When does a puppy get their long coats?

Hi everyone

I'm sure this question has been asked time and time again....

We were chatting last night about how Harvey will look when he gets his longer coat and feathers - which lead us to the question...

At what age (approx) does a puppy start to grow their long coat???

I had a Tri boy Cavalier through most of my childhood, who from memory and old pictures had a beautiful thick long coat but i am unable to remember at what age he got it.

:thnx:

At about 1 year he will most likely have some feathering and long ears, then at 18-24 months his full coat should be grown.

Try to brush him a little bit every day now, in order to prepare yourself and him for the care a longer coat requires.

Chester didn't have his full adult coat until he was closer to 18 months. It took a while but he has the most lovely long, long ears and leg and tail feathering. It's worth the wait.

The coats seem to be 90%nature/10%nurture. Most of when the whole coat comes in seems to be genetic. I had a nine month old have a gorgeous coat-- BUT his half sister (over 2.5 years) still doesn't have half the coat/length/feathering that he has. The have the same food, suppliments and environment- and one parent in common--- but a big difference in coat. Sex could also play a role - again genes. jmo sandy

Interesting, Sandy; that is what I suspect too. Jaspar and Leo have had optimum diets, lots of exercise, a good home (I hope! :lol... fish oils regularly, sardines once a week, some raw, premium kibble etc etc. In other words, lots of environmental 'nurture.'

But Jaspar has a very light coat still at around 3 while Leo's (same age approx) is much fuller and they are half brothers. Leo's though is still very short on his back and sides compared to the shagginess of many cavaliers whose pics are posted here, and in comparison to Lily, who is very wooly.

Neither ever had a distinct blowing of a puppy coat either -- their soft puppy coats were just gradually replaced by shinier, coarser adult hair, still very silky though. You could clearly see the adult hair coming in.

The advantage is that I have never had tumbleweeds of cavalier hair around the house and they've never really been a shedding issue. My cats cause 90% of the shed hair in my place!

:v*cuum:

We have a way to go yet then before he gets his full coat, bearing in mind he's only just coming up to 6 months!

I have to admit i am excited at the thought of Harvey having a full coat, if he looks anything like Cathy Moons Blenhiem Geordie from her avatar i will be so pleased because i think he's stunning!!!

:thnku:

Well, Joly is 4 at the end of the month, yet only recently has he grown long ear feathers.

genetics play a huge part in coat density .....cara has a good coat for 7 months but i met a puppy of 8 months at ringcraft that looked like a walking carpet ..........but the parents are both dogs with heavy coats

Sabrina is a bit over 10 months old and is starting to really get her coat. Alot of feathering and ears have really gotten long. Silky feeling. Lots of belly hair and back by her hind legs. Will post pics later, I am at work right now.

Ha! I found this topic even though it was a page back. (I really didn't want to start a new one, since I had seen this one a while ago)

My Toby is now 13 months. His breeder told me that he would not get his full coat until he was 2.

Well, a couple of mornings ago he was all snuggled up to me and I was petting him. But one of the things I do when I am petting him is that I gently get a handful of his fur and kinda pull it/stroke it. (Yes, I am talking about my Cav, this sounds rather dicey) So as I was doing this, I found that there were several well separated strands of his coat that were at least 4-6 inches longer than his base coat.

So, I guess his long coat is beginning to develop. And he really doesn't like it at all when I pull (no matter how gently) on these strands.

In a way, I'd like him to continue to look as he does right now. He is so cute and still looks like such a puppy. But if his breeder is correct, he won't change much for a few more months.