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The best dog food for dachshunds: 5 healthy choices for your pup

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Whether you’re bringing home a spunky, short-legged Dachshund for the first time or are simply thinking about changing up your pup’s diet, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve gathered some of the most important facts about the sausage dog diet, including what to look for, what to avoid, and a few of our favorite recommendations.

Remember to buy kibble or wet food that’s appropriate for your dog’s age. Puppies, adults, and seniors all have different nutritional needs, and the last thing you would want is to prevent your pup from getting a complete, balanced diet. Keeping that in mind, there are many trusted dog food brands that make a great choice for adult sausage dogs, and these are the best dog foods for Dachshunds.

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What dog food is good for Dachshunds?

Keeping all of this in mind, it’s time to make your choice. There are many healthy foods for Doxies available at your local pet store, but these are some of the best.

Wellness Small Breed Complete Health Adult Healthy Weight Turkey & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food

Keeping your Dachshund healthy begins with what you put in their bowl, so it’s important to feed them something meant for their breed or size. This small breed dog food is made with bite-sized pieces for easier chewing — even smaller than most kibbles — and expertly chosen ingredients to support your dog’s health. Each piece is fortified with omega fatty acids, antioxidants, glucosamine, probiotics, and taurine to promote whole-body health, but you’ll love the high-quality ingredients, too.

Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Natural Adult Small Breed Dry Dog Food

With two delicious, meaty flavors to choose from, any Doxie will love this healthy kibble from Blue Buffalo. It’s designed with small dogs in mind, so every bite is packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and high-quality lamb as its first ingredient.

This formula provides a nutritious, balanced meal with real fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates to keep their little bodies running. You won’t find any poultry by-product meals, corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives in this food!

Hill’s Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight Hearty Vegetable & Chicken Stew Canned Dog Food

If your little Weenie prefers wet food, you’ll want to make sure it contains ingredients just as wholesome as a kibble — just like this! Hill’s Science is known for its nutritionally wholesome meals for dogs of all ages and sizes, and with ingredients like chicken, carrots, and pork liver, you truly know you’re giving your dog the best.

Since Dachshunds tend to suffer from obesity, a weight-mindful diet might be a smart plan. Specially formulated foods like this are designed to protect heart health, encourage lean muscle formation, and support a healthy weight.

Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Dachshund Adult Dry Dog Food

Royal Canin is renowned for its breed and health-specific formulas, including this one for adult Dachshunds. Everything from the ingredient list to the shape of the kibble is designed especially for your Weenie, so you truly know you’re getting the best.

This formula helps provide complete nutritional support, bone and joint health, and more. Lean protein sources and L-carnitine help your dog build healthy muscle, while highly digestible protein and fiber reduce stool content and odor.

NUTRO NATURAL CHOICE Small Breed Adult Dry Dog Food

With high-quality protein and non-GMO ingredients, this small breed dog food will help your sausage dog look and feel its very best. Every bite contains antioxidants for immune support, fiber for digestive health, and 100 percent natural chicken. It also has a crunchy texture that helps clean your dog’s teeth as they chew, so there are an endless amount of reasons you’ll want your dog to munch on Nutro Natural Choice.

Just like other top-quality dog foods, you won’t find chicken by-product meal, corn, wheat, or soy anywhere on the ingredients list.

A Dachshund sits and waits for a treat that a person holds out
Gray / Adobe Stock

What should I not feed my Dachshund?

Since there are no official nutritional standards based on the breed of dog, every pet parent needs to use their best judgment when deciding what to feed their fur baby. Dachshunds have health concerns like Intervertebral Disc Disease, obesity, and hip dysplasia to consider, so you could consider finding a food with ingredients that promote joint health and slow weight gain.

That could make some “normally” formulated dog foods too fattening to feed a Dachshund long term, which is another reason why buying a small breed dog food can help. If you’re concerned that your buddy is getting the nutrition they need, you can always add a vet-recommended dietary supplement to their meals. But talk to your vet first!

A little trial and error may be necessary to find the best food for your Weenie. That’s okay! Remember to introduce new foods into your pup’s diet gradually to avoid any digestive upset or confusion on your dog’s end. Too much too fast can discourage your dog from getting the most out of the new diet.

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Gabrielle LaFrank
Gabrielle LaFrank
Contributor
Gabrielle LaFrank has written for sites such as Psych2Go, Elite Daily, and, currently, PawTracks. When she's not writing, you…
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