Chihuahua (Long Coat) Dog Breed Information

The Long Coat Chihuahua is the long-haired variety of the world’s smallest recognised dog breed. In NZ, Dogs NZ registers Long Coat and Smooth Coat as separate varieties of the same breed; everything except the coat is identical between the two. If you have already read the Smooth Coat profile, assume the same temperament, the same NZKC top-20 ranking, the same 14 to 18 year lifespan, and the same fierce one-person bonding, plus a few more minutes of brushing each week.

Adults stand 15 to 23 cm at the shoulder and weigh 1.5 to 3 kg. The long coat is soft, flat or slightly wavy, with feathering on the ears, legs, tail and chest. Coat colours match the Smooth Coat range: fawn, black, chocolate, cream, blue, red, tricolour, brindle. Merle is permitted in some registries but remains controversial under the NZ standard given the documented health risks of merle-to-merle breeding.

The long coat is inherited as a recessive gene. Two Smooth Coat parents can produce Long Coat puppies if both carry the gene, and Smooth-Long pairings are permitted under the NZ standard. Most reputable NZKC breeders breed within their preferred coat variety, but mixed litters are entirely normal.

Personality and behaviour

Long Coats and Smooth Coats share the same temperament. Owners who pick the Long Coat over the Smooth Coat usually do so for the look rather than for any difference in personality.

The Chihuahua bonds harder to one person than almost any other breed in the toy group. Owners describe their Chi as velcro: shadowing them from room to room, sleeping under the duvet, sitting on the same shoulder for hours. That intensity is the breed’s defining trait, and the reason owners keep coming back to it.

Around the rest of the household, Long Coats are selective. Most accept the primary owner’s partner and immediate family, and many remain reserved or sceptical of visitors and the wider world. Around strangers, the typical adult Chi sits somewhere between cautious and outright defensive. Untrained Chis bark at the door, bark at couriers, bark at any unfamiliar dog passing the building, and a fair share will nip at hands that approach without invitation.

The behavioural surprise to new owners is the willpower. Long Coats are not pushovers because they are small. They have strong opinions about routine, food, sleeping spots and which family members count, and they will hold those opinions firmly. Owners who treat the dog like a fragile ornament and don’t apply consistent training rules end up with a 2 kg dog running the household, snapping at visitors, and unwilling to tolerate handling.

Around children, the breed is a poor match for toddlers. The small frame is fragile, an accidental fall onto a Chi is a trip to the vet, and the breed will defend itself if grabbed. With calm, school-age children who handle small dogs gently, Long Coat Chis can do well. Most NZKC-affiliated breeders avoid placing puppies in homes with children under eight.

The bark profile is loud, frequent and easily reinforced. In an Auckland CBD apartment with shared walls, council bark complaints are a real outcome for owners who don’t manage this from puppyhood. Quiet-on-cue training, ignoring nuisance barks, and rewarding calm behaviour are the practical fixes.

Care and exercise

Plan on around 30 minutes of exercise a day, split between two short walks and indoor play. The legs are short; an hour-long forced march doesn’t suit the breed. A 15-minute morning walk, a 15-minute evening walk plus zoomies in the lounge meets the daily need easily.

Grooming is moderate, sitting between the very low-grooming Smooth Coat and the high-grooming Maltese or Shih Tzu. Brush two or three times a week with a pin brush and metal comb, paying attention to the feathering behind the ears, on the chest, in the back-leg pants and around the tail plume. Mats form fastest behind the ears, where collar friction or cuddling pressure tangles the soft hair. Bath every three to four weeks. Most NZ pet Long Coats do not need professional clipping at all; a tidy-up trim of the foot pads, sanitary area and feathering every 8 to 10 weeks is plenty if you choose to use a groomer (NZ$60-90 a session). Owners who maintain the coat at home spend perhaps 15 minutes per session, twice a week.

Dental care is the largest ongoing task. Toy-breed jaws crowd teeth, retained baby teeth are common in the breed, and dental disease is the most frequent vet issue across a Chihuahua’s lifetime. Daily tooth brushing slows the build-up. Most adult Chis need annual or biennial scale-and-polish under anaesthetic from age four or five, typically NZ$500-1,000 per visit.

The dietary watch-out is portion size. A 2 kg adult eats 40 to 70 g of food a day. Treats are easy to over-give. Toy-breed kibble is sized for the small jaw and proportioned for the metabolism.

Use a Y-front harness, never a collar. Tracheal collapse is common in the breed and a single hard pull on a collar can cause damage that takes months to recover from.

Hypoglycaemia is a real puppy risk. Chi puppies under 16 weeks can crash blood sugar within hours if meals are missed; frequent small meals and never an empty stomach overnight prevent most cases.

Climate fit across New Zealand

The Long Coat is marginally warmer than the Smooth Coat, but still cold-sensitive. The long coat is single-layered and soft, not insulating in the way a Pomeranian or Schnauzer double coat insulates. Plan for outdoor coats from puppyhood.

• Auckland and Northland. The most natural fit. Mild winters mean a fitted coat is needed only on the coldest mornings. Summers are easy on the breed; the soft single coat handles heat well, especially with shade and a tile floor. Brush out shedding hair more in spring and autumn.
• Wellington. Apartment-friendly but cold-sensitive. The wind chill on a Wellington winter walk cuts through a Long Coat within five to ten minutes. A fitted insulated coat is non-negotiable for any walk below 10 degrees, and most Chis go straight back to a heated indoor floor afterwards.
• Christchurch and Canterbury. Cold winters require a proper insulated coat for outdoor walks below 8 degrees. Some owners switch to indoor toilet routines for the worst weeks of frost. Summers are comfortable; check coat and paws for grass seed after walks in long grass.
• Central Otago and Southland. The hardest fit. Long, dry, frosty winters need an insulated coat, a heated dog bed and a realistic indoor toilet plan for the coldest fortnight. Long Coat Chis adapt to cold climates indoors but do not thrive in them outdoors. Owners in Wanaka, Queenstown and Invercargill plan their winter routine around the dog, not the other way around.

Where to find a Long Coat Chihuahua in New Zealand

Three reasonable paths.

1. Registered NZKC breeders. The Dogs NZ breeders directory lists Chihuahua breeders by region, with most clustered in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch. Long Coat litters are less frequent than Smooth Coat litters and the waitlist tends to run a little longer (4 to 10 months). Expect NZ$1,500 to NZ$3,500 per puppy. A reputable breeder will show patella scores for both parents, cardiac clearance, eye certificates, and ideally bile-acid tests. Some breeders specialise in one coat variety; others breed both and produce mixed litters.
2. Chihuahua and small-breed rescue. Chihuahua Rescue NZ and similar small networks regularly take in surrendered adult Chis of both coat varieties, often from owners who underestimated the bark or the bonding. Adoption fees usually run NZ$300-600.
3. SPCA NZ. Long Coat Chis and Long Coat-cross dogs (Pomchi, Chiweenie, Chug) appear in SPCA centres regularly, especially in Auckland. Adoption includes desexing, vaccination, microchipping and parasite treatment, typically NZ$300-600.

The breed’s popularity makes it a target for unregistered backyard breeding, and the long coat does not change that risk profile. Trade Me listings without parent photos, “rare colour” merle litters from unverified pairings, and pet shop puppies all carry the same risks: poorer health screening, higher rates of dental, cardiac and hypoglycaemic problems, and considerably higher lifetime vet bills.

Council registration is required by 12 weeks under the Dog Control Act. The DIA national dog database holds the record; your local council issues the tag and the annual fee. Microchip details flow through the New Zealand Companion Animal Register.