When Do Long Haired Dachshunds Hair Grow?

Last Updated on May 7, 2022 by Marco

Having a dachshund puppy is a great joy but it also poses certain questions. For example, when do long haired dachshunds hair grow out fully? When can you even tell if your dachshund puppy is going to be long or short-haired? Do Doxies shed much and how should you care for their coats? All these questions can be quite puzzling but, not to worry – they have pretty simple answers. So, let’s go over them one by one below.

When Do Long Haired Dachshunds Hair Grow To Its Full Adult Coat?

A long-haired dachshund puppy goes through quite a few transformations before it becomes an adult and the whole process typically takes about a year and a half. The same goes for its coat which will continue changing for months after the pup has reached its full height. These changes aren’t necessarily as major as they might sound at first, however – after the pup’s 6th month the coat will pretty much just keep getting fuller and improve its texture and that’s about it.

The transformation of a dachshund’s coat is a rather straightforward and slow process and it doesn’t involve too many drastic changes – just a gradual increase of volume and length, as well as a softening of the texture.

When Do Long Haired Dachshunds Hair Grow From A Puppy’s Coat Into An Adult’s Coat?

This usually happens around the 6-month mark. Before that, most puppies’ coats are thin and scruffy – something that feels much cuter to the touch than it might sound at first. That’s pretty standard for all dog breeds and not just for dachshunds. From the 6th month, as we mentioned above, a pup’s coat can take up to a full year to reach its final form and texture but the 6th month is considered the transition between a pup’s coat and an adult’s coat.

When Do Long Haired Dachshunds Hair Grow From A Puppy’s Coat Into An Adult’s Coat

Learn more about: Irish Cream Long Haired Dachshund – What Exactly Is This Unique Type Of Dog?

How Can You Tell If A Dachshund Puppy Is Going To Grow Up With Long Or Short (Smooth) Coat?

At first, this issue sounds like it should be simple – if the parents of the puppy have short or long hair, so should it, right? Not exactly.

The coat of the pup’s parents can give you a hint as to what type of coat it’s going to have but there are no guarantees. Like with eye color or hair color, there are quite a few genes that play into coat length and type. Some of them are dominant and others – recessive.

For example, the gene for long hair in breeds like the dachshund is the FGF5 gene, also known as the L locus. It’s a recessive gene, compared to the dominant gene for short hair. This means that you can breed two long-haired dachshund parents, for example, and still get a short-haired Doxie puppy in the litter. The opposite is also true but much less likely.

The end result of all of this is that you can have dachshund puppies of all three coat types in the same litter regardless of what the coat types of their parents are. Looking at the parents can still give you some hints but that’s about it. Of course, you can and should always consult with the pup’s breeder – they’ll know not only what coats the parents have but what their parents’ coats were too. This will give the breeder even more insight into what genes are at play in the litter.

But, if you’re looking for some ways to tell for yourself – the future coat type of a dachshund puppy should get relatively obvious somewhere between the 4th and 8th week. Long-haired dachshund puppies will start having clearly fluffier and furrier hair during that period while short-haired dachshunds will still have a shorter and denser coat. So, especially if you can compare your puppy with the others in the litter, it should be obvious which is which.

How Can You Tell If A Dachshund Puppy Is Going To Grow Up With Long Or Short (Smooth) Coat

Read more about: How To Tell If A Dachshund Puppy Is Long Haired?

So, When Do Long Haired Dachshunds Hair Grow?

The three steps a dog’s hair goes through can be defined as such – the 4th to 8th week period when it becomes clear what the dog’s coat is going to be, the 6th month when the puppy starts getting its adult coat, and the 15th to the 18th-month range when the adult coat should be fully grown. So, when do long-haired dachshunds’ hair grow? The 6th and 18th months are typically given as answers but it depends on what you mean.

FAQs

Are you supposed to cut long-haired Dachshunds hair?

Long haired dachshunds are a single-coated breed which means that they don’t have an undercoat. This means a few of things – less shedding, no major seasonal coat blowout, and more of a freedom when it comes to trimming, cutting, or shaving your dog’s hair. With double-coated breeds such as the wire haired dachshund, the undercoat really shouldn’t be fully shaven as it can then start growing in different directions, change its texture, and lead to some unpleasant irritations for the dog.
With a single-coated breed such as the long haired dachshund, however, none of this is a problem. You can freely trim, cut, or even shave your dog’s coat when need be. In fact, trimming and cutting are strongly recommended as that’d help you keep your dog’s coat in good health and free of matting and entangling. The areas around the ears, legs, and paws, in particular, should be trimmed fairly regularly.

How can I tell if my Dachshund is going to have long hair?

There are usually a few telltale signs of whether a puppy is going to grow up into a short or long haired dachshund. Future long haired puppies will start having a noticeably fluffier and more furry coat as early as their 4to to 6th week. Some puppies grow faster than others, of course, but you should usually be able to tell by the 8th week whether a dachshund puppy is going to be short or long haired on that basis alone. Of course, you can also look at the puppies parents or ask the breeder.

Do all long-haired Dachshunds have long hair?

Almost by definition, a long haired dachshund will have long hair, yes. Distinguishing between a long haired and a wire haired dachshund puppy can be tricky in the first few weeks as, technically, wire haired dachshunds also have long hair. However, they are also double coated and that starts being noticeable pretty early on. But, in short, long haired dachshunds will also have long hair.
If your question is whether the offspring of two long haired dachshunds is always long haired – that’s not always the case. In dachshunds, the gene for long hair is recessive and the gene for short hair is dominant, so it’s possible for two long haired dachshunds to have short haired Doxies in their litter along side the long haired ones.