# What length should a wirehaired vizslas coat be?



## poppa (Apr 24, 2019)

Hello everyone,

I am very interested in the HWV breed, and one thing I can't help noticing is how much coat variation there is.

In particular, I have seen some HWV with quite long, shaggy fur that looks almost like a terrier and seems to mask the shape of the body. However I must admit that I prefer shorter, but still bristly, HWV coats where the shape of the body and muscles are still visible. To me this looks more Vizsla-like. 

So I was wondering if anyone could help me with a couple of questions:

1. What length is the HWV coat 'supposed' to be - is a shaggy coat that obscures the body normal for the breed?

2. How is a long shaggy coat inherited - can it be passed on by two HWV's with shorter coats?

Any information would be very much appreciated,

Thanks in advance for your help!


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## Dallyo (Jan 27, 2018)

you'll find some useful information on the hwv if you go on the kennel club website and type in wirehaired vizsla breed standard. I know though that if the hair gets too long that you can get them handstripped to tidy the coat up, keep it short.


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## joav (Aug 10, 2018)

this is my boy george, he's an 8 month old WHV...

from what i gathered in my research process, hair length is rather random,
and can change quiet a bit from birth until maturity.

i met with a couple breeders before starting the process and thus got to meet a fair number of WHVs.
i can say their personality was much more uniform than their coat across the spectrum.

what i observed in george's birth at least bore that out.
his father had longer hair. his mother was medium, her father's was very long...

george's coat is very tight, but the rest of his siblings (3) were pretty bushy...

his father also happened to sire another litter around the same time.
the mother's coat was non-WH vizsla tight,
all of their offspring (8!), who i met when i visited george, were even bushier...

i thought i wanted a dog with a heavier coat, more featured, beforehand, but...
he tackles brush, streams, snow, ice with reckless abandon.
wicked smart, very gentile, has been an absolute joy to be around.

demands a lot, physically and emotionally,
but gives many times more back in return...

george's beard may always be more sidney crosby than joe thornton, but,
i'd take the kid any day...


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## poppa (Apr 24, 2019)

Dallyo said:


> you'll find some useful information on the hwv if you go on the kennel club website and type in wirehaired vizsla breed standard. I know though that if the hair gets too long that you can get them handstripped to tidy the coat up, keep it short.


Thank you, I had a look at the AKC breed standard, and they suggest that the coat is typically 1 in long, should not hide the outline of the body, and that a clipped coat is 'faulty'. This seems to suggest that the longer haired WHV don't necessarily follow the AKC breed standard (doesn't mean they're not lovely dogs though, of course).


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## poppa (Apr 24, 2019)

joav said:


> this is my boy george, he's an 8 month old WHV...
> 
> from what i gathered in my research process, hair length is rather random,
> and can change quiet a bit from birth until maturity.


Thanks for your help, this in particular is very useful to know - sounds like it's hard to predict what a puppys coat will look like upon reaching maturity.


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## somewhereplace (Aug 20, 2018)

Hi  I have a female Wirehaired Vizsla puppy. The "shaggy" coat that you see is from people that don't groom them via knife or hand stripping. If you let the coat grow and grow without any maintenance, it will become shaggy, light blonde, almost golden doodle like. 

The wire coat is unique in that it does not shed or fall out. You need to physically remove the hairs so that a new, shiner wire coat grows in its place. It's actually quite a fun way to groom a dog and it doesn't hurt them. 

There is no scientific evidence backing this but I do notice females HWVs (at least here in Canada) tend to be more hairy, while males usually have that short, bristle coat and just a beard. I think it's because when the HWV was created in the '30s, they only selected females with wirehairs for breeding.


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