The dachshund can have one of three different coats: smooth (or shorthair), longhair, and wirehair. Though the first known reference to a wirehaired dachshund doesn't appear until 1797 (making it the most recent of coat types), it is possible that the smooth and longhaired coats could have been present from the outset of the badger dog in the 1500s. (Remember that the turnspit dogs had both coats.)

It is quite possible, too, that longhaired spaniels or other gun-dog types were crossed into the badger dog for heightened hunting instincts or skills, and the longer coat type was introduced at a slightly later date as part of these breeding practices. Regardless of the exact century in which it first appeared, the longhaired coat had reportedly gained considerable favor by the 1800s and has held onto that popularity even today.

The wirehaired dachshund has a soft undercoat, covered by a wiry, rough outercoat. As noted previously, this coat type may have been present in the 1700s; however, today's wirehaired dachshunds are thought to have descended from crosses between smooth-coated dachshunds and German wirehaired pinschers (and possibly rough-coated terriers) sometime in the late 1800s.

Dachshunds come in three different coat types: wirehair, longhair, and smooth.

Though the wirehaired dachshund has the classic, hard coat that would seem to make it a favored choice among hunters, any dog with a wire coat was apparently stigmatized as a workingman's dog, at least in Victorian England. Artist John Sargent Noble, who was known for his portrayal of “a story within a painting,” captured this social statement in his Pug and Dachshund (1875).

In the painting, a wirehaired dachshund stands on a staircase looking up at a pug, the breed commonly associated with royalty and wealth at the time. The dachshund is restrained by a leash (whereas the pug is free), and the dachshund stands subserviently with a tin cup tied to its neck, implying that it is begging.

In this particular painting, the wirehaired dachshund seems to be treated with reproach by the pug. It's interesting to note, however, that in pet portraits, which became quite popular among the wealthy during the Victorian era, the dachshunds are smooth or longhaired.