Quick answer: Our favourite toys for Winston as a dachshund puppy were not necessarily the fanciest ones. Snuffle toys, puzzle boards, lick mats, food-stuffable toys and soft toys all got far more use than traditional hard puppy chews. Dachshund puppies are clever, curious and often extremely food motivated, so we found toys that made Winston sniff, search, solve or work for something tended to be the biggest winners.
Buying toys for a dachshund puppy sounds easy.
Then you actually get the puppy.
You buy the cute chew toy.
They ignore it.
You buy another one specifically labelled for puppies.
Ignored.
You spend £3 on something that makes a weird noise and suddenly it is the greatest possession they have ever owned.
Winston very quickly taught us that price has almost nothing to do with how much a puppy will actually like something.
What did become obvious was that he loved toys that gave his brain something to do.
He was doing puzzle boards from around 10 weeks old.
He loved sniffing things out.
He loved food-based enrichment.
And because dachshund puppies also go through the delightful stage commonly known as having tiny razor blades for teeth, anything that gave him an appropriate outlet for licking, chewing or mouthing was useful too.
So this is not a list of random highly rated Amazon products.
It is a mix of toys we genuinely used with Winston, toys similar to the ones that worked particularly well for him, and a few alternatives I would consider if we were bringing home another dachshund puppy tomorrow.
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Our Quick Picks
These are some of our favourite toy types for dachshund puppies — especially for chewing, sniffing, enrichment and keeping clever little sausage dogs busy.
Puppy KONG
A classic puppy essential. Great for stuffing with food, encouraging calm chewing and helping puppies settle.
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Snuffle Ball
Perfect for hiding kibble or treats inside. Brilliant for nose work and a really easy way to tire out a puppy mentally.
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Nina Puzzle Board
A great starter puzzle for clever puppies. Ideal for problem solving and slowing down treat time in a fun way.
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Carrot Toy
One of those toys that gives puppies a job to do. Great for pulling, sniffing and treat-finding games.
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Lick Mat
Excellent for helping puppies settle. Great with softened food, dog-safe peanut butter or other simple toppings.
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KONG Bone
A handy option for puppies who love to chew. Good for redirecting bitey behaviour onto something more appropriate.
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KONG Bear
A softer toy option for puppies who love to cuddle, carry and fuss over their toys as much as they love chewing them.
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KONG Puppy Ball
A fun option for puppies who enjoy movement and food rewards together. Great for light play and simple enrichment.
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1. KONG Puppy — Best Overall Toy for a Dachshund Puppy
See the KONG Puppy on Amazon UK
If I were allowed to buy only one style of toy for another puppy, a puppy KONG would be very high on the list.
We used food-stuffable KONG toys a lot with Winston, particularly when he was teething.
The great thing is that they can do several jobs.
You can use them as:
- a chew toy
- a food toy
- a licking activity
- a settling activity
- a frozen teething toy
- something to use part of a meal in
We often froze Winston’s food-based toys when his teeth were bothering him.
That gave him something cold to work on while also keeping him occupied.
Blue Cross also recommends KONG-style food toys for enrichment and notes that they can be filled and frozen to make the activity last longer.
Why I like it for dachshund puppies
Dachshunds are clever.
Hand them dinner in a bowl and it may be gone in seconds.
Make them work it out of something and suddenly eating becomes an activity.
That suited Winston enormously.
Good for:
Teething • settling • food enrichment • crate time • boredom
Dax & Hound verdict
One we would buy again.
Make sure you choose the appropriate puppy size rather than buying something tiny enough to become a choking risk. Toys should be correctly sized and checked regularly for damage.
2. Snuffle Ball — Best for Using That Dachshund Nose
See the snuffle ball we used on Amazon UK
Snuffle toys are one of the things I recommend most often for dachshunds.
Winston has used snuffle mats, snuffle balls and all sorts of variations since he was tiny.
The idea is incredibly simple.
You hide pieces of kibble or tiny treats amongst the fabric.
Then your puppy has to sniff them out.
That is basically it.
But to a dachshund?
Very important business.
Dogs Trust recommends scent-based enrichment such as snuffle mats because it allows dogs to search for food using their nose and brain.
And for a breed literally developed to use its nose and investigate things, it makes a lot of sense.
What we liked
Snuffle toys were particularly useful before Winston was fully vaccinated and able to go for proper walks.
He still needed something to do.
Five or ten minutes sniffing around for food could genuinely help take the edge off his puppy energy.
We sometimes found mental activity tired him out as much as a much longer physical activity.
Good for:
Sniffing • meals • rainy days • pre-vaccination puppies • mental stimulation
Dax & Hound verdict
One of our puppy essentials.
3. Nina Ottosson Challenge Slider — Best for Clever Dachshund Puppies
See the Nina Ottosson Challenge Slider on Amazon UK
This is one Winston actually owns.
And puzzle boards became a bit of an arms race in our house.
We would buy one.
Winston would learn it.
We would buy a harder one.
Winston would learn that.
Eventually you start wondering whether the dachshund is secretly doing research while everyone is asleep.
The Nina Ottosson Challenge Slider has multiple hidden food compartments and is classed as an advanced puzzle, so I would not necessarily make this your puppy’s very first puzzle board. The product is a Level 3 challenge with 24 treat compartments.
Start simple.
Let them win.
Then increase the difficulty.
Why Winston likes puzzle boards
Food.
Problem solving.
More food.
The perfect combination.
Blue Cross recommends puzzle feeders as a way of turning food into a mentally stimulating activity rather than simply putting it in a bowl.
Good for:
Very clever puppies • food-motivated dachshunds • rainy days • mental workouts
Dax & Hound verdict
Brilliant — but work up to this one.
Tiny head.
Big brain.
4. Interactive Carrot Toy — Best First Search-and-Find Toy
See the carrot puzzle toy we used on Amazon UK
This is another toy we used with Winston.
It is essentially a soft interactive toy where the carrots sit inside holes and your dog has to pull them out.
Simple.
But fun.
For a puppy, I like this sort of toy because it introduces the idea that:
toy + investigation = reward
without requiring them to understand complicated sliders, levers and compartments.
Once Winston got too good at it, naturally we started making things harder.
We have even used plastic cups and other safe obstacles to turn simple games into slightly trickier puzzles.
Because apparently we now operate a tiny dachshund escape room.
Good for:
Beginner problem solving • sniffing • searching • puppies new to puzzles
Dax & Hound verdict
A really fun starter enrichment toy.
Just supervise, particularly if your puppy starts trying to dismantle the carrots rather than solve the game.
5. Lick Mat — Best for Calm Time
See the Lick Mat we used on Amazon UK
Lick mats were another day-one type product for Winston.
We used them with things like softened puppy food or small amounts of suitable dog-safe spreads.
They were particularly helpful when we wanted him to settle rather than become more excited.
That distinction matters.
Not every toy needs to involve chasing something around the lounge at 900mph.
Dogs Trust includes lick mats amongst food-based enrichment options and suggests spreading food over the textured surface for calmer enrichment.
We used lick mats for:
Settling in his pen.
Calm crate time.
General enrichment.
Teething periods.
Giving us five minutes to remember what life was like before we owned a puppy.
Freezing them
You can also freeze suitable food on the mat.
That made them last longer for Winston and was useful when his gums were bothering him.
Good for:
Settling • licking • crate training • grooming distraction • teething
Dax & Hound verdict
Cheap, simple and used far more than we expected.
6. KONG Puppy Goodie Bone — Best Puppy Chew Toy
See the KONG Puppy Goodie Bone on Amazon UK
We learnt fairly early that Winston had opinions about chew toys.
Some he loved.
Some he looked at as though we had personally insulted him.
I like the idea of the Puppy Goodie Bone because it combines a puppy-specific rubber chew with spaces for food.
The UK listing is specifically for small puppies and uses KONG’s puppy teething rubber.
And that is something I would prioritise over extremely hard puppy chews.
PDSA advises that chew toys should be soft enough to indent with a fingernail; very hard materials can damage teeth, particularly with enthusiastic chewers.
That is worth remembering.
Puppy teeth are not indestructible.
Despite what the puppy may believe.
Good for:
Teething • chewing • food stuffing • redirecting puppy biting
Dax & Hound verdict
A better style of chew toy than the rock-hard options I would personally avoid.
7. KONG Wild Knots Bear — Best Soft Toy
See the KONG Wild Knots Bear XS on Amazon UK
Every puppy needs at least one soft toy.
Actually, judging by our house, every dachshund apparently needs approximately 47.
Winston has always liked soft things much more than some of the hard chew toys we bought him.
The KONG Wild Knots Bear is interesting because underneath the soft exterior is an internal knotted rope structure, with less stuffing than a conventional plush toy.
That does not mean indestructible.
There is no plush toy I would confidently describe as dachshund-proof.
But if your puppy likes carrying, cuddling, shaking and gently chewing soft toys, something like this makes sense.
Good for:
Comfort • carrying • gentle tugging • indoor play
Dax & Hound verdict
A good soft-toy option, particularly for little puppies.
8. KONG Puppy Ball — Best for Chase and Fetch
See the KONG Puppy Ball on Amazon UK
A ball does not need much explanation.
Throw.
Puppy follows.
Puppy may bring it back.
Or puppy may take it somewhere completely different because apparently your involvement in the game has now ended.
The KONG Puppy Ball uses puppy rubber and the small version is designed for puppy mouths.
I prefer proper dog balls over tiny household balls because size matters.
Blue Cross and PDSA both warn that balls and toys should be large enough that they cannot be swallowed or become a choking hazard.
One dachshund-specific note
We would keep fetch relatively controlled with a dachshund puppy.
I would rather have Winston chasing something along the floor than repeatedly leaping through the air, skidding and twisting.
Fun does not have to mean chaos.
Good for:
Fetch • interaction • chasing • training
Dax & Hound verdict
Simple, useful and easy to keep in the toy box.
9. Hide-A-Squirrel — Best Burrowing-Style Toy
Search the Outward Hound Hide-A-Squirrel on Amazon UK
This is one I am including as an alternative we haven’t personally used with Winston (yet), rather than pretending we have.
But I really like the concept for dachshunds.
The toy has a soft tree-trunk-style body with small squeaky squirrels hidden inside, which the dog pulls out through openings.
That means:
Sniff.
Investigate.
Shove nose into hole.
Remove small furry creature.
I cannot imagine why that might appeal to a dachshund.
The small version is marketed for small dogs and puppies, with three stuffed squirrels.
Good for:
Burrowing • searching • soft-toy lovers • interactive play
Dax & Hound verdict
One I would happily try with another puppy — or Winston now.
What About Nylabones?
This is where I think honest product guides become more useful than simply listing things people can buy.
We bought puppy Nylabone-style toys for Winston.
He could not have cared less.
At all.
They sat there.
Untouched.
Meanwhile, snuffle mats, food puzzles, soft toys and lick mats were apparently priceless treasures.
That does not mean another puppy will not love them.
Dogs have preferences.
But I am not going to put something at the top of a “best” list purely because it is a popular puppy product when Winston’s review would effectively be:
0/10. Would rather steal a sock.
What Type of Toy Does a Dachshund Puppy Actually Need?
I would not buy ten versions of the same toy.
A small selection that does different jobs is more useful.
For another puppy, I would want something for chewing, something for licking, something for sniffing, something for problem-solving, something soft and something interactive that we can play with together.
Dogs Trust notes that enrichment should give dogs opportunities to use natural behaviours such as sniffing, chewing and problem-solving rather than enrichment simply meaning “more exercise.”
That was certainly true with Winston.
Sometimes his brain needed tiring out much more than his legs did.
Toy Safety: The Boring but Important Bit
No dog toy is indestructible.
And puppies have an impressive ability to turn something perfectly intact into seventeen separate pieces while you briefly look at your phone.
We always supervise Winston with new toys.
I would also regularly check for:
Loose stuffing.
Damaged seams.
Broken plastic.
Loose rope.
Detached squeakers.
Pieces small enough to swallow.
PDSA advises choosing appropriately sized toys, supervising play and replacing damaged toys before pieces can be swallowed.
This matters particularly with miniature dachshund puppies because their mouths are tiny.
A toy that is perfectly sensible for a Labrador puppy may be ridiculous for something the size Winston was when he came home.
Which Toy Would We Buy First?
If I had a brand-new dachshund puppy arriving tomorrow, I would probably start with:
a puppy KONG, a snuffle toy, a lick mat, one easy puzzle and one soft toy.
That gives you most of what you need.
Something to chew.
Something to lick.
Something to sniff.
Something to solve.
Something to cuddle or shake around.
Then let the puppy tell you what they actually enjoy before spending a fortune.
Because they will.
Quite clearly.
Winston’s Biggest Winners
The products that genuinely shaped puppy life for us were the enrichment ones.
Snuffle mats.
Snuffle balls.
Lick mats.
KONG-style food toys.
Puzzle boards.
The carrot searching toy.
They gave Winston something productive to do with that very busy little brain.
And because we started them so early, enrichment simply became part of normal life.
It still is.
We rotate things rather than leaving every toy available constantly, which also helps older toys suddenly become extremely exciting again.
Apparently putting a toy in a cupboard for a fortnight legally makes it a brand-new toy.
Dachshund economics again.
Final Thoughts
The best dachshund puppy toy is not necessarily the toughest, most expensive or most complicated one.
It is the one your puppy actually uses.
For Winston, the biggest winners have consistently been things that involve food, sniffing, solving or searching.
Which probably tells you everything you need to know about him.
If I were building a puppy toy box again, I would buy fewer random chew toys and put more of the budget into enrichment.
A good snuffle toy.
A food-stuffable KONG.
A lick mat.
A beginner puzzle.
Something soft.
Then build from there once you discover what your puppy enjoys.
And if your carefully researched £12 puppy chew gets completely ignored while your dachshund wanders off carrying one of your socks?
Welcome to dachshund ownership.
At Dax & Hound Co., we only describe products as things we’ve used with Winston when we genuinely have. Some of the products above are our own tried-and-used choices and others are alternatives we think fit the same jobs well. Every puppy plays differently, so supervise new toys, choose the right size, and remove anything that becomes damaged.
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