Most dachshunds benefit from having a couple of different coats, to keep out the weather or keep them warm at home.  What to buy, and what stage in their life to buy it, is not always obvious, especially if you’re a new dachshund owner. Read on to find out what to consider before you buy a dog coat …

We’re big supporters of avoiding textile waste whenever possible - for humans and for dogs alike - which often means buying clothes after careful thought and at the right stage in your dog’s life.  Because of their unique shape, finding a coat that fits your dachshund may not be as simple as buying from a standardised size chart.  We believe that buying a dog coat designed for dachshunds, and one that’s made to fit your dog, is the best way to get the coat that you and your dog will actually use.  So we sat down and worked out what advice we would have given ourselves when we first got a dachshund.  Advice that would have helped us avoid buying several coats that we just had to give away because they didn’t come close to fitting. 

When to buy your dog a coat: think about the age (and therefore the size) of your dachshund

During their first year of life, dachshunds are still growing in length and filling out.  This is perhaps most noticeable in standard dachshunds, who have a lot more growing to do.  Our Sunny, a black and tan standard, had reached his adult length but was still filling out a little during his second year.  

We often get asked by dachshund owners when the best time is to buy one of our custom-fit coats.  We totally get it.  You have a new member of your household, and you want to kit them out with a good looking coat to keep them warm and dry. Because  by now you’ve discovered that dachshunds are not keen on going out in the rain!

However much we would love to sell you a dachshund coat, we always advise waiting until your dog is a year old, or close enough.  Any coat you buy to fit your dog at six months or eight months will be outgrown by the time your dachshund has reached his or her adult weight.  We’d also advise against buying a made-to-fit coat or collar, and when ordering adding on a few centimetres to the measurements to allow for growth.  You can almost guarantee that your dachshund won’t grow in the places you expect it to.

A simple fleece will keep your dachshund warm and offer some water resistance in light to moderate rain.  A stretch coat deals with the issue of fit, and can be a little tight or a little loose without losing function.  A fleece coat is a good value option for the first year of your dog’s life.  There’s also a thriving second hand market in dog fleeces, which may be a useful way to avoid doggy fast fashion and textile waste. 

Once your dachshund is old enough for you to buy a custom-fit coat, you can buy from our online shop. We ship to customers worldwide.  We make every dachshund coat in our small studio, using a unique pattern drafted for your dog, and all we need are a few simple measurements that you upload for us once you've made your purchase.  We add a little extra to the measurements in the right places so that your dog can move around well in the coat (this is called ease).  Dog coat designs with a chest strap are adjustable around the middle.  What all this means is that if your dog has a small fluctuation in size due to a change in diet or exercise, for example during recovery from an operation, or because they are getting older, our coats will be able to accommodate that to some degree.  

Collar or harness?

In our experience, most people use either a standard dog collar or a harness with their dachshund, and tend not to switch around from one to the other.  We don’t use harnesses with our two dachshunds, because we found we couldn’t get sufficient control when we really needed to, for example in crowded urban situations. We only use harnesses in the car for safety, to protect their necks in the event of a sudden stop.  But we know plenty of other dachshund owners who will only use a harness because they and their dog prefer it. It’s a very personal thing. 

The type of coat you buy needs to work with your preferred option.  Some coats allow easy access to a collar with an additional harness slot (you’ll need to check the positioning, as each harness brand tends to have attachment points at different points).  Some coats have no access for harnesses at all, but you may be able to put the harness on over the top of the coat, if you’re OK with how this looks, and your dachshund seems OK with how this feels.  This is obviously going to be easiest with fleece layers.  And some dachshund-friendly brands like Wondercoat Dog make harness-style coats with an integral D-ring, which solves the problem entirely. 

Here at Barkmatic, we offer a harness point option for many of our structured and lined top of the range coats, and we’ll charge an extra fee for the detailed work involved.  We add a weatherproof slot centred on the position that best works with your dachshund’s harness.  You just need to make a simple measurement, and give it to us along with the other body measurements such as back length and chest size.

What coat or coats to buy: climate, climate, climate

Now that I’ve lived with dachshunds in cold, rainy London, and much warmer and drier southern Europe, I realise that the climate where you live is the most important factor determining what your dachshund needs in the way of coats.

Regardless of your home climate, at a minimum we suggest a lightweight, well-fitting raincoat  will always be a useful basic for your dachshund.  Get something lightweight that can fit in your bag or pocket, and you’ll be ready for rain at any time and throughout the year.

When temperatures, day or night, are routinely under 20C, an insulated + waterproof coat, or a lighter raincoat and a couple of fleeces, will give you flexibility.  Fleeces can also be worn in the house when temperatures drop.  One of our dachshunds shivers when she gets cold, so we put her in a fleece while inside during the colder months when the heating is not on during the day. 

If your local temperatures routinely fall under 10C or below zero, your dachshund will need a high-performance insulated + waterproof coat that fits well, to keep her dry and as warm as possible. She may also benefit from plastic booties in sub-zero temperatures, to keep her feet dry and avoid water in the hairs between her toes freezing up. 

A dachshund that lives an outdoor lifestyle, whether that’s rural or urban, is going to need coats that can be easily cleaned by wiping or rinsing off, without too many attachments and fashion features - a faux fur collar or hood for example - that won’t wear well and will detract from the look of the coat. We would always buy a coat that will dry quickly so you can use it a couple of times a day in wet weather. This will mean buying a high-performance technical fabric (usually polyester or nylon, with a coating), but what they don’t have in terms of renewability they make up for in durability.  

 

We suggest you get the best quality dog coats you can afford, and be sure that it will fit your dachshund properly so she is comfortable and secure, and able to move easily and with confidence.  Barkmatic dachshund coats are made from high-quality, high-performance technical fabrics, and tested on our own two dachshunds.  A good quality dog coat should last you several years.  We love seeing our customers on social media still wearing our coats after several years.  We’re not in the business of fast fashion and disposable kit for dogs, we make coats well and make them to fit, so you can enjoy spending time outdoors with your dog.  

Our top tips for dachshund coats

Arctic  - waterproof + insulated coat with underneath coverage

Winterwarmer - hand-quilted waterproof + insulated coat with wool/maize renewable filler

Rainbuster - lightweight raincoat with underneath coverage, available in 9 colours

Stretchy - four-way stretch high neck fleece base layer without sleeves.



The full range of Barkmatic coats and accessories for dachshunds is available at barkmatic.com