My Favorite Color is Blue, Blue Dachshund that is!
We got our first dachshund, Simon (left), in May of 1996. At the time, we had no idea what a “Blue Dachshund” was or how to care for him. Now we have two blues and a blue dapple. So of course my favorite color is definitely BLUE!
A blue dachshund is really a diluted black & tan that is usually paired with a condition called Alopecia (hair loss). Our blue dapple, Keno (middle), is only partially blue, so he does not have alopecia at all. Simon was born with hair, but it gradually all fell out by the time he was 2 years old. We’re not sure about Shadow (right) because we rescued him in October 2003 from Southern California Dachshund Rescue, so he was almost 6 yrs old when he came to live with us.
Keno was also rescued from Southern California Dachshund Rescue in Au
gust 2006. He was just a baby at 4 months old.
In a nutshell, the two blue dachshunds (Simon and Shadow) don’t really have a fur coat to protect them from cold or the sun. We keep lots of blankets around our house and places for them to borrough when they get cold. They rarely stay outside for more that 10-15 minutes at a time because they either get too cold or too hot, and we have lots of doggie sweaters and t-shirts for protection too.
Bathing is tricky, because you can’t use regular shampoo on the blues brothers. Regular dog shampoo adds too much oil which clogs their pores, so they develop an acne-like skin condition. I have found that an Oatmeal exfoliating shampoo with an exfoliating cloth to gently scrub the skin works the best to keep their skin free from outbreaks and looking handsome.
So there you have it. Singing the Blues is not always a sad thing! We love our blue doxies and wouldn’t have it any other way!
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This is great! Keep it up. I’m adding a link to your blog on my blog!
Hi Kathy, I also have a lovable blue/tan dachshund! His name is Pepe and he just turned 1. I had no idea that his skin problems were normal for this color. I’ve been worried for a few months now. That’s when the little bumps started showing up on his back and we noticed his hair was getting thinner and thinner. My vet wanted to do many tests on his skin and blood but of course didn’t find anything and is now trying to convince me that Pepe has skin and/or food allergies. Doing some research today led me to your page.
Do you think I should continue with the restricted food diet to see if his skin problems are connected to the food? I’m pretty sure it’s just the alopecia.
Thanks for your advice!
Michele
Hi Kathy,
Interesting about blue doxies!
I am looking for a red male mini.
Lost my friend, Calvin, recently.
It is so lonely. Had him from a pup. He was 12, almost 13.
Thank you.
Sincerely.
This is great information. I have a Blue named Brodie who will be 2 in October. He started getting a chance in pigment and using a little hair. I took him to the vet and spent $175 for them to tell me that they need to do more tests that will cost me an additional $375.00. He doesn’t itch and the are white like he is losing pigment. I always wash him in Oatmeal and feed him Oatmeal & Lamb. I was wondering if you like it is a waste of money to do these tests as he already ruled out it was infected (which I knew). Do you have any other suggestions of things to stop the change/spots? He is such a handsome boy and I hate that he is changing colors.
Thank you for your info…look forward to hearing back from you.
I guess I was really lucky, because somebody told me right away that my first doxie, Simon, was a blue and they he would loose his hair. So I never had to waste money for the vet to run tests for a condition they cannot treat or cure. It is what it is.
Your blues are two sweet! Im wondering if you know anything about “blues” in doxie mixes? We have a terrier/chihuahua mix female that just had pups. One is a blue, so much that she’s almost silver lol The father is a tanish red doxie (full). Will we expect the same with this pup? She is the biggest one and, at least for now, has the most hair. She’s absolutely gorgeous! I appreciate any information you can share.
Not really sure with a mixed breed pup, but my blue, Simon, also had all his hair when he was a pup. Eventually it all fell out. I believe this is common in blue dachshunds. They sure sound cute!