Getting a new dog is one of the most emotional and life changing things we can do, whether or not you’ve had dogs before, and whatever age and stage of life your new dog is at. If you’re starting out with dachshunds, get ready for the challenge of finding a coat that fits well. One thing that we know about is finding dog coats for dachshunds. Read on to see our suggestions …

When you welcome a new dog into your home, there’s a lot to deal with. A new relationship to develop, training classes, boundaries to be set, and a whole load of practical things that need to be done to keep your dog safe and content. Keeping your dog warm, dry, and visible is one of those things too.

We often get enquiries from people with dachshund puppies who ask if it’s too early to buy one of our custom-fit coats, which are designed for the unique dachshund body shape. They want something that will keep their puppy dry and warm. At the other end of the spectrum, we meet people who have adopted older dachshunds. Over the years we’ve welcomed new dachshunds in both ways.

When to buy a dog coat for a puppy
If you have a young dachshund, under 9 or 10 months, they are still growing in all directions, and are likely to quickly outgrow any coat you buy them. The consensus seems to be that by 12 months old, dachshunds have stopped growing. We’ve found that they do however continue to fill out a little, to become more solid. When asked, we always recommend waiting to buy a made-to-measure coat until a young dog is 10-12 months old. A good compromise, if you really need something for a youngster under 10 months, is one of our Stretchy dachshund fleece coats. They are not too expensive, and will continue to stretch with your puppy as they grow to full size, even if they end up being a little short.

When and what to buy for a fully grown dachshund
If you love clothes and fashion yourself, your dog may well end up with many coats. But with our practical hats on, we think just two or three coats is enough to keep your dachshund warm and dry throughout the year. Having one (or two) water and windproof coats of different thicknesses, plus a couple of fleeces, will allow you to respond to the weather and keep a dry coat to hand. If they are good quality, and you look after them, they should last for years.

From our range, an insulated waterproof coat like the Cocoon or the new Winterwarmer, with a lightweight raincoat like the Rainbuster or Rainvest , will cover most winter weather conditions. Add in one or two of our very stretchy dachshund fleeces, and you have layering options too, and something suitable for cold spring mornings.

You may already have found out that a lot of dachshunds just don’t fit standard size ranges, like our own two dachshunds Sunny and Pixel! The coat back is not long enough, or the back is long enough but then the chest circumference is too big … You get the picture. We wasted a lot of money trying to get a coat that would fit our older dachshund Sunny, without success.

For adult dogs, especially if they fall into that strange category of not-quite-mini dachshund but not-quite-standard dachshund either, or if they are a tiny kaninchen dachshund, a very long standard, or a dachshund mix, then you may well need to get a bespoke coat like the ones we make at Barkmatic.

You don’t need to think about the sizing, because we make each coat to fit your dog, and our most expensive coat costs just €110. We just ask you to give us a few simple measurements, and we are always here to help via FaceTime. If the measurements don’t seem right, we’ll ask you to double check them.

Our dachshund coats are made from high-quality technical textiles that withstand repeated washing, and they should last for some years. Each coat is made to fit your dachshund, with a unique pattern drafted in our studio, and then sewn individually. We know they’re not cheap, but we think they are really good value. Get the right fit, and you need never again waste money on a coat for your dachshund that doesn’t fit properly.

Check out all our dachshund coats and accessories at barkmatic.com