The Coated German Shepherd, AKA
The Long Coated German Shepherd

far as I'm concerned, and this is only my personal opinion (based on years of experience with this breed), the German Shepherd Dog only has three basic coat lengths - short, plush and long - with varying lengths of coat fullness in between the three.

Coated GSD's can easily be distinguished from the shorter or plush coated type by those long tufts of hair, often called "feathering" or "feathers", behind the ears and also on the backs of the German Shepherds legs. They also have a full, bushy tail.

The short or plush coat is what you see most often and is what is considered correct according to the breed standard. In fact, I would guess easily over 80% of the GSD population is short or plush coated. This is considered the standard, and is the basic or acceptable stock coat length.

Then there is the longer coat. Though not acceptable as far as the breed standard goes, these dogs are often referred to as "coated" German Shepherds or "long coated" German Shepherds, all referring to that longer than standard coat.

Why is this considered a fault you may ask? Here's the thinking behind the standard: that a longer coated GSD is greatly diminished in weatherproofing because of a lack of undercoat and therefore is undesirable (per the breed standard).

Have you seen one of these coated German Shepherds? Simply stunning if you ask me, and a true beauty to behold. And more grooming too, but that is another thing entirely. But I must admit, it seems my short coated GSD sheds much MORE than my two coated girls, though this may be entirely coincidental and is only based on my own personal experience.

The long hair gene in the German Shepherd Dog breed is considered a recessive gene. It is a possibility that two otherwise "normal" coated GSD's could produce long haired puppies. This is because each of these parent dogs carry the recessive "coated" gene. If either of these two parent GSD's were bred to other German Shepherds that do not carry the coated gene then both could potentially produce litters without any long coated puppies at all. In order to have long coated GSD puppies, each of the parent dogs must carry the recessive "coated" gene for coated pups to be produced.

Enjoy a small coated GSD puppy video

As far as I'm concerned there is simply no reason to avoid these coated GSD's if you don't intend to show your dog in conformation competitions. These coated GSD's can and do compete just as well as their shorter haired counterparts in obedience, search and rescue, agility or any other working disciplines - in Europe it seems that a lot of police service dogs or other working GSD's are coated dogs. The coat of the German Shepherd simply has no effect on their working ability and unless you are a breeder the whole issue of coat should not be of a real concern to you.

Concerning coat terms, I am often asked exactly what I consider a plush coat. Basically, I consider a German Shepherd with a regular length coat (maybe just a bit longer in length even) that has a fuller, thicker coat of fur to be a "plush" coat, but not a coated German Shepherd. Think of it this way, compare someone who has a regular head of hair to another person with a thick, beautiful, full mane of hair that you just can't wait to get your hands into. That is what I think of when I think of a plush coated German Shepherd.

This particular coat type is often not considered as weatherproof as the regular stock coat, however, if there is sufficient undercoat, the dog should do just as well outside as their short coated GSD counterparts. Believe me, my coated GSD's do just fine when performing outdoors in wet, cold or otherwise yucky weather - much better than me, that's for sure. And my coated girls coat does throw off snow, rain, sleet - you name it, while keeping them dry underneath.

All in all, a German Shepherd is a German Shepherd is a German Shepherd as far as I am concerned. Things like coat length or coat color, or any other outside physical attributes have nothing to do at all with the dogs's temperament, intelligence, ability to work, or it's capability of being the best pet you'll ever have. When looking for a new GSD to bring into your home, this should be the absolute last thing on your list of qualifications when making your decision.