All About Long-Coated
German Shepherd Dogs

Many fanciers of white German Shepherd Dogs are also fanciers of the long-coated German Shepherd. Perhaps because we are already rebelling against the AKC standard for the German Shepherd Dog by embracing our wonderful white-coated dogs, we feel it is okay to embrace the long coat. After all, both coat color and length are cosmetic differences that usually have little effect on the true working ability and structure of the dog.

While there are people who embrace the long coated GSD, there are also white fanciers who are as quick to reject them. They simply prefer the sleeker look of the standard length coat. Since the long-coat is considered a fault in the AKC GSD standard, there are many misconceptions about it in both the colored and white GSD world.

First, it is important to understand that there are many different variations in coats in the German Shepherd Dog. To say that there are only long coats and short coats is much like saying there are only white and colored dogs. This ignores the vast variations within these two categories. A short coat may have a very short coat, extremely close to the body. On the other end of the spectrum, he might have a plush coat, a thicker, fuller version of the short coat. A long coat might have longer hair on his legs, stomach, ears, and tail, but still have a double coat lying close to the body. On the other end of this spectrum, is the extremely bushy, very thick, very long coated dog.

These dogs, Peannete's Pyramid of Echoes "Echo" (left) and Eclipse In Case of Emergency "Siren" (right) are both long-coated dogs, although their coats look different from each other. Echo's coat lies closer to the body and has length around her ears and on the back of her front legs. Her stomach and the back of her hocks also have longer hair and her tail is very bushy. Siren's coat in this picture is thicker, but doesn't have the length of Echo's. Her tail is also less bushy. However, she has more hair around her ears than Echo.

The obvious question is how do you draw the line between a long and short coats? The answer is found in the genetics. In genetics, what you can observe about a dog is called the phenotype. The phenotype of a dog is either long coated or short coated. However, the underlying genetic structure, called the genotype, tells us more about the dog. A dog that appears short coated carries the L allele causing a normal coat (phenotype). However, his genotype can be either LL or Ll. An Ll carries the gene for the longer coat but does not express it, much like a colored GSD can carry the gene for white but not express it. Like the white coat color, the long coat gene is a simple recessive. A dog expressing the long coat will be ll.

Since we understand the basics of what causes the long coat, we can predict what will occur when we breed. A long coat bred to a long coat will produce all long coated puppies (since the offspring receive the l allele from each parent). A long coat bred to a short coat that is Ll, will produce on average 50% short coats and 50% long coats. Two short coats carrying Ll will produce on average 75% short coats and 25% long coats. Finally, of course, two LLs cannot produce a long coat. If you have a dog that you are not sure is a long coat or not, the answer is to breed him to an obvious long coat. If all the puppies are long coats, he is a long coat. If some of the puppies are short coats, he is a short coat. Regardless of the differences we observe, the truth can always be seen in the genetics.

This dog, Eclipse's Lets DoThe Timewarp "Riff Raff", is an example of a short coat. Although his phenotype is clearly short-coated, his genotype is Ll, since his sire, Eclipse's Strength of Atlas "Atlas", is long coated (ll).

A common misconception is that a dog with a plush coat is more likely to carry for long coat than a short coat that is not plush. It is possible that the same lines that produce long coats also carry for plush (since longer coats were obviously not discouraged in the breeding programs). However, a very short coated dog can carry for long coat. Another misconception is that a long coat must have very long hair - six inches or more. In reality, a genetic long coat can have a variety of lengths. Finally, there is a misconception that a male dog that has a mane (thicker hair on the neck that forms a slight ruff) must be a long coat. Actually, this is an ideal trait that more short coated dogs should have. It is a secondary sex characteristic that can distinguish males from females.

Tumbledown's Artic Pharaoh "Pharaoh" (left), is an excellent example of a plush coat. He has a very masculine mane and a thick coat. His genotype is Ll and he produced both short coated and long coated offspring. His sire is a long coat, his dam a short coat. In contrast, his son, Eclipse's Strength of Atlas "Atlas" (right) is ll. The main difference can be seen in the ears and tail.

Even when looking at one type of coat (short or long coats), there is a very wide range of coats. The variety in coat types is caused by a number of factors. First, the genetics play an important role. The genetics of a dog can impact whether he has an undercoat, how long his hair is, if it is curly, if it lays close to the body, or what parts of the body carry more hair. Beyond the obvious genetic characteristics, two long coats can look very different from each other because of other factors. First, environment plays a big factor. A dog in a colder environment and who is exposed to it more will have a different coat thickness than a dog who lives in a warmer climate. This difference is exaggerated in a long coated dog and the two dogs can look quite dissimilar. Age is another factor. Some long coated dogs don't really look like long coats until they are fully mature while other display the tell tale signs from birth. Diet can also have an impact. It's no secret a dog with a better diet will have a healthier coat. This carries over into how rich and full their long coat looks.

These two dogs, White Stone's Gon Give It ToYa "X" (top) and Whitestone's Miracle of Atlas "Mira" (bottom) are littermates. Their parents are both ll and they are both ll. However, X spends more time outside and Mira is an inside dog. At seven weeks, their coats were identical. Here, at four months old, their coats appear very different. X seems to have much more coat than Mira.

In the world of dog shows in the United States, the long coated GSD is usually considered less desirable than the short coated dog. This stems from the AKC GSD standard. This standard has influenced many of the standards we use to evaluate whites in the US including the WGSDCII, WGSDCA and UKC (both GSD and WS) standards. The AKC GSD standard says

"The ideal dog has a double coat of medium length. The outer coat should be as dense as possible, hair straight, harsh and lying close to the body. A slightly wavy outer coat, often of wiry texture, is permissible. The head, including the inner ear and foreface, and the legs and paws are covered with short hair, and the neck with longer and thicker hair. The rear of the forelegs and hind legs has somewhat longer hair extending to the pastern and hock, respectively. Faults in coat include soft, silky, too long outer coat, woolly, curly, and open coat."

The standard clearly calls for a protective outer coat as well as an undercoat. This is something that is required in order to allow the dog to withstand the elements and to perform working duties (such as herding) in inclement weather. Many people believe that a long coated dog automatically does not have an undercoat. This is incorrect; while some long coated dogs do not have undercoats, many do. In fact, the FCI standard for the GSD defines three coat types:

• Stockhaar - straight, harsh topcoat with undercoat
  
  
• Langstockhaar - topcoat long, straight, soft, not lying tightly; with undercoat present; flags (feathering) on ears and legs, bushy trousers, bushy tail with formation of flags on the underside
  
  
• Langhaar - topcoat long, soft; without undercoat, generally parting in the middle of the back; flags at ears, legs, and tail

We would consider the Stockharr to be our short coat and the Langstockharr and Langhaar to be long coats. The Langstockharr has an undercoat when the Langharr does not.

What then is there in this standard that leads to the long coat being a fault? There are two things in the standard that point to the undesirability of the longer coat. First, the statement that "The head, including the inner ear and foreface, and the legs and paws are covered with short hair". Long coated dogs usually have longer hair on the back and base of their ears, in the ears, and on their paws. This can be a difference from the idea dog described by the standard and the long coated dog. However, some long coats do not have much more hair around their ears or on their paws than a short coat.

Long coats do usually have longer hair on the back of their legs, but the standard allows this so long as the hair does not extend beyond the pastern or hock. Again, depending on the individual dog, a long coat may adhere to the standard in this regard.

Finally, the standard says that "Faults in coat include soft, silky, too long outer coat." Unfortunately, this is a very vague statement. Soft and silky are very objective words. A short coat that is on a high quality diet might have a softer, more luxurious coat than a dog on a lower quality diet. Certainly, this should not be a fault even though the coat might feel softer. The phrase "too long outer coat" is also extremely subjective - what is too long? It is spelled out that the hair on the back of the legs shouldn't extend past the pastern or hock, but what is too long for hair on other places of the dog?

Since there is such variation in the coats of long coated dogs, one would think that judges and breeders should evaluate each dog against these descriptions to see if the coat is acceptable. Unfortunately, too many judges read the standard to be a complete rejection of any dog having a longer coat and don't evaluate that coat against the specifics of the standard.

The standards we use to evaluate white GSDs do vary slightly from the AKC GSD standard. The WGSDCA and WGSDCII standards are almost identical to the AKC standard in terms of coat. However, the UKC GSD standard states

"The German Shepherd Dog is double coated. The outer coat lies close to the body and is dense and straight with harsh texture. A slight wave is acceptable in a particularly harsh coat. The undercoat is short, dense, and fine-textured. The coat on the body is of medium length but not so long as to detract from the dog's ability to withstand bad weather conditions. The coat is shorter on the head (including the inside of the ear), the legs, and the feet. The coat on the neck is longer and thicker, forming a slight ruff, particularly on some males. The hair on the back of the legs is longer and thicker, forming trousers on the hindquarters, and extending to the pasterns in front and the hock joint behind.
Serious faults: Short, mole type coat; long coat that stands away from the body; soft coat; absence of undercoat."

This does a better job than the AKC standard of calling attention to the working ability of the dog and faulting coats that prohibit the dog from working rather than those that are just cosmetically different. The UKC WS standard is also very specific. It says

"The White Shepherd has a weather-resistant double coat. The outer coat is medium length, dense, straight, harsh, and close lying. The undercoat is short, thick, and fine in texture. The body coat is never longer than 2½ inches. At the neck, the coat may be slightly longer and heavier, particularly in males. The hair on the back of the legs is slightly longer than on the front. The coat on the rump and underside of the tail is longer and thicker than the body coat. The head and ears are covered with a smooth, somewhat softer hair while the hair covering the legs and paws has a harsher texture.
Faults: Body coat longer than 2½ inches; open coat."

This standard actually spells out the correct length of hair rather than the vague "too long" verbage adopted by the AKC. Finally, it should be noted that the AWSA standard is a lone voice in accepting the long coated dog. It states in part "Both a short coat and a long coat are equally acceptable. An open coat is faulty."

Regardless of what the standard say, many long coated GSDs have earned multiple championships in the WGSDCII, WGSDCA, UKC and other clubs with similar standards. A dog with solid structure and movement is usually not penalized by their long coat except when evaluated against very similar quality dogs. This is an area where the world of white GSDs differs greatly from the colored GSD world. In the AKC ring, long coats very, very rarely win and when they do they are usually groomed or trimmed to hide their coats.

Long coated GSDs of all colors are also found herding, serving on police forces, and doing all the wonderful things all other GSDs do. In the end, coat type, like color, is mostly a cosmetic thing that comes down to personal preference. What is important to remember is that despite efforts in the US to eliminate the long coat from the gene pool of show dogs, the long coat is still very much a part of the gene pool and can show up in almost any litter. Love it or hate it, this trait is a part of our dogs and it is up to the breeder and fancier to understand the genetics behind it.

References:

Wills, Malcom B, Ph.D. The German Shepherd Dog: A Genetic History. New York, NY: Howell Book House, 1991.

Referenced Standards:

White German Shepherd Dog Club of America

White German Shepherd Dog Club International

United Kennel Club (GSD Standard)

United Kennel Club (WS Standard)

American White Shepherd Association Standard