Hello German Shepherd breeders and owners:
I would like to give you a foundational understanding of this issue. Those who see German shepherd puppies for sale might ask the question as to what is a long coat and are they subpar dogs.
First of all, there are really two types of “coats” or long-coated dogs. A plush coat is not a long-coat but a dog with a full normal coat. The longer coat is a recessive gene and therefore must be present in both the male and female to get a longer coat. And this is not always so. For example, I am not aware of a “coat” coming from VA1 XBox Dei Precision in probably over 100 litters. It is normal for about 25% of a litter to be “coats”.
The first type of long coat is a long stock hair. This type, just as does the normal coated shepherd, has both an under coat of softer hair and a denser, coarser outer coat. But its outer coat is markedly longer, especially around the ears, the flanks and tail. The second is a true long coat. This type has not undercoat and when it gets wet the hair parts and you can see skin underneath the hair.
The longer coated shepherd tends to have a bit of a straighter back. Although they are not allowed to participate in standard GSD shows, they have now been given there own standing and have shows of their own even in Germany. I haven’t seen definitive statistical analyses, but anecdotal evidence indicates that they may produce on average tighter hips. Some say they have a more easy going, almost jovial temperament. But again, this is anecdotal. For certain there is no evidence to the contrary that they can do just as well in schutzhund events as normal coated shepherds. They do tend to be a bit larger than the normal coated also. Also, it is my understanding that they do not shed any more than the normal coated shepherd.
So, in conclusion, other than preference, there is nothing that supports the conclusion that these are subpar GSDs. There is even some evidence that they might have some superior genetic qualities. So then, it is probably best to say it is a matter of preference, although I prefer the normal coated shepherd.
I hope this is helpful for all of you considering purchasing a German Shepherd puppy. If you happen to get a longer coated puppy, don’t fret. If it comes from normal coated parents, likely it will be a long stock hair and may not have appreciably longer hair. Also they still have all of the other characteristics of courage, tenacity, intelligence, obedience, trainability, protection instinct, etc, as a normal coated shepherd.
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