# Can you tell if a puppy will have a long coat?



## sspbass

I am looking at buying the last puppy from a breeders 1st litter. The pedigree appears to be excellent and the price is reasonable. The breeder pointed me to their facebook page for pictures so I whent there to check them out. Someone commented on the picture of the only Black and Tan they have left about it possibly being a coated gsd. The breeder commented back that it might be. I'm curious how easy it is to tell whether or not the puppy will grow up to have a long coat. He's a cute little bugger but I really like the standard look and I'm not sure how willing I am to gamble on this trait.


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## onyx'girl

I say no, not a coatie , he also has quite a bit of tan for how young he is, probably will be a faded saddle.


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## GSD_Xander

I agree with Onyx, from that pic, I would say that pup is not long coat...IDK about color though...are the parents light (black/silver, etc)?


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## Andaka

From that photo I would say probably not a coat.


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## sspbass

Pictures of the parents and yes I realize I labeled them wrong.
So how do you tell whether or not they'll be coated? Just a judgement call
or is it typically pretty obvious?


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## robinhuerta

It's not a coated puppy......it's a normal stock coat.


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## onyx'girl

Coats will have an extra fluff around the ears or a bit of a curly coat at that age. Though many showlines are not coated, but thick"plush" and may look like they'll have the long stock coat. The pup you posted doesn't look fluffy or curly whatsoever. I think it will be a very light black and tan when mature...after looking at the parents.


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## sspbass

Heres another picture of him at two weeks. I'd really like to get him but the couple comments on their FB page have me worried. Nothing wrong with a coated GSD, its just not what I want if I can help it.


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## CuriousKira

I'll try and get some pics of our girl up here around that age, you could definately tell ours was a coated puppy, she was/is quite the fluff ball!


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## sspbass

I read somewhere that coated GSD's are typically darker colored when they are young. Is this true?


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## Lin

Doesn't look like a coatie at all. 

Yes, GSDs are darker when they are younger. As they mature the black recedes showing more tan until they hit maturity. Then they can either stay the same, or get a bitch stripe which is tan hairs along the topline that can extend down onto the saddle.


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## sspbass

Is it reasonable to request some sort of refund for money down if he turns out to have a long coat? From what I've read it should be apparent by 6-8 weeks.


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## Tihannah

sspbass said:


> Is it reasonable to request some sort of refund for money down if he turns out to have a long coat? From what I've read it should be apparent by 6-8 weeks.


I have two long coats (male and female), and I am 99.9% sure he is NOT a long coat. My female was the only LC in her litter and it was very distinguishable from the other pups. Much fluffier coat and tufts of long hair around the ears.

Here is my LC male at 4 weeks.


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## robinhuerta

ssbpass....the puppy pics that you have posted....are not pics of a long coated puppy....you can relax, no need to request a future refund in fear of his coat type.


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## onyx'girl

If you think you'll need some re-imbursement for whatever, best to talk with your breeder...and go over the contract together so everything is clear on both sides. Did you see the sticky http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/choosing-breeder/137533-things-look-responsible-breeder.html worth spending some time reading before you put down a deposit.


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## Rerun

No I personally wouldn't consider you being entitled to a refund at a later date, especially given that you've been made aware there's a possibility of the puppy being a LC (though it doesn't look or sound like a LC to me). 

If the breeder guaranteed the pup to be a stock coat, perhaps something could be done, but since you've been forwarned...I'd say you venture into this eyes wide open now.

That will be a very, very, light colored puppy.


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## Liesje

The coat will be obvious by 8 weeks so I don't see the problem? If the breeder requires a deposit, I would place a deposit on a normal stock coated puppy. If it turns out to be a LC, the breeder should return the deposit or roll over to a future litter. I don't think you should be required to pay up front for a long coat if that's not what you want.


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## AutismDogGirl

doesn't look coated to me. I actually jut got a coatie myself I had originally wanted a stock coat then I fell in love with my little guy


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## robinhuerta

Coaties are beautiful puppies! and become beautiful adults!
When I *retire* from the venues.....I will retire with a coatie.
My *most favorite* "coated" dog is: *Buffalo Bill von Tjaernshaget*
BEAUTIFUL and titled.
I could easily own him!
_*I don't know how to post pics or links (I'm stupid)...but you can find his pic & info_ on _the PDB.*_.....go take a look at him...and if someone who is "literate", could post his link...that would be really nice of them!! _wink, wink._


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## Cassidy's Mom

robinhuerta said:


> Coaties are beautiful puppies! and become beautiful adults!
> When I *retire* from the venues.....I will retire with a coatie.
> My *most favorite* "coated" dog is: *Buffalo Bill von Tjaernshaget*
> BEAUTIFUL and titled.
> I could easily own him!
> _*I don't know how to post pics or links (I'm stupid)...but you can find his pic & info_ on _the PDB.*_.....go take a look at him...and if someone who is "literate", could post his link...that would be really nice of them!! _wink, wink._


I love the coaties too, I have LC #2 and #3, and I'll never go back. :wub:

Here's your dog crush Robin: Buffalo Bill von Tjärnshaget - German shepherd dog

http://cdn.pedigreedatabase.com/gallerypictures/46032.jpg (the picture is over the maximum size for the board so I had to post the link instead)

STUNNING! Halo's sire has produced some solid black LCs, and they are simply beautiful. Betty of Taser fame got one recently and he couldn't be any cuter.


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## KLCecil

It's really hard to tell at that age if it will be a coatie, looking back at Jaina's 2 week and 3 week she looks like your pup. By 4 weeks it becomes quite apparent if they are a coatie but looking at the parents I highly doubt they even carry the LC gene. Their coats are very short; most GSDs that carry the LC gene will have a plusher coat or more obviously a Long coat.
Here is a great link on the Long coat gene as it is the same gene carried by Alaskan Malamutes.
malcoatcolor

2 weeks;
















3 weeks;


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## jkscandi50

Kai at 8 weeks definitely fuzzy  :








Kai at 9 mos:








resting at herding on Sunday:
http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...db141907ab5536f7aa4ac0_7585.jpg?dl=1301497016


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## robinhuerta

KL...the puppy in your pics* looks* like a coated puppy (even at 2 weeks).....many times it is not hard to tell the difference at those ages....2-4wks.
There is something about the face and head.....I will never be able to explain it.
I'm usually 95% correct..when I pick the coats from our litters. *I've only had 2 over 13yrs...that I was unsure of by 4 wks.*

I think they are stunning too!


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## Whiteshepherds

Okay Robin lets see if we can keep your record going.  Two of these are longstock, 17 days old. Can you tell which ones?


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## robinhuerta

WOW...never seen white coaties babies this young before!.....I really need a face picture to be sure.
BUT...the green colored looks like possibly one.....
Again...only guessing from "white babies" ....and from a side view.
I really wish you could post "front face" shots......
...now watch me be duped!! HAHAHAHA! I said...95% remember?!...but KL's puppy pictured...definitely looks like a coated puppy.
*Give me a face shot!! at that age!*
*I wanna say purple for the 2nd choice.....but not completely sure....so I'd rather just stay with the one I'm a little more confident in....green....


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## Rerun

I was going to say green and orange...


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## Catu

I would be more concerned by pigment than by coat. This would be the first pup I see that at such a young age has already a faded muzzle and practically no mask.


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## GSD_Xander

Rerun said:


> I was going to say green and orange...


That was my guess too 

We should have a guess the coat contest every week!


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## robinhuerta

Not all coatie puppies have "fluffy" hair...some, at the early age still have a sleeker coat. They can have a little more "neck wave" in their coats.
It's the "face" that gives them away.....not the fluffy looking coats.
MOST of my puppies have thick, fluffy baby coats, thick hair down their legs, thick fluffy tails, and longer hair on the tops of their heads.
But the coated puppies "look" different in the face, muzzle & eye areas....especially when really young.


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## Whiteshepherds

robinhuerta said:


> WOW...never seen white coaties babies this young before!.....I really need a face picture to be sure.
> BUT...the green colored looks like possibly one.....
> *I wanna say purple for the 2nd choice.....but not completely sure..../QUOTE]
> 
> :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
> Oh you're good, right on both counts!!
> 
> Here's a face shot at 22 days of the purple one. (that's our female) I never would have been able to tell this young.


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## robinhuerta

Now THATS a WHITE COATIE!!!
Yippee!!...my instinct & dignity still intact!! :hug::happyboogie:


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## onyx'girl

Catu said:


> I would be more concerned by pigment than by coat. This would be the first pup I see that at such a young age has already a faded muzzle and practically no mask.


Well, looking at the parents, it would be almost expected, white female, and the male is light as well...


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## Lin

onyx'girl said:


> Well, looking at the parents, it would be almost expected, white female, and the male is light as well...


The male is light... But as I understand it, white is a masking gene that covers anything/everything. So for all you know it could be a blanket back under that white


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## onyx'girl

regardless, the dog won't be a blanket or very dark at all at maturity


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## Whiteshepherds

sspbass said:


> He's a cute little bugger but I really like the standard look and I'm not sure how willing I am to gamble on this trait.


Not sure what trait the longer coated dogs carry that might make it seem like a risk?? (besides having a longer coat)


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## onyx'girl

I think LC's are great! But they do bring in more leaves, twigs, mud and snow than the stock coats. I wish I could have seen Kacie when she was a little fuzzball!


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## robinhuerta

Whiteshepherds.....that lil coatie pic is absolutely beautiful! What an adorable face!...I forgot to mention that earlier in my post.....I was too busy doing the yippee dance!


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## Rerun

Whiteshepherds said:


> Not sure what trait the longer coated dogs carry that might make it seem like a risk?? (besides having a longer coat)


I took that to mean that the OP really has their heart set on a stock coat, and isn't sure they want to put a deposit on this pup only to find out it's a LC when it's closer to time to come home.


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## krystyne73

onyx'girl said:


> I think LC's are great! But they do bring in more leaves, twigs, mud and snow than the stock coats. I wish I could have seen Kacie when she was a little fuzzball!


yeah, I have to trim Sasha fur on her tail and chest or it gets muddy.


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## sspbass

So when you think he's going to be light are you guys thinking as light as the sire or even lighter? Just looking for an opinion from someone with more experience than I.


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## Catu

I think even lighter. My female, who has bad pigmentation, was a lot darker than the pup at that age.


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## Samson0809

I would love an opinion on Samson's coat type, he's my first GSD so i'm new to all of the coat classifications ! He's currently 4 months


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## GSDlover143

sspbass said:


> Heres another picture of him at two weeks. I'd really like to get him but the couple comments on their FB page have me worried. Nothing wrong with a coated GSD, its just not what I want if I can help it.


Looks to be a short or plush.. but not a long coat.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## GSDlover143

Samson0809 said:


> I would love an opinion on Samson's coat type, he's my first GSD so i'm new to all of the coat classifications ! He's currently 4 months


Looks like a plush coat

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## selzer

He is sure a cute little guy! 

There's a lot of ear fuzzies there. I am not experienced enough to know how much varience there is between long coats. The only long coat that I produced was definitely a coat -- no question about it, lot of wave. My guess is this little guy will be plush, but not a coat.


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## Samson0809

Thanks for your help ! I haven't really heard much of the 'plush coat' so will look it up now


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## Cassidy's Mom

I'm going to guess longcoat.  

"Plush" isn't really a coat type, it's more of a descriptive term. Some people refer to coaties with a shorter, thicker coat as plush, others refer to dogs with a thick stock coat as plush. Halo's coat is very soft, thick, and plush feeling, but she's actually a coatie.


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## crackem

a plush coat is a long stock coat. There are 3 coats. The stock coat, a Long stock coat, long with under coat, and a true long hair (no undercoat). people just use plush because it's not as long as some long coats.


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## MyMishka

I'm looking into getting one of these sweet little pups. Any idea if one of them is long haired?


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## selzer

They don't look like it, but it is hard to tell with a picture. When Mufasa was born, the vet who performed the c-section said, "This one's a coat." What is your breeder saying?

The one of these is the one the vet said was a coat:


It is just hard to see on photos.




The other pup is not:


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## Catrinka

I’ve been reading some of the old forum threads about determining coat type in very young puppies and I’m hoping some folks are still around to take a peek at our little fellow who just turned two weeks old . Any ideas on whether he might be a long coat? The breeder says they won’t be able to tell for a few weeks yet, but there were some comments in previous years’ threads here mentioning a difference in how the head is shaped (as well as ear/toe tufts, etc)?

Our last GSD (who we lost to old age a couple of years ago) had a thick stock coat and that was sort of what we were looking for in this new pup. We put down a deposit months before this breeding which gave us pick of males. The breeder was surprised/disappointed that she ended up having only three pups in this litter, one male and two females. So there won’t be any ‘picking’ of our choice in the litter – the single little male is ours. The mother is a long coat (with thick undercoat) and the dad is a stock coat (but he apparently carries LC genetics because he’s produced occasional coated pups in past years). So there is a possibility of him being a coated puppy.

Here are a couple of pics of him at nearly 2 weeks (13 days). He’s quite big, according to the breeder. I guess because it was such a small litter? Anyway, any thoughts you all may have are much appreciated. We’re totally happy with whatever coat type he turns out having. We’re mostly just curious at this point of what he is.


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## Fodder

Catrinka said:


> I’ve been reading some of the old forum threads about determining coat type in very young puppies and I’m hoping some folks are still around to take a peek at our little fellow who just turned two weeks old . Any ideas on whether he might be a long coat? The breeder says they won’t be able to tell for a few weeks yet, but there were some comments in previous years’ threads here mentioning a difference in how the head is shaped (as well as ear/toe tufts, etc)?
> 
> Our last GSD (who we lost to old age a couple of years ago) had a thick stock coat and that was sort of what we were looking for in this new pup. We put down a deposit months before this breeding which gave us pick of males. The breeder was surprised/disappointed that she ended up having only three pups in this litter, one male and two females. So there won’t be any ‘picking’ of our choice in the litter – the single little male is ours. The mother is a long coat (with thick undercoat) and the dad is a stock coat (but he apparently carries LC genetics because he’s produced occasional coated pups in past years). So there is a possibility of him being a coated puppy.
> 
> Here are a couple of pics of him at nearly 2 weeks (13 days). He’s quite big, according to the breeder. I guess because it was such a small litter? Anyway, any thoughts you all may have are much appreciated. We’re totally happy with whatever coat type he turns out having. We’re mostly just curious at this point of what he is.
> View attachment 561819
> View attachment 561820


my guess would be a stock coat. seeing a lone puppy at this young of age makes it nearly impossible to say for sure, but sometimes they can easily be picked out of a full litter photo - based on comparison.


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## Catrinka

Fodder said:


> my guess would be a stock coat. seeing a lone puppy at this young of age makes it nearly impossible to say for sure, but sometimes they can easily be picked out of a full litter photo - based on comparison.


Thanks for responding, Fodder. The breeder sends me weekly update pics of him, so I'll see if they'll include one of all three pups together next week. The only pic I have of all of them is from when they were just a few hours old. Our puppy is, I think, the one on the far right. I assume, being newly born, they're too young at this point to tell?


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## Prince_Gq

Can somebody tell me if my puppy will have a long coat or short coat please ? He’s a father is a long coat and his mother is a short coat .. The father is the top and the second picture is the baby of course ❤ If you want a video let me .. in this picture he’s 3 weeks old right now


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## Fodder

Catrinka said:


> Thanks for responding, Fodder. The breeder sends me weekly update pics of him, so I'll see if they'll include one of all three pups together next week. The only pic I have of all of them is from when they were just a few hours old. Our puppy is, I think, the one on the far right. I assume, being newly born, they're too young at this point to tell?
> View attachment 561841


yes, too young, but all appear stock.


Prince_Gq said:


> Can somebody tell me if my puppy will have a long coat or short coat please ? He’s a father is a long coat and his mother is a short coat .. The father is the top and the second picture is the baby of course ❤ If you want a video let me .. in this picture he’s 3 weeks old right now
> View attachment 562152
> View attachment 562153


no, can’t tell... and just as it’s been explained to others, best guesses are provided when you have photos of the full litter for comparison.


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## Prince_Gq

Here’s the litter


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## Fodder

i circled the only potential long coat that i see. the puppy in yellow is too blurry but appears to be a stock coat.


Prince_Gq said:


> Here’s the litter
> View attachment 562157


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## Prince_Gq

Fodder said:


> i circled the only potential long coat that i see. the puppy in yellow is too blurry but appears to be a stock coat.
> 
> View attachment 562158


Oh okay thanks


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## Prince_Gq

Prince_Gq said:


> Can somebody tell me if my puppy will have a long coat or short coat please ? He’s a father is a long coat and his mother is a short coat .. The father is the top and the second picture is the baby of course ❤ If you want a video let me .. in this picture he’s 3 weeks old right now
> View attachment 562152
> View attachment 562153


So are long coats usually darker ?


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## Fodder

Prince_Gq said:


> So are long coats usually darker ?


no, they have longer hair


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## Prince_Gq

Fodder said:


> no, they have longer hair


So do you think there’s still a possibility ?


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## Fodder

Prince_Gq said:


> So do you think there’s still a possibility ?


your breeder should be able to answer this question... i’ve told you what i can tell from a blurry photo of a young puppy. i’ve not nothin else


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