# Coat type (Not smooth vs. long)



## unchienne (Mar 29, 2009)

What is up with a chihuahua's coat type? Some I've seen are really furry with a prominent ruff around their necks and a very fat and furred tail. Like Pablo from the "Pablo and Ramsey" vids on YouTube.

Others have very smooth and flat coats...shiny but very close to the skin. Hardly any ruff and scant hairs on ears and such.

Btw, none of this is to do with long vs. short. These are all short haired dogs I'm describing.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Yes, Brody doesn't have much hair at all. His coat is super short and tight to the skin. NO undercoat at all. The hairs on the backs of his thighs and the underside of his tail are a "little" longer, but no ruff around the neck. He doesn't shed at all. His coat is very smooth and shiny, so it is healthy, he just doesn't have much of it. 

I admire the shorts that have that thick short coat with the feathering on the tail and the thick hair around the neck!!

Brodys coat is kind of like a doberman. Just short and smooth.

Brodysmom


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## mom 2 Nacho BellGrande (Mar 8, 2009)

My smooth coat pup's coat is fluffy and soft, maybe because his mom is long hair?


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## Tanna (Jan 29, 2009)

My Paco is like Brody. no coat on his stomach and inner neck. Very short smooth shinney coat with no undercoat. He is very soft his coat feels like velvet. I gave him a bath a few days ago and he was dry in 10 minutes.


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## huskyluv (Oct 24, 2008)

I'd like to know more about this too. Our chi, Faith, is a smooth coat chi but she has a double coat. Before getting her I had no idea there was such a thing. She's very well furred and her coat is moderately thick and so very soft, she also has a very thick and well furred tail. I've yet to see another chi with a tail as thick as hers.

My mom's smooth coat chi has an extremely thin coat. It's very soft but "skin tight" and not fluffy at all, he's got what I call the "rat tail".

Lastly my mother in law has a smooth coat chi who's coat is moderately thick but the fur is not very soft, I would say it's moderately coarse, and her tail is well furred (but nothing like my Faith's tail!). Hers is not considered to have an undercoat like my girl, Faith.


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## rcj1095 (Mar 4, 2009)

I also am curious about this. I would love to see and feel the difference. I get Brody's coat but would love to learn more about the undercoat and the fluffier short coats. Bambi was like Brody. Chloe is much softer and less sleek??? That might change though since she's 3 months or is their coat their coat???


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## 3l3ctric (Apr 5, 2009)

I don't think Ollie has an undercoat, but he's definitely on the "bushy" side for a smooth coat Chi. As a puppy he didn't look any different, I don't believe, but he's always been more soft than any smooth coat that I've met. Most Chis, especially the fawn/beige/etc. ones seem to have coarser hair, but his is more like petting a rabbit. As he's gotten older, his tail has also become more feathery and he's gotten a bit of a chest ruff. I like playing with his tail  His fur is healthy shiny, but it doesn't look sleek.


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## Harley's Mom (Feb 5, 2009)

Harley has a fairly sleek coat but not like a doberman's. His fur feels thicker than what you are describing Brody's Mom. He doesn't have much hair on his belly but does have the neck ruff. He also has a swirl shaped ruff on his chest. His tail is also a bit on the fluffier side for a SC. I guess he is somewhere in the middle of the SC varieties.


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## SillySally (Jan 2, 2009)

This is what is concidered as a double short coat and double long coats are the same too. The breeder that I got Emma from this is all she breeds for and her short coats are stunning as are especially the long coats hehe.


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## huskyluv (Oct 24, 2008)

Just curious, do the double short coats shed more or less than the regular short coats? Just drawing from experience, the three regular short coated chi's and one long coated chi in our family shed far more than our one double short coated chi. Coincidence maybe or does the double coat mean less shedding? Your experiences?


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Brody doesn't shed at all. It's kind of weird. Maybe he will as he gets older. He's 6.5 months old now. You can run your hands over him all day and no hair comes off. Petting him is addictive because he's so soft and smooth and warm.


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## huskyluv (Oct 24, 2008)

Oh man, that brought up another question! Do they shed more when they're adults?! LOL

I just know that every time I have my mom's or my mother in law's chis on my lap I end up with a bunch of fur left behind. With Faith I'm lucky if I end up with any on me at all, she might leave a single hair on my clothes every now and then but I'm amazed at how little she sheds considering all my previous experience. No complaints here!


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## rcj1095 (Mar 4, 2009)

I've been pretty lucky with my chi's? My longcoat doesn't shed (I believe she is a single coat because a lot of lc chi's are much fluffier than Coco). Bambi didn't shed at all. Her hair was very close to her body, she didn't even need brushed. I'm not sure about Chloe though. She is soft like a bunny but is that cuz she's a pup? She doesn't really seem to shed yet, but that could change?


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## ahra1284 (Sep 3, 2008)

bam has brody's coat also, very short and very silky, not much hair on the ears or on the head - and a very pink belly due to having no hair on his chest and belly. he didnt shed until he was about 9 months - it seems like he sheds about once a year? but it's not like i pet him and hair comes off, i just notice hair on my bed in the morning when we get up. he shed for about a month and hasn't shed since. i guss he was losing his summer coat? i dont know.


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## SillySally (Jan 2, 2009)

Double coats indeed do shed more so but oh my how gorgeous they are in the winter with their full coats! Give me a full coated long hair anyday. I am using my dog hair sticky roller all the time but no biggie to me as the more hair on my chi's come winter the better!


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## Bethany (Mar 16, 2009)

Out of my three Chi's 2 are regualr short coated and dont have much hair. But Paco is double coated, and his fur is fairly thick.


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## huskyluv (Oct 24, 2008)

So then do the double coated chi's shed twice a year like most double coated breeds? I'm just amazed that my double coated smooth coat sheds less right now than the regulars. Maybe it will come in time.

Still, a little bit of shedding from a chi I'm sure will be nothing compared to the bi-annual fur storm our husky treats us to. 

Edit to add: This thread would be so much better with pictures for comparison. I know sometimes pics don't illustrate things as well as we see them in person but they help.

These are the best pics I could come up with to show Faith's smooth double coat. She's not overly furry but she does have more than most smooth coats I've been around. Her coat is extremely soft and you can't tell from these pics but her tail is VERY well furred and when she carries it over her back it's almost feathery...almost like a cross between a smooth and long coat tail?



















Would love to see all of yours!


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## blondebond (Mar 1, 2009)

*Coat type*



huskyluv said:


> These are the best pics I could come up with to show Faith's smooth double coat. She's not overly furry but she does have more than most smooth coats I've been around. Her coat is extremely soft and you can't tell from these pics but her tail is VERY well furred and when she carries it over her back it's almost feathery...almost like a cross between a smooth and long coat tail?
> 
> Would love to see all of yours!


That's about the length of Seti's fur too. I was confused when I first got him. I thought they were alot shorter than that. I like it though, it's so soft.


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## unchienne (Mar 29, 2009)

Boo sheds monstrous amounts of fur. He's very smooth, very soft, and has little to no hair in front of his ears, on his chest, or on his neck. But I can't pet him without a hair flurry.

Poppet was double coated, but he shed mostly from his ruff area. I'd use a cat slicker brush (the kind with the rubber tips so it doesn't scratch) to try and get most of it, but they both hate to be brushed. Poppet would sit there and take it (he was always so brave and accomodating) but Boo would shiver the entire time.


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