Most people are not familiar with the long coated German Shepherd. This is basically because the AKC does not consider it a registered standard German Shepherd. The breed standard German Shepherd is short haired with an obvious undercoat. However, the long coated German Shepherd is an absolutely beautiful dog to the eye and the general public has fallen in love with this dog. They make wonderful working dogs, are very gentle with assistance work, are great with police work and make the best pets.
With these types of features an owner doesn't need to be included in the American Kennel Club registry because they feel they already have the best and most beautiful dog on earth. The long coated German Shepherd seems to be sweeter and more comical than the short haired German Shepherd. The shorthaired German Shepherd is by far more dominant and only about ten percent of all German Shepherd pups are the long coated variety.
The difference between the regular coat and the long coated German Shepherd's coat is simply the longer hair. The long coated German Shepherd's hair is very soft and parts along the back. There usually is no undercoat or it will be only found in the loin region. The long coated German Shepherd is not weatherproofed and, therefore, considered undesirable by the breed standards. They have bushy tufts behind their ears and big fluffy pantaloons and a huge bushy round tail.
There are also fringes of hair along the back of the legs and long hair between the toes. The puppies can be identified as a long coated German Shepherd if it has ear tufts or fringe. Some people have said that the long coated German Shepherd sheds more than the short haired German Shepherd. This is a fallacy and actually statistics show the short haired German Shepherd sheds more then the long coated German Shepherd. Only dogs with a skin disease, and not long hair, will have an odor, a characteristic uncommon in long coated German Shepherds.
Puppies can be identified as a long coated German Shepherd if it has ear fringe or tufts. Long coated German Shepherds also do not have undercoats, therefore, they are not waterproof and make them undesirable for breed standards. Long coated German Shepherds also do not shed more then it's shorthaired counterpart, nor does it have a distinctive odor. These are two rumors that have passed through the German Shepherd family and both should be considered false.
The long coated German Shepherd makes a very good family dog. It has a sweet temperament, is intelligent and works very hard when asked to. This dog does great police work and is gentle with assistance work and are very much a working dog. They love affection and strive to please their owners. These dogs are also very comical in the way that only dogs can be comical.
They are smart and work with assisted living patients. They are great police dogs and they are very good working dogs. All of these references add up to a total package of a good, smart, well-rounded and extremely capable dog.
So when visiting your next German Shepherd puppy litter, look for the puppies that have hair tufts in their ears and fringes on their legs and that's the dog for you.