A little bit of wire

[dutchman]

Hello all, I've had two people tell me they think my new boy Tanner may have a little bit of wire in his family history. While he is primarily a longhair black and tan dapple he does have a little coarseness in his coat. The rescue coordinators and I both thought his coat was just a little rough from all the stress he's been through in the past few months. He was deposited in a night deposit box at the Denver Dumb Friends League and then spent two and a half months in foster care. The first person who told me she thought he might have a little wire in him was from Germany and the second spent a great deal of time there even acquiring a dachshund that she had for years there. Since I understand the wires are much more common in Germany and not very common in this area I won't dispute their views. His face is definitely longhair and not wire but there is that slight stiffness to his overall coat. I'll see what happens after a month or two of Avo-Derm. My question is what if any special care should I be prepared to give Tanner's coat if it stays a little rough (wire)? Frank is a long hair and so was Aggie, I grew up with smooth coats but a wire (even if it's just a little bit) is new.

Thanks ,

Tom

[Cindi]

A long is a long is a long. Even if he has some wire in his background he won't express it if he is a longhair http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif
His poor coat texture may be due to his 'poor' beginning in life and maybe with good nutrition it will change to a lovely traditional longhair texture. Only time will tell.
Good luck and best of wishes with him!!

Cindi

[Nisehart]

I agree Tom,
My long haired dapple girl has a curly and somewhat wirery coat. It is hard to explain and of course I am not computer literate enough to post a picture of her.

She has a very healthy coat. A poor coat is not the case. She has curly, wirery hair along her back, but very healthy. I too have heard from people that she has some wire in her.

Whatever the case.....she is beautiful <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm42.gif" border=0>

[wireweiners]

Cindi is right. A long/wire cross would be a wire with a really soft coat. Some longs do have a coarser curlier textured coat than others. I have a friend up north whose long girl looks like she has had a bad perm and she comes from totally long bloodlines.

Sometimes spaying or neutering will cause a long's coat to become fuzzy looking. My mom's rescue male Joey's coat is fuzzy looking and her female, Honey's coat got a little fuzzy looking after she was spayed.

If the coat is a little dry or coarse, try using a commercial coat supplement such as Lipiderm or adding a little vegetable oil to their food. You can also give them a creme rinse after their baths to condition the hair and skin. Bio-groom Super Cream is an excellent conditioner.