I remember the first time a litter of puppies were born that included some long coated puppies. They were adorable with their little teddy bear faces. Of course, they were a favorite to the kids. Just irresistibly cute! I have seen these beautiful dogs grow into some of the most gorgeous around. Real head turners! With my background in genetics, I delved deep into the genetics behind producing these beauties. I will include a link at the bottom for those interested in understanding the genetics.
While I love the look of the long coat, I have found them to be harder to maintain in the farm setting. Burdocks, mud, its a lot of coat to maintain! Along with seven kids to clean, it was just a little much for me. But, they are loved among German Shepherd folks. I get comments all the time that they shed less. Along with their beauty, they are a favorite among many.
After doing the research, I found that we can actually have our cake and eat it too! Having a male and a female with short or standard coats, but that carry the gene recessively, bred together will produce some long coats in the litter along with the short coats.
These standard coated dogs that carry the gene, have a typical coat. They produce some long coats, and some short coats. Our stud Emio has a standard coat. He carries the gene for these long coats. Bred with Belisha, who also carries the gene, I know there are going to be a couple long coats in the litter. We can usually tell be three weeks who the fuzzier ones are, by 6 weeks we know! The long coats have curlier puppy fuzz. After you've seen it, you just know!
Here are some links for additional information