Potty Training Dachshund Apartment India: What Works
Potty training a Dachshund in an Indian apartment? Here's the honest, breed-specific guide every high-rise dachshund parent needs.
Potty Training a Dachshund in an Apartment in India: The Real Guide
> TL;DR: Dachshunds are stubborn, scent-driven, and notoriously difficult to potty train — but it is absolutely doable in an Indian apartment if you set up a consistent indoor potty spot from day one. A natural coir pad works better than pee pads or artificial grass for this breed because it mimics outdoor texture and doesn't trap smell. Consistency, patience, and the right surface are the three things that will make or break your training.
You got a Dachshund.
Congratulations. You now own one of the most charming, dramatic, and potty-training-resistant dogs on the planet.
If you're living in a Mumbai high-rise, a Bangalore apartment on the 12th floor, or a Gurgaon society flat — you already know the problem.
You can't just open a door and let them into the garden.
There's the lift. There's timing. There's the society uncle who gives you the look every time your dog sniffs near the lobby planters.
And your Dachshund? She's already peed on the mosaic tiles near the kitchen. Twice.
This guide is specifically for potty training a Dachshund in an Indian apartment. Breed-specific, city-specific, no-nonsense.
Why Dachshunds Are Harder to Potty Train Than Other Dogs
Let's be honest about this first.
Dachshunds were bred to track and hunt. They are scent-obsessed, independent thinkers, and they have opinions about everything — including where they go to the bathroom.
They're not being difficult to annoy you. That's just how they're wired.
A few Dachshund-specific quirks that affect potty training in apartments:
They hate cold floors. Marble and mosaic tiles are everywhere in Indian apartments. Dachshunds will actively avoid walking across cold flooring, especially in winter. This means they'll hold it — and then go wherever feels warm and comfortable. Usually your rug.
They're scent markers. Once they've peed somewhere, they'll return to that exact spot. The smell is invisible to you but a flashing neon sign to them.
They have small bladders — especially as puppies. A Dachshund puppy under 12 weeks needs to go every 1–2 hours. In a high-rise, that's not realistic every single time.
They're low to the ground. This actually matters. They feel temperature and texture differently than bigger dogs. The surface you choose for their indoor potty spot really does affect whether they'll use it.
Setting Up an Indoor Potty Spot: The Non-Negotiable First Step
Before you start any training, you need a dedicated indoor potty spot.
This is true for all apartment dogs. For Dachshunds, it's especially critical.
Pick one spot. Stick to it. Never move it.
Your options in India typically come down to pee pads, artificial grass, or a natural coir pad.
Pee pads are plastic-backed and feel nothing like the outdoors. Dachshunds often chew them, shred them, or simply ignore them. They also don't absorb smell well in humid cities like Chennai or Mumbai — your bathroom will tell the story within days.
Artificial grass looks promising but has a serious long-term problem: urine gets trapped in the synthetic fibres and the smell builds up fast. In Indian humidity, this gets bad quickly. We've written about why artificial turf smells like dog pee — it's not a maintenance issue, it's a material issue.
A natural coir pad — made from coconut fibre — has actual texture. It feels like the outdoors underfoot. It has natural odour-absorbing properties. And for a scent-driven dog like a Dachshund, the organic material actually encourages them to use it.
That's why SniffSociety built India's first natural coir pad specifically for apartment dogs. See why coir works differently.
Potty Training Dachshund in an Apartment: The Step-by-Step Method
Step 1: Control the space first
When you bring your Dachshund home, don't give them free run of the apartment immediately.
Use a playpen or confine them to one room. This isn't cruel — it's how dogs learn. A smaller space means fewer accidents in wrong places, and it makes the potty spot easier to find and remember.
Step 2: Place the coir pad in a consistent spot
Bathroom corner, balcony, utility area — pick one and commit.
If you're on a high floor in Delhi or Pune and outdoor access is genuinely difficult, the balcony works well. Check out the apartment balcony dog potty setup guide for how to do this properly.
Step 3: Take them to the pad at these exact moments
- Right after waking up
- Within 15 minutes of eating
- After every nap
- After play sessions
- Last thing before bed
Dachshund puppies have zero bladder control. Don't wait for signs. Just go.
Step 4: Use a command word every single time
Pick a phrase. "Go potty." "Outside." "Jaldi karo." Whatever — just be consistent.
Say it every time they're on the pad. Over weeks, they'll connect the word to the action.
Step 5: Reward immediately and genuinely
The moment they finish — not after, not when they come back inside — treat and praise.
Dachshunds respond really well to positive reinforcement. They're food-motivated. Use that.
Step 6: Clean accidents with an enzymatic cleaner
Regular floor cleaner doesn't remove the scent markers Dachshunds leave behind.
Enzymatic cleaner breaks down the compounds that attract them back. If you skip this step, they'll go back to the same spot on your marble floor again and again.
The Monsoon Problem (And the 2am Problem)
Here's what Indian apartment guides written abroad completely miss.
During monsoon — June through September in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad — taking your dog outside becomes genuinely difficult. Wet paws. Flooded society compounds. Your dog refusing to step into the rain.
A Dachshund, with their low-slung body, is particularly sensitive to this. Wet belly, cold floor, miserable dog.
This is exactly when a reliable indoor potty spot saves your sanity.
If your dog is already trained to use the coir pad, monsoon is just another day. If they're not — you're stuck. We've written more about monsoon dog walk alternatives in India that are worth reading before the rains hit.
The same logic applies at 2am. You're exhausted. Your Dachshund isn't. Having an indoor option that actually works means you're not dragging yourself to the lift at midnight.
Common Mistakes Dachshund Parents Make in Indian Apartments
Punishing accidents. This doesn't work with any dog. With Dachshunds, it backfires hard. They'll just learn to hide where they pee.
Switching surfaces. Training on newspaper one week, pee pads the next, then grass — your dog is confused. Pick one surface, commit.
Expecting it to happen fast. Most Dachshunds take 4–6 months to be reliably trained. Some take longer. This is normal. It's not a reflection of your parenting.
Letting them roam too soon. Free roam of the apartment should be earned gradually as they prove they're reliable. Don't rush this.
Ignoring RWA timing restrictions. Some RWA societies in Gurgaon or Pune have specific windows for pet walks. If your outdoor schedule is restricted by society rules, that's all the more reason to have a solid indoor backup. Know your rights around RWA dog rules.
What to Expect: A Realistic Timeline
| Week | Where you'll be |
|------|----------------|
| 1–2 | Accidents everywhere. Normal. Keep going. |
| 3–4 | Starting to show preference for the potty spot. |
| 5–8 | More consistent. Still needs supervision. |
| 2–3 months | Mostly reliable with occasional misses. |
| 4–6 months | Reliably trained if you've been consistent. |
Be patient. Be boring about it. Consistency is the whole game.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to potty train a Dachshund in an Indian apartment?
Most Dachshunds take 4–6 months to be reliably potty trained, and sometimes longer. They're an independent, scent-driven breed that doesn't respond well to rushed training. Indian apartment dogs tend to take slightly longer because outdoor access is limited and the breed needs more repetitions to associate the indoor potty spot with the right behaviour. Consistency every single day is what moves the timeline forward.
What is the best indoor potty surface for a Dachshund in an apartment?
A natural coir pad is the best surface for Dachshunds in Indian apartments. It has a rough, organic texture that feels closer to outdoor ground than plastic pee pads or synthetic grass, which matters for a breed that is highly sensory and scent-driven. Pee pads tend to get chewed or ignored, and artificial grass traps odour badly in Indian humidity. Coir absorbs naturally and doesn't develop the persistent smell that makes fake grass unusable over time.
Why does my Dachshund keep peeing in the same wrong spot?
Dachshunds are scent markers — once they've urinated somewhere, they'll return to that exact spot because the scent signal is still present. Regular floor cleaners don't remove these scent compounds. You need an enzymatic cleaner that breaks down the urine proteins completely. Until you eliminate the scent from wrong spots and reinforce the correct potty pad location consistently, accidents in the same place will continue.
Can I train my Dachshund to use the balcony as a potty spot?
Yes, and for high-rise apartments in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, or Delhi, the balcony is often the most practical indoor potty location. Place a coir pad or tray there and use it consistently from the beginning. Make sure there's no gap in the balcony railing your Dachshund can fall through — their long bodies and short legs can get them into trouble. Read more about setting up a balcony potty properly before you start.
My Dachshund refuses to go outside during monsoon. What do I do?
This is very common. Dachshunds hate wet surfaces and their low belly means they get soaked immediately in the rain. During monsoon months, having a trained indoor potty spot is essential, not optional. If your dog already knows how to use a coir pad indoors, monsoon is manageable. If they don't, start training now before the rains hit — it takes months, not days, to build reliable indoor habits.
Potty training a Dachshund in an Indian apartment is genuinely one of the harder dog training challenges.
But it's absolutely doable.
The breed is stubborn. The apartments are small. The lifts are slow. The monsoon is real.
None of that means you're stuck with accidents forever.
Consistent schedule. Right surface. Patience measured in months, not weeks.
That's the whole formula.
If you're ready to set up a potty spot that actually works for your Dachshund — one that doesn't smell, doesn't shred, and feels like something your dog actually wants to use — get started with SniffSociety's coir pad here.
Also worth reading: the full training guide for Indian apartment dogs, and our complete guide to indoor dog potty options in India.