Determining a longcoated pup - Page 1

At what age can you usually tell if a pup is going to have long hair?

The long coat can be easily determined at six (6) weeks of age. As to what type of long coat, i.e. long coat (with undercoat) or true longcoat (no undercoat) usually takes a few months. Of course the coats in the standard are the short stock coat, the stock coat, and the long stock coat. Although the last one can push the limits as to what is allowed, it is a beautiful coat for a GSD. Bob-O

VBK9 -- hope you are fond of long coats -- although in germany they are not prone to be breed , at least i heard a rumor ?? on this site ?? they might br allowed to be bred again , anyone care to comment on that for me ?? -- i have had long coats / true lonf coats -- they were stunning deep black/red great structure -- one was grandson to Odin Tanenmiese-- the behavioral attributes as well of this dog were outstanding , very level headed/ almost mold mannered .. but what a prize of a bite and work motivation - never ever saw a dog do anything but show deference to him -- he just walked and the others in the 120 dog pack just gave way .. he had the look of the tiger but never so much as raised an eyebrow -- same with work --looked like he was vwery submissive but had mod-high hardness and mod - high aggression for protedction work -- the a few different genramns when visiting me had just loved this dog --it was as if they didn't the structure / the deep black sliky coat and the strong bone with great head form- his name was Kato ... in honor of Bruce Lee.-- i ahve seen several Vzech imports for law enforcement , the dogs lonfg coat .. l;oooked good ..again hard , full of pizzaz dogs -- So they can be one heck of a GSD !!

Coats change. Often pups that looked coated ultimately are stock coats. Long hair doesn't necessarily mean long coat dog. Look at the face and for tell-tale whisps of fur. If the face looks like wolf boy. It's a coat. Pay attention to the hair on the bridge of the nose. If the hair is a long continuous piece, suspect it's a coat. Look behind the ear and legs. If it has one trait. It's a coat.

Dog1 has a good observation about the appearance of the face and the backs of the ears. The long coat will show in these areas first. And yes, a coat can change by the time a puppy is three (3) to six (6) months old. Sometimes you feel that you have a short coat when the puppy matures to have a nice show coat or even a plush coat. About the long coat issue, in my opinion the long coat should be allowed for conformation provided there is an undercoat. I know that many of our dogs don't really need this undercoat so much these days, but it is still defined in the breed standard and therefore should stay. I have not yet heard this rumour, but I will now listen. Alphapup, I read the description of your coated boy. It reminds me of a long coat male puppy that I sold last year. I remember well massive was his bone structure compared to his brothers. While I doubt that skeleton mass can be genetically linked to this type of coat, but that is a strange coincidence. He is nowadays a handsome boy and his owners absolutely love him. Bob-O

During the recent stay of the SV judge, who was here to judge our trial, conformation show and breed survey, I had an opportunity to discuss many issues with him. We talked a lot about the lack of working ability and he is quite irritated with this problem, but because of all the politics, is not sure how it will be addressed. Another one of the issues I asked about was whether there really was a discussion within the SV about allowing the long coat GSDs back in a registry. He said that indeed this discussion is taking place and it probably would happen within the next two or so years, but that it was most likely that the long coats would be entered in a separate registry. I guess we will have to wait some time to see what, if anything, comes of this proposal. But indeed, it is true that there is discussion about it at the highest levels of the SV.

I think longcoats are beautiful dogs, just have never had one in a litter. I have a 4 week old male now who just seems "fluffier" than the rest of them. No tufts around ears or anything, I could just be imagining it, he is also the darkest sable with the biggest head so that could be attributing to it as well... Time will tell I guess ;)

I have had long coats in most of my litters. I have gotten to the point where I can recognize them from the first few days after birth. The hair is shinier at birth and lays much slicker. In addition it seems like their heads have somewhat of a shark head shape. I have yet to be wrong on these signs. I have several photos from birth that I can share with anyone interested in comparing.

I have found that with several of the pups from my breeding even the judges are unable to give an opinion on some borderline cases. But I find from my own experience that at the time of whelping, a real coat will have a distintly different texture in the coat. It will be very thick and Wavy and will be VERY different than the other pups. These appear to be the obvious. I don't believe that anyone breeding the GSD can honestly say that they have not been fooled one way or the other.