GSD Coats - Page 1

I have 2 differnet GSD and was wondering why my males coat is very soft and slky, and female is more corse? What is the standard for GSD?

Lets see the pictures of your soft and silky dog.

Could be that one is a standard short coat and the other is a plush or long hair.

Individuals do vary in texture of coat, as well as in length of coat and amount of undercoat. Dogs kept in the house sometimes have a silkier coat due in part to having less undercoat, than those kept outside in colder weather. Individuals have genetic differences in coat, and some of many other things that can affect coat include utrition and health, stage a coat is at (shedding, etc), substances used to bathe and condition coats, and in females, hormonal stages.

The standard coat is called "Stockhaar" in Germany. The outer coat should be a bit harsh to the touch (but not wirey or curly), and longer than the inner coat, which should be ample and fairly dense, but more or less in volume, according to climate and season. If this dog has silky hair behind the ears and the inner coat is thinner along the back, then it is probably a "lush" coat, known in Germany as the "Langstockhaar". It is considered acceptable, but it is not desireable, and this is a recessive gene that is showing up a lot lately. Usually there is a bit of a frill along the back of the forelegs and full feathering on the back of the thigh. The show breeders will often use a thinning scissors to trim this down so that the dog can pass as a Kkl"1" (first selection for breeding). A lot of people claim that the lush coat is a long coat, but the real long coats actually have a part down the back and hair that falls to the sides, with little or no undercoat. The hair is soft in longcoats. In Germany for quite a few years now there are people who prefer these long or lush coated dogs and they have started their own registry for what they call the "Altdeutsches Schäferhunde", or "Old German Shepherd Dog". True, that in the old days, there were seen such dogs as varieties.. also a wire coated variety and even the rarer brindle. The Altdeutsches Schäferhund today is nothing more than a home for fluffy German Shepherd Dogs! But they can be appealing and many people prefer them! I just don't want their breeding lines mixed in with mine, because it tends to interfere with your success and quality.

Dear DDR-DSH I once had a "lush" coat myself. Who wouldn't stay sober for a minute! He was very beautiful though, because he had a gorgeous "plush" coat! :)

Standard coats can be silky too. I have a standard-coated female, not a long coat by any stretch of the imagination, or even a plush, whose coat is soft to the touch. My male has a bit longer (but still regular stock) coat that is very harsh. Both go out or come in on the same schedule, eat the same food, get the same brushing. Just depends on the dog.

All of my dogs coats are different leangths and textures. Thay all have the never stop shedding undercoat and nobody is a long coat either. I agree with MJ It depends on the dog.

New to this how do I post a picture?

Willy, I have looked into this subject quite a bit and have come to the conclusion that, there is no standard, it simply is a matter of opinion.