Last Updated on February 23, 2022 by Griselda M.
Mini Doxies are so adorable that you’d be forgiven to want to breed as many of them as possible. But how many litters can a miniature dachshund have and what’s their average size? What are the best practices when it comes to breeding such a small dog and how can you get the maximum number of puppies without compromising the mother’s health in any way? We’ll touch on all that and more below.
How Many Litters Can A Miniature Dachshund Have?
Hypothetically, a female miniature dachshund can get pregnant and give birth twice a year. These dogs actually have up to three or four heat cycles a year, however, getting pregnant that often is obviously impossible.
Even two pregnancies a year are ill-advised even for professional breeders. It’s technically possible with perfect nutrition, care, and health, but it will strain the mother unnecessarily too much. So, one pregnancy a year is the recommended standard. This leads to the next question of what’s the period of a dog’s life suitable for breeding.
Until What Age Can A Miniature Dachshund Get Pregnant?
Again, hypothetically, even a 12-year-old dog can get pregnant and give birth just as elderly human women can get pregnant too. However, trying to breed a female miniature dachshund past her 8th birthday is really ill-advised. After all, remember that the 6th-7th year period is considered the transition between adulthood and old age for dachshunds.
So, many breeders won’t even wait for the dog’s 8th birthday and will stop around the 5-6 year period. Another reason is that early spaying has many health benefits for female dogs. So, if you care about the dog’s health, you’d probably want to stop with the breeding before the 5 or 6-year mark.
As for the first pregnancy, that can happen before the dog’s first birthday but it’s recommended to wait for the first couple of heat cycles to pass. So, you really ought to start breeding your dog only after her first birthday.
How Many Litters Should A Miniature Dachshund Have?
All of the above means that you basically have an interval of 4 or 5 years for safe breeding, i.e. 4 or 5 litters.
Read more about: How Big Will My Miniature Dachshund Get?
If we’re talking about hypothetical maximums, a mini Doxie can theoretically get pregnant 7-8 or even more times if you try going twice a year. However, again, this really isn’t recommended as it can – and likely will – have severe consequences for the dog’s health. Naturally, a pregnant wiener dog needs quite a lot of care too as do her pups. So chances are that you yourself will need breaks between the births.
In other words, knowing how many litters can a miniature dachshund have is less important than how many litters a Doxie should have.
What’s The Average Dachshund Litter Size?
Now that we saw how many litters can a miniature dachshund have, let’s go over the exact litter sizes you can expect. Smaller breeds tend to have fewer puppies than larger dogs for obvious reasons. Miniature dachshunds are a good example of this and their litters will very rarely go above 6 pups.
For reference, larger breeds will often have litters of up to 10 or more puppies so that’s basically twice as much as a mini Doxie. Standard dachshunds also don’t have that many puppies but can more frequently (or, less rarely) birth up to 8 pups.
Early mini dachshund pregnancies, in particular, will often yield just one or two pups. Many peoples get surprised by single-puppy pregnancies and they do have their risks, but they really aren’t all that uncommon. After the first pregnancy, subsequent births will usually include somewhere between 3, 4, or up to 6 pups. While that’s not as much as larger dogs, it’s still plenty.
So, How Many Litters Can A Miniature Dachshund Have Throughout Her Life While Keeping Up With All Safety Regulations and Tips?
Hypothetically, a miniature dachshund can get pregnant and give birth up to 6 times if she’s healthy and well taken care of. With an average of 4 to 6 pups per pregnancy, that can mean as many as 30+ pups per mini dachshund mother’s lifetime.
More often than not, going through 6 pregnancies and births is not recommended, however. Most breeders tend to stop at 3 or 4 and then spay the mother early to make sure that she remains in good health through her golden years. So, 4 births with about 4 pups per birth, means about 15-16 pups per female mini Doxie.
Really, however, if you’re not a professional breeder and you’re just looking to breed your own dog a few times, going over two or three pregnancies isn’t needed. Dogs do best when they can get spayed early in their life as that leads to numerous health benefits. And as getting your dog pregnant before her first birthday is ill-advised, that really only leaves two or three years of time for pregnancies and births if you want to ensure the mother’s ideal health.
Read more about: How Much Are Mini Dachshund Puppies?
FAQs
How many puppies does a mini dachshund have?
The average litter size of a miniature dachshund can be anywhere between 1 and 6 puppies per pregnancy. First-time and early pregnancy will usually result in fewer puppies and single-pup pregnancies are not that rare for 1-year-old mothers. As the mother grows, however, future litters will be more likely to have somewhere between 4 and 6 puppies.
As for how many litters can a dachshund have, that’s a bit debatable but usually between 4 and 6 in a lifetime. Hypothetically, a dachshund can get pregnant more than once a year but that’s not considered advisable as it can hamper the mother’s health. Mini dachshunds actually have up to 4 heat cycles a year but one pregnancy per year is more than enough.
And, as the good time for Doxie pregnancies and births is between the mother’s 1st and 8th birthdays (or even up to the 5th or 6th birthday, according to some breeders), that means that going for more than 4 to 6 pregnancies is not advisable, with many breeders happily stopping at 3 or 4. So, that makes an average of ~16 pups (4x4) per mini Doxie mother.
Jordan is an animal–lover who specializes in dachshunds. He has owned and cared for dachshunds since he was a child, and his passion for these unique dogs has only grown with time. Jordan is an avid researcher and learner, and spends a large portion of his free time studying the history, behaviour, and health of dachshunds. He has a knack for training and socializing his own dogs, and loves introducing them to new experiences. When not caring for his own pets, Jordan likes to volunteer at local animal rescue shelters, helping to find homes for abandoned dachshunds. He is a true animal advocate, and dedicates his time to ensure that all animals receive the love, respect, and care they deserve.
