Grooming advice to keep your dog happy

Dachshund Grooming – How to keep your dog healthy and looking its best

As with all dogs, dachshund grooming is important to keep your dogs coat in good condition so that it remains happy and healthy.
The last thing you want is for the coat to become unmanageable, unhealthy, and matted. Not maintaining a healthy coat can result in skin problems that can be quite painful.

Dachshunds typically come in six varieties, two sizes, Standard and Miniature, and 3 coats, Smooth, Long and Wire Haired.
Dachshund Grooming needs vary depending on the type of coat.

Coats, Colours, and Dachshund Grooming Tips

Dachshund grooming needs vary depending on the type of coat the dog has. The different types and their needs are:

adopting a dachshund - a smooth haired dachshund relaxed on a leather sofa — Smooth Haired Dachshund

Smooth-haired – The coat is dense, short, smooth and shiny and usually requires little maintenance.
The most common colours are Black and Tan, Red, Chocolate/Tan and Dapple.

Smooth-haired dachshund grooming doesn’t require as much work as other types of the breed, they still need regular bathing and brushing. Since their coat is so short, things don’t tend to stick to it, but of course, it needs to be kept clean and sanitary.

Regular brushings with a soft-bristled brush will suffice when it comes to grooming. Remember to not bathe your dachshund too frequently as it can wash off protective parts of their coat.

About Dachshunds - a standard long haired dachshund sitting on a tiled floor — Standard Long-Haired

Long-haired – The coat is soft and straight with feathering on the underparts, ears, behind legs and tail.
Grooming a long-haired dachshund is really important. This type of coat requires regular grooming. Long-haired dachshund grooming tips are more important as they are prone to matting which sometimes even a brush can’t handle.

Severe mats may need to be cut off but often they can be worked out by hand.
The key is to keep brushing regularly and carefully. Daily brushing with a mitt can help keep these at bay, but they will still need a regular full brushing every few weeks.
If you’re not confident in doing this yourself, get advice or use your local professional dog groomer.
The most common colours for long-haired dachshunds are Black and Tan, Red (ranging from Cream to Shaded Red), Chocolate/Tan and Silver Dapple.

A Standard Wire-haired dachshund — A Standard Wire-haired Dachshund

Wire-haired – A short, harsh coat with a dense undercoat. There is a beard on the chin, and the eyebrows are bushy, but the hair on the ears is almost smooth.
As with the long-haired, wire-haired dachshund grooming is important, and should be done regularly and carefully. A Wire coat typically will need stripping (never clipping) twice a year too; they don’t moult. You can do this yourself if you know how. Online advice on this is available. If you’re not sure though, your local professional dog groomer should be able to advise and help.
The most common colours for wire-haired are Brindle and Red. Chocolate/Tan and Dapple also occur.

Where Do You Groom Your Dachshund?

Placing your Dachshund on a table (but of course, never unattended) is the best way to start the brushing process. As with people, clips can be used to separate the hair so you can work section by section. Another option is to place your sausage dog in a sink that is wide enough to have it stand comfortably. Remember too that if you’re not comfortable or confident enough to do it yourself, seek advice or your local professional dog groomer will be delighted to help.

Now, don’t let a Dachshund’s reaction to the brush stop you. They will not usually like it, but just soothe them to keep them calm & controlled and it will be over before they know it 🙂 A reward always helps too of course.

Also as we mentioned earlier, remember to not bathe your dog too frequently as it can wash off the important protective parts of their coat