I get many emails from people asking questions about Long Coat German Shepherds.  Hopefully after reading this article you will have a better understanding.  I personally break the breed up into three coat varieties.

* Short/Show Coat
* Long Coat with Undercoat
* Long Coat without Undercoat

Per the AKC Breed Standard, the ideal German Shepherd 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. 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.  That is what is considered in the breed as a "Short" or proper "Show" coat.  All of our breeding dogs pictured on the "Our Dogs" page has this type of correct coat.

 Per the AKC standard, faults in coat include soft, silky, too long outer coat, woolly, curly, and open coat. 

The long coated German Shepherd Dog's individual outer hairs are quite long and do not lay close to the body. The coat is considerably longer inside and behind the ears, on the back of the forearm and usually in the loin area.  It is normally very soft.  The tail is very bushy. This coat type is not easily manageable for a working/herding dog and is therefore undesirable.  This type of coat does have an undercoat, so they withstand elements while outdoors perfectly fine.  I have friends with long coats (with undercaots) both in cold and very hot climates and their dogs do great.

The long coated German Shepherd without undercoat has a coat similar to regular long coats, however it normally softer and parts down the back. The undercoat will not be present at all.  A long coat without undercoat greatly diminishes weatherproofing and utility and therefore is and has always been a disqualification in the breed.  In all of my years of breeding, I have never produced a puppy with no undercoat.

I am often asked the question how is it that I produce Long Coats when our breeding dogs are not long coated and I do not specifically breed for that trait.  In German Shepherds the "Long Coat" gene is a double recessive meaning that both parents must carry the gene, but they don't have to be long coats themselves.  The gene has always been in the breed and the majority of dogs from our lines carry it.  On average we have 0-2 long coated puppies every litter.  We have gotten very good at telling who will have a long or normal coats by 3 weeks of age.  Since the long coat gene is a breed fault, we place all of our long coated puppies as companions on AKC Limited Registration.  They can do everything their short coated siblings can do other than show/breed.

Popular Long Coat Questions:

• Q:  Do Long Coats Shed More than Short Coats?
  A:  Not necessarily.  Shedding has four main factors - Genetics, Diet, Health, and the time of year.  The length of hair that is shed out daily will be longer, but the amount will not be more.

• Q:  Can long coats be comfortable in hot climates such as Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Nevada?
  A:  I have owned long coats myself in Arizona and have many placed in hot and humid southern states.  I personally have found, and have been told by my puppy owners, that the heat does not affect them any differently than short coated dogs.

• Q:  How much more grooming do long coats require?
  A:  Long coats will require a bit more brushing behind their ears, under their elbows, behind their legs and on their tail.  But we are talking only a few minutes extra a week. Nothing that is majorly intensive or that will require professional care if  maintained.

Pictured on this page are all photos of Kaykohl Land Long Coats with Undercoat.

(not to be republished without prior written consent)