Dachshund grooming
Dachshund grooming in Gloucester, MA
The AKC lists three dachshund coats, smooth, longhaired and wirehaired, and each one asks something different of a groomer. All three sit on the same long back and short legs, so the way the dog is handled matters as much as what is done to the coat. Here is the groom for each coat, the stripping question, and what back-safe handling looks like.
Three coats
Smooth, longhaired and wirehaired are three grooming jobs under one breed name
The AKC describes dachshunds as moderate shedders, relatively clean, with little or no body odor, and then splits the grooming three ways. The smooth coat is somewhat wash and wear, needing little more than a wipe with a towel or a hound glove. The longhaired coat may need more frequent brushing, depending on how thick it is. The wirehaired coat can be plucked or hand-stripped several times a year to look its best.
Size splits them again. The AKC puts standards at usually 16 to 32 pounds and miniatures at 11 pounds and under, so a dachshund can fall on either side of our 25 pound line. That is why two dachshunds with the same coat can pay different prices. Whatever the coat, the AKC says every dachshund should have its nails trimmed every month, and the drop ears need keeping clean, since dogs with drop ears can get ear infections.
- Smooth: short and close, wiped with a towel or hound glove
- Longhaired: longer, softer hair that needs brushing to stay untangled
- Wirehaired: a wiry coat with a beard and eyebrows
- All three: nails every month and clean, dry ears
The groom by coat
A bath for the smooth coat, a neaten for the long coat, and a conversation for the wire coat
A smooth dachshund's groom is a bath: a warm wash, a blow-dry and a brush-out, $55 or $65 by weight, with nails at $16. There is nothing to cut. A longhaired dachshund does better with the full service, $75 or $85, where the haircut part is a neaten: the long hair on the ears, chest, legs and tail evened, the feet tidied so the dog does not slip, and a sanitary tidy, with the flowing look left in place.
The wirehaired coat is where you should talk to the groomer before booking. Between strippings, the AKC says a wire coat is easy to keep with occasional trimming of the beard and eyebrows and brushing or combing once or twice a week, and our $10 face trim covers the beard and eyebrows between full grooms. The bigger decision, stripping the coat or clipping it, is in the next section.
The wire coat
Hand stripping is the AKC's route for a wire coat; it is not on our published menu, so ask before you book
Hand stripping, or plucking, means pulling the dead outer hairs out by hand or with a stripping tool so new coat grows in, and the AKC says a wirehaired dachshund's coat can be done this way several times a year. It is slow, careful work. It is not listed on our grooming menu, so we do not promise it here. Call 978 491-5922 before you book and ask whether the studio can strip your dog's coat.
The alternative is a clipped or scissored trim inside the full service, which keeps a wirehaired dachshund neat and short with far less time on the table, and that can suit a dog whose back makes long sessions uncomfortable. Which option, and which tools, the groomer uses on your dog is confirmed at check-in. If you show your dachshund, say so at booking, because a show coat is prepared differently.
- Hand stripping: the AKC's route, several times a year; ask before booking
- Clipped or scissored trim: $75 or $85 in the full service
- Beard and eyebrows between grooms: the $10 face trim
- A dog you show: say so when you book
Back-safe handling
On the table, the back comes first: lifted with support, never left to jump down
The AKC tells dachshund owners to keep the dog from becoming overweight, to monitor its activities to avoid back injury, and never to let it run up and down stairs or jump on or off furniture. A grooming table is furniture at a height a dachshund should never leap from. A back-safe groom means the dog is lifted on and off with one hand under the chest and one under the hindquarters, so the spine stays level, and is never left loose on the table.
How your dog is lifted, stood and dried is confirmed with you at check-in, and that is the moment to share any disc history and what your vet has advised. A dog that needs two people or shorter stretches on its feet can have the $20 behavior or handling surcharge, which pays for the extra hands and time. A dachshund showing back pain, such as a hunched back or a yelp when picked up, should see the vet, not the groomer.
- 01
When you book, mention any disc history, surgery or stiffness
- 02
At check-in, tell the groomer what your vet has advised about lifting and standing
- 03
Agree how the dog will be lifted onto and off the table, with the back kept level
- 04
Ask for the $20 handling surcharge if your dog needs two people or rest breaks
- 05
At pick-up, carry your dachshund to the car rather than letting it jump in
- 06
Any new yelp, hunch or wobble after a groom: call your vet
Price and home care
$55 to $85 by coat and weight, nails every month, and the belly rinsed after the beach
A miniature and a standard up to 25 pounds pay $55 for a bath and $75 for the full service; a standard of 26 to 50 pounds pays $65 and $85. Nails are $16, a sanitary trim $10 and a face trim $10. If a long coat has knotted behind the ears or in the feathering, dematting is $15 per 20 minutes on top, estimated with you first. The groomer settles the final price at check-in, and booking your next dachshund groom before you leave saves $5.
At home, the AKC's monthly nail trim is the easiest job to let slip, and our how-to on trimming nails at home helps if your dog will let you. A dog this low carries Cape Ann home on its underside: wet sand from Wingaersheek, open to dogs on odd-numbered days from October 1 to April 30 at the time of writing, salt from winter sidewalks, and burrs from Dogtown Common in a long coat. Rinse and dry the belly and chest the same day.
| Dachshund | Smooth coat | Longhaired coat | Wirehaired coat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miniature, 11 lb and under | Bath $55 | Full service $75 | Full service $75; ask about stripping |
| Standard, up to 25 lb | Bath $55 | Full service $75 | Full service $75; ask about stripping |
| Standard, 26 to 50 lb | Bath $65 | Full service $85 | Full service $85; ask about stripping |
| Every coat, every month | Nails $16 | Nails $16 | Nails $16 |
At Dogtown
A dachshund's groom, on its own or with daycare
Book the bath or full service on its own, or add it to a small-dog daycare day once your dachshund has passed the free evaluation.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
Which dachshund coat needs the full service?
Do you hand-strip wirehaired dachshunds?
Is a grooming table safe for my dachshund's back?
How often should a dachshund's nails be trimmed?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Three coats, one careful groom.
Book a bath or full service for your dachshund's coat and weight online or in the Dogtown app, and tell us about its back when you check in.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
