Should dachshunds go up and down stairs?

For a healthy dachshund, there is no good evidence that stairs cause back problems. In the largest survey of its kind — 2,031 dachshunds — the dogs that were allowed to use stairs and jump on and off furniture every day had lower odds of disc disease, not higher.

That is almost certainly not because stairs protect a back. It is more likely the other way around: owners start restricting a dog after it shows trouble. But it does mean the confident advice to ban stairs is not backed by the study it is usually attributed to.

For a dog that has already had a disc episode, the advice flips. There the risk of a new injury is real, and the ramp earns its place.

What the survey actually found

DachsLife 2015 was run by the Royal Veterinary College together with the Dachshund Breed Council, and collected records for 2,031 dogs. Overall, 15.7% had been diagnosed with intervertebral disc disease.

The factors that came out as linked to higher odds were age, being neutered, and exercising less than half an hour a day. Dogs that were active for more than an hour a day had lower odds. Stairs and furniture pointed the other way from the common advice, and the authors themselves call these lifestyle findings a starting point for future research rather than settled cause and effect.

The number that actually matters: your dog’s variety

The risk is not spread evenly across dachshunds. In the same survey, 24.4% of standard smooth-haired dachshunds had been diagnosed with IVDD, against 7.1% of standard wire-haired ones — more than a threefold difference between two dogs of the same breed.

If you are choosing a puppy, that single number deserves more weight than any decision you will make about a staircase.

Why the long back is fragile in the first place

Dachshunds are chondrodystrophic: a genetic variant, the FGF4 retrogene known as CDDY, gives them their short legs and makes their spinal discs age and harden early. A hardened disc can bulge or rupture where a normal one would absorb the load.

That is also why this is a breed problem rather than a lifestyle problem. You can influence the odds; you cannot train away the genetics.

What is worth doing

• Keep him moving, every day. The clearest signal in the survey: under half an hour a day came with higher odds, over an hour with lower ones.
• Keep him slim. The 2015 survey could not confirm weight as a risk factor and the breed group says so openly, but an earlier study did find it, and extra weight is hard on a long back and on recovery either way.
• Lift him properly. One hand under the chest, one under the hindquarters, so the spine stays level. Never under the front legs with the back half hanging.
• Time the neutering with your vet. Neutered dogs had higher odds, and a follow-up analysis put the raised risk with neutering before twelve months: a risk ratio of 1.54 for males and 2.12 for females.
• Skip the glucosamine as insurance. Supplemented dogs showed up with higher odds in the survey — almost certainly because owners start supplements when something is already wrong, but it is not the preventative it is sold as.

When the ramp does make sense

If your dachshund has been diagnosed with disc degeneration, or has had an episode, Dachshund Health UK is direct about it: those dogs are at higher risk of further injury if they are allowed to jump off furniture. A ramp, a step, and a sofa that is off limits are sensible there.

The same goes for very young puppies and for older dogs, where the breed group points at the jolt of landing rather than at stairs as such.

Signs that need a vet today

Sudden pain, a hunched or tense back, shivering, refusing to jump or climb where he always did, wobbly or dragging hind legs, or no control over his bladder. This is an emergency, not a wait-and-see.

A dachshund that suddenly cannot settle, or is irritable when touched, may be telling you the same thing in a quieter way.

The honest summary

Most of what gets repeated about dachshunds and stairs is an assumption that sounds sensible. The evidence that exists points at an active, slim dog with a well-timed neuter, and at a variety-level risk you choose before you ever bring a puppy home.

None of this is a substitute for your own vet, who can see the dog in front of them.

Keep reading

• Should you walk a dachshund every day?5 min
• Is a girl or a boy dachshund better?6 min
• Why is a dachshund so expensive?6 min

Sources

1. Packer et al., DachsLife 2015 — lifestyle associations with IVDD (Canine Genetics and Epidemiology)
2. Dachshund Health UK — jumping and stairs
3. Dachshund Health UK — body condition
4. Dorn & Seath — neuter status as a risk factor for IVDH in dachshunds
5. OFA — chondrodystrophy with IVDD (CDDY)

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