medium or large label. Measure from the nose to the base of the tail, then add a margin: bed makers’ rules add anything from about 4 inches to 12.

That spread is wider than it sounds. On the same dachshund, three published sizing rules can point you to beds 8 inches apart, so we’ll show you how to pick where in that range your dog belongs.

Which kind of bed suits a dachshund?

A dachshund does best in a bed it can get into or under, such as a cave bed or a bolster bed with a blanket, chosen by how your dog sleeps rather than how the bed looks.

The FCI breed standard describes the dachshund as a hunting dog above and below ground, and plenty of them still want something over their heads at night.

Owners describe it plainly. When someone asked in June 2023 why their one-year-old crawled under the crate bed instead of lying on it, the top reply was “He wants a blanket. And he’d like it if you tuck him in before bed.” Another owner put it more simply: “Doxies burrow, they get under something and they’re at their comfiest.”

Miniature dachshund burrowed under a fleece blanket in a round bolster bed with only its head showing — Illustration: many dachshunds want something over them at night, which is why a cover or blanket matters more than the bed’s shape.

Our dachshund digging page explains where that instinct comes from. For bed shopping, it points to four options:

A cave or hooded bed has the cover built in. It suits a dog that ends up under your duvet every night. One owner looking for a new bed in April 2023 was told about a snuggler bed “that had a built in blanket for hiding,” which their dog had loved.
A bolster or donut bed has raised sides to lean on. It suits a curler, and you can add a blanket on top for the burrowing part.
A flat mattress gives a sprawler room to stretch out. It’s also the easy one to step onto for an older dog.
A plain blanket or crate pad is the cheap start for a puppy that chews, which we’ll come back to below.

What about orthopedic beds? A firm base that keeps its shape is worth having, because a flattened bed stops being comfortable. The same April 2023 owner said their 15 lb miniature’s bed had “lost most of its fluff” and wasn’t “comfortable for his old bones anymore.”

We couldn’t find any study showing that an orthopedic bed prevents disc disease in dachshunds, though. Buy one for comfort, not as back protection.

What size dachshund bed should you buy?

Go by your tape measure. Bully Beds tells you to measure from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail, not including the tail, and to measure the widest part of the body too. VetRelieve, a UK bed maker, says to take the length with your dog standing.

Owner measuring a standing longhaired dachshund from nose to base of tail with a soft tape measure — Illustration: measure from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail with your dog standing, then add the maker’s margin.

The makers part ways on how much to add. VetRelieve adds about 10 cm (about 4 inches). Dogs of Australia, an Australian dog site, says to add 10 to 20 cm “so they can stretch and turn.” Bully Beds’ size chart says to add about 6 to 12 inches.

Put the three rules on one dachshund that measures 20 inches from nose to tail base, and you get a bed of about 24 in by VetRelieve’s rule, 24-28 in by Dogs of Australia’s and 26-32 in by Bully Beds’.

Range chart of bed length for a 20-inch dachshund under three sizing rules: VetRelieve about 24 in, Dogs of Australia 24-28 in, Bully Beds 26-32 in — Bed length each published rule gives for a dachshund measuring 20 inches from nose to base of tail. Rules retrieved November 2026.

So where should yours land?

Let your dog’s sleeping style decide. Bully Beds says dogs that curl tightly against a bolster “often feel more secure in a snugger fit.” Dogs of Australia says to size down slightly for a curler and up for a sprawler.

A curled-up burrower can sit near the low end; a dog that sleeps flat out on its side needs the top of the range.

Not sure what your number should look like? In the DachsLife 2015 survey, UK owners measured their dachshunds from the point of the chest to the bottom. Miniatures averaged about 16 inches in all three coats, between 15.9 and 16.7. Standards ran 19.1 inches for smooths, 20.8 for wirehaireds and 22.0 for longhaireds.

Your nose-to-tail number will be longer than those, since it adds the head and neck. Treat the survey as a check that your tape isn’t wildly off.

Buying a bed for someone else’s dachshund? A November 2024 r/Dachshund post asked exactly that: a friend’s new dog, mini or standard unknown, and a choice of a 25×20 or a 36×28 bed. The most practical answer was “Smaller size if mini, larger size if standard. If you don’t know, the larger bed is the safest bet.”

Keep the bed low

A dachshund’s back is the reason height matters. A bed on the floor with a low side to step over keeps any jump out of bedtime. You don’t need anything raised.

The harder question is your own bed and sofa. The DachsLife survey found 67.4% of owners let their dachshunds jump on and off furniture, and those dogs had a lower rate of disc disease, 10.4% against 26.7%.

The DachsLife authors warn against reading that as permission. They say it may be reverse causality: dogs that had already had a disc episode were no longer allowed to jump.

If your dachshund sleeps on your bed, our dachshund ramp page shows how to pick one long enough to use. The IVDD in dachshunds page covers what to do if your dog’s back is already a worry.

Puppies and bed shredders

Don’t spend much on a puppy’s first bed.

In a June 2023 discussion about the best bed for a new puppy, one owner’s advice was blunt: “When they’re little, they’re just going to chew their bed. Start them off with a blanket or pad that you don’t mind replacing.”

Some dogs keep at it long after puppyhood. Here’s how one owner described their dog in May 2026:

“So my dachshund literally chews up and takes all the stuffing out of any dog bed he has. We tried memory foam ones-he tears out the memory foam. Less plushy kind-he somehow destroys those too.”
– r/Dachshund, May 2026

When a new owner asked in August 2026 what to buy for a mini puppy who shredded every bed, the replies went the same way. “Would blankets or towels work instead?” one owner asked, and suggested looking into bitter apple spray. Another said “towels and blankets are a friend” and pointed to cave-style cat beds that other owners use for their doxies.

If your puppy sleeps in a crate, a folded blanket you can wash or throw away does the job until the chewing stops. Our crate training page covers where to put the crate at night.

Dachshund puppy in an open crate chewing the corner of a folded blanket used in place of a bed — Illustration: a washable blanket is a cheaper first bed for a puppy that chews.

Dachshund bed questions

Do dachshunds like cave beds?

Many do, because a cave bed gives them the cover they’d otherwise dig for under your blankets. If yours burrows every night, start there. If it sleeps stretched out, a flat bed with a blanket works as well.

Where do dachshunds like to sleep?

Near their people, and under something if they can.

One owner said in April 2023 that their dog had started whining to get up on the couch, a “diva who wants to be where the people are.” So put the bed where the family spends the evening, out of foot traffic. Our dachshund sleep page covers how much they sleep.

What size dachshund bed does a miniature need?

Measure your own dog first. Miniatures in DachsLife averaged about 16 inches from chest to bottom, and your nose-to-tail number will be longer. Add 4 to 12 inches depending on the rule and how your dog sleeps. Between two sizes for a dog you haven’t measured, take the larger one.