How to Prevent Your Dachshund from Jumping On and Off Furniture

Most Dachshund parents love a good snuggle session with their beloved pup and a couch or special armchair is often a popular place to sit with our dogs. 

Although relaxing with your Doxie may be one of your favorite hobbies, it can potentially be harmful to your dog’s back if you consistently let your Dachshund jump from the furniture to the floor. 

When you’re sitting with your Dachshund, and get up, their first instinct is to jump down to follow you.

Jumping up onto the furniture can have it’s hazards too. Your Dachshund can miss and fall or not make it all the way up and have to jump many times in a row.

In this article, we’ll discuss how to prevent your Dachshund from jumping on and off furniture in order to preserve their health.

Why is it Bad for a Dachshund to Jump On and Off Furniture?

Dachshunds commonly suffer from Intervertebral Disc Disease, also known as IVDD. 

IVDD is the degeneration of a dog’s spinal cord. This results in the discs between the vertebrae in the spinal column begin to harden and becoming prone to rupture. 

The effects of IVDD related injuries can range from pain to paralysis in the most severe cases.

IVDD affects Dachshunds most commonly out of all dog breeds. Due to this startling statistic, it’s important to protect your Doxie to the best of your ability. 

Jumping can cause a disk rupture in Dachshunds with Intervertebral Disk Disease.

Jumping can often trigger IVDD back injuries in dogs, or cause it to flare up. And this is exactly why it’s bad for a Dachshund to jump on and off furniture.

How to Prevent Your Dachshund From Jumping on Furniture

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Any jump more than 12 inches or so can harm your Dachshund’s back, especially if they don’t successfully make the jump and end up falling as a result. 

To prevent such activity, we have a few recommendations.

Purchase a ramp

Using a ramp or set of soft stairs for your Dachshund will allow them to easily climb to and from a couch or chair

You can also use a tall ramp to let your Dachshund get in and out of bed without your assistance.

Ramps are an easy way for Dachshunds to get on and off furniture.

We suggest the Snoozer Scalloped Pet Ramp for most furniture. 

For a bed up to 37” height, consider the adjustable Doggo Ramp. 

The once catch here is that you will have to train your Dachshund to use them. It’s not hard to do with a little bribery (treats) though.

See the section below for tips on teaching your Dachshund to not jump up and down from furniture.

Block off the furniture 

To avoid your Dachshund jumping up onto furniture without your help, you can block off the couch or chair with a freestanding gate. 

You can even gate off the couch except for the space where your pet stairs or ramp connect to it.

This way your Dachshund has no choice but to use the stairs or ramp to access the furniture.

If you place a dog fence around your furniture, and only leave a space for them to go up and down the stairs, they will have to use them.

Another way to effectively block off the furniture is to place something on the sitting surface so your dog can’t jump up onto it.

An example would be placing empty boxes on the chair seat or using a Couch Defender.

Teach your Dachshund to sit and wait before they jump on the furniture

Teaching your Dachshund a solid sit-stay can help keep their jumping under control. 

By having your pup sit and wait for you to lift them up or down, you’re discouraging them from jumping on the furniture without permission.

Put your mattress and box spring on the floor

If you like having your Dachshund in bed with you at night, but don’t have room for a large ramp in your bedroom, you may want to consider putting your mattress and box spring on the floor, rather than on a tall frame. 

Telling your dog to wait can also prevent them from jumping on furniture.

This concept will allow your Dachshund to come and go without having to jump a long ways. 

Of course, this option is not for everyone. I like to think of it as a platform bed without the platform but it does give the bedroom a slight college-dorm-room feel.

Ultimately, it will be best to offer your Dachshund some sort of assistance to jump on and off the furniture to avoid harming their back or flaring up IVDD.

5 Tips for Teaching Your Dachshund to Use a Ramp or Stairs

Some dogs will take to a ramp or stairs right away, while others need some motivation.

We always recommend using positive reinforcement to teach your Dachshund a new skill. 

The best way to teach your Dachshund to use their new stairs or ramp is by luring them with their favorite treats. 

Treats are always a great way to train dogs to use a new ramp or stairs.

Using positive reinforcement methods will make the experience much more enjoyable for them.

1) Start slowly by treating your dog when they place two paws on the stairs. 

2) After that, you can progressively move treats up the ramp or stairs in order to encourage your Dachshund to climb higher. 

3) Go through the process as slow as necessary for your Dachshund. Remember that every dog learns at a different pace. 

4) After your Dachshund is comfortable going up the stairs, teach them to turn around and walk back down. This step is important so your dog isn’t inclined to jump down off the side of the ramp.

5) Add a verbal cue like “ramp” if you choose after your dog starts to get it.

Treats, consistency, and lots of praise will help keep your Dachshund excited about using a ramp.

Sometimes the process of teaching your Dachshund to use stairs or a ramp can take lots of practice, especially if they are used to jumping up and down from things.

Final Thoughts

Keeping your Dachshund’s paws on the ground will preserve their health and potential issues with Intervertebral Disk Disease (IVDD).

Since Dachshunds are so prone to back issues, it’s best to keep avoid any sort of stress on their spine.

Teaching them to use pet stairs or a ramp is a great place to start. 

Preventing your Dachshund from jumping on and off furniture can also help them learn that they shouldn’t jump on anything, including people, too.

About the Author: Through her 17 years of owning and caring for Dachshunds, and almost 10 years researching and writing about them, JW has become a respected expert in the Dachshund community. Read more about her here.