# Breeding long hair to short hair?



## susanne42 (Feb 24, 2013)

I have a two year old short haired female that got accidentally bred to our one year old long haired male.
Female came in heat last year in late November and we had planned to have her spayed in February. Well, she came in heat unexpectedly end of January.
Our boy is still like a puppy and doesn't lift his leg yet. Always thought they need to lift the leg to be able to breed. Big mistake. Now we have eight very beautiful pups and advertised them to find good homes. Every potential buyer wants to know if they will be long haired but I have no clue. They all look the same.
So what will be the arts? Three males and five females. Does that matter?
How long before I can tell what kind of coat they will have?


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## Lark (Jan 27, 2014)

Can you post pictures? People here can help tell you if you have pics.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

Long coat is a recessive, so for the puppies to have it the dam would also have to carry a recessive gene for long coat. If she does, there should be some long coat puppies. If she does not, there won't be any long coat puppies even though the sire is a long coat.

It's usually pretty obvious which pups are long coats by 3-4 weeks old. They start developing extra tufts of hair on their feet and heads, and their face often has an odd hair pattern to it that looks much like a schnauzer. If you can post close up photos of the individual pups we can probably give you a good idea of who is a long coat and who isn't.


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## susanne42 (Feb 24, 2013)

Chris Wild said:


> Long coat is a recessive, so for the puppies to have it the dam would also have to carry a recessive gene for long coat. If she does, there should be some long coat puppies. If she does not, there won't be any long coat puppies even though the sire is a long coat.
> 
> It's usually pretty obvious which pups are long coats by 3-4 weeks old. They start developing extra tufts of hair on their feet and heads, and their face often has an odd hair pattern to it that looks much like a schnauzer. If you can post close up photos of the individual pups we can probably give you a good idea of who is a long coat and who isn't.



Thank you that helps a lot. 
At this point the pups are really too young to see any thing. Tomorrow they will be two weeks old. Eyes are just starting to open up.


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## susanne42 (Feb 24, 2013)

Now I'm wondering, how common is the gen for long hair in German shepherds?


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

It is very common in some lines, particularly German show lines, and less common in others. It really depends on the individual bloodlines. If the dam has any close relatives... mother, father, siblings, grandparents, etc... that were long coated then she has a higher chance of carrying it. If all close relatives are normal stock coats, then chances are less, but there's still no guarantee. Recessives can remain hidden for generations and only pop up when combined with a matching recessive.


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## susanne42 (Feb 24, 2013)

We took a picture from one of the girls. Just 2 1/2 weeks old. For me they still look all the same but this one has the most hair
How to post a picture?


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