It is no secret that I like longcoats.  I see no reason for them to be excluded from breeding, but is is still a breed fault and should be treated as such, just like any other construction fault such as short croup, weak ears etc and considered in proportion to how it affects the dog as a working dog. Obviously, it would be a real handicap in the show ring as it cannot be covered up by clever handling, but should still be considered as part of the whole dog, not automatically put behind the ones with correct coat irrespective of how good a dog is underneath.  I have had 2 of mine surveyed in UK (Percy Elliot) and one got Class 2 with the comment "this dog would easily be a Champion if he had a normal coat"  for Nyrvana Hotspur and the other, Greenveldt Jago in Nyrvana got Class 2 with the comment *Has sufficient qualities to be useful for breeding despite his long coat.  Were his coat normal he would have been graded Class 1"  Both came from litters where at least 5 generations of ancestors were all normal coated.

Margaret N-J.