Backstreet breeders have hijacked the miniature long-haired dachshund popularity boom, Crufts-goers have warned.
Buyers who want the dogs on the cheap are using unscrupulous sellers who often forgo medical screening to undercut the market, licenced breeders said on the first day of the show on Thursday.
Royal Kennel Club (RKC) yearly registrations for long-haired dachshunds have quadrupled in a decade.
Celebrities including Sadie Frost and Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke are among those helping to drive the trend by posting photos on social media with their dachshunds.
A rescue charity said their kennels are now “overflowing” with miniature long-haired dachshunds as unforeseen vet bills prompt owners to give up their pets.
Backstreet breeding raises the risk of health defects, including intervertebral disc disease – a genetic spinal condition which causes paralysis of the back legs. These breeders fail to get the adequate health checks, making the dogs vulnerable to poor health and costly vet bills.
Speaking from the NEC in Birmingham, Rosie Dunhill, a breeder from Market Drayton and member of Midland Dachshunds, said she had heard of miniature long-haired dachshunds being sold for up to £4,000.
“Designer breeders are jumping into breeding miniature long-haired dachshunds because they think they can make money,” said Ms Dunhill, 63.
“Like Frenchies before, there are more people breeding weird colours like blues and lilacs. It is a shame really because they are going to ruin the breed.”
Long queues formed all day at Ms Dunhill’s Royal Canin Discover Dogs stall where she presented her long-haired dachshunds Dora and Archie, 10 months, and Hetty, two and a half years.
“I have been looking everywhere for the sausages,” a panting young Crufts-goer said with outstretched arms after finding the stall.
Ms Dunhill said the breed had soared in popularity because miniature smooths had featured in Vogue magazine during the Covid pandemic.
The latest RKC figures show registrations for long-haired rose from 844 in 2014 to 3,450 in 2024.
Meanwhile, registrations for miniature smooth-haired rose from 3,450 in 2014 to 15,308 in 2022, dropping slightly to 11,664 in 2024.
Ms Dunhill said any emerging health problems could present an existential threat to the breed, after the All Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare launched a visual screening tool last year.
The Innate Health Assessment has a checklist for “extreme body shapes” such as dwarfism, muzzle length and straight legs which people can self-assess to ascertain a certificate proving their dog is healthy enough to breed.
APGAW said the tool will tackle the crisis of dogs being bred to satisfy trends but some breeders have treated the intervention with suspicion.
“They [APGAW] are claiming dachshunds and other dogs are suffering because of things like short legs, bob tails, and bug eyes,” Ms Dunhill said.
Lynn Hall, the charity chair of Dachshund Rescue CIO, said her centres were already flooded with miniature long-haired dachshunds.
“People think they are cute, put them in a bag and dress them up. They think it will be easy, they don’t research them. Rescues are now overflowing.”
Ms Hall said registered breeders cannot keep up with the demand and buyers often cannot afford the asking price of two or three thousand pounds.
She said: “Unlisted breeders are breeding them in fancy colours, it’s all financial for them but it is causing health problems.
“Every dachshund owner’s worst nightmare is intervertebral disc disease, which causes paralysis of the back legs.”
Ms Hill said unlisted breeders were less likely to pay for screening for the genetic spinal condition.
“People will buy the dog, realise what they have taken on, see the vet bills and then surrender them to us,” she said, adding: “I have had to get my rehoming team access to mental health professionals because of the pressures they are under.”
Ms Hall called on the Government to do more to stop backstreet breeders, adding that her rescue centres were having to turn away hundreds of dogs.
While the popularity of miniature long-haired dachshunds has skyrocketed, appetite for the standard-sized variant – which usually reach around knee height – has waned in recent years with RKC registrations sliding from 242 in 2021 to 152 in 2024.
Mike Wedge, a breeder from Rugby, presented standard-sized Otis, six, and Harvey, eight, in the neighbouring stall to the miniatures at Crufts.
Mr Wedge said despite the standard-size being cheaper at about £1,000 they prove less popular and fewer are being bred.
Casting a glance to the crowds to his right, the 75-year-old said: “A lot of people don’t know about normal-sized dachshunds.
“I’ve heard of some people buying a miniature dachshund and then it grows up to be a big one.”