# vets, why do they...



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I think we could use another sub-heading in this section: working with new puppy buyers/homing the puppies/after the pups go home, or something like that. 

So what do you think? German Shepherds or Shilohs? stock coat or long coat?:







So the question is, why do vets tell people that their 9-10 week old puppy looks like a Shiloh Shepherd, and that it looks like a coat? These are NOT big puppies. They are not coats. Do vets just have a need to appear knowledgeable about all the variations of every breed and their derivatives or what?

Now this is the second puppy this person got from me, so I think she trusts me when I told her the pup is not a coat, and that it is AKC registered and certainly a German Shepherd and not a Shiloh. 

But had this person not worked with me in the past, not wanting a coat, they could have just as easily brought a perfectly fine puppy back because of some thoughtless uninformed comments by a professional.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

Tina Barber was a firm believer that puppies smaller at birth and that grew very slowly but for an extended period of time would result in better hips so she selected dogs that produced smaller puppies, but oversized adult dogs.

I don't know if Tina preferred longer coats or nots, she seemed to have both, but I noticed long ago that the majority of Shilohs after her tended to be almost all long coats.

The two Shilohs I had, still registered as German Shepherds back then, were both about 6#s at 8 weeks of age, had white feet, tail tips, and chests and everybody thought they were Beagle puppies. The white completely disappeared in adulthood. The female was a massive boned, barrel chested, long haired girl that stood 25" and 95#s while the male was 29"-30", big boned, very skinny 105# dog. I don't know why he never gained weight but he could have used about 15-20#s, maybe more.


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

Was the vet trying to tell the owner that she was duped by the breeder or just making a comment about how similar the breeds look?


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Well the sire of this litter was 70 pounds on Saturday and could use maybe 10 pounds. The dam is 65 pounds soaking wet. Current shilohs have other stuff mixed in -- different breed.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Whiteshepherds said:


> Was the vet trying to tell the owner that she was duped by the breeder or just making a comment about how similar the breeds look?


I don't know. I wasn't there. The people called me and told me what the vet said, they did not want a coat. The pup is not a coat. There are so many variations of this breed that it is hard to say anything for certain, but these pups are GSL puppies that look like GSL puppies.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

Current Shilohs really don't have other stuff mixed in. It was tried but the results were rejected and those dogs were eliminated from the breeding program, that is the last time I heard. Things could have changed since back then. Now King Shepherd's are a real potpourri.


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## Hineni7 (Nov 8, 2014)

Ego.. Yup.. That's my thoughts.. Those are adorable, obviously GSD puppies.. Why one would think (and state to someone else) they are Shiloh 's... Especially when that person says they bought a GSD...??? EGO... Vets (not all) need to know everything... Glad the buyer wasn't duped or insulted..


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

There was a person that used to post on here that was sold a long coated dog when she wanted a stock coat.

Actually, I wanted stock coats for both my Shilohs, but when I got them, I noticed the female was a LC. When I talked to the breeder about it, I was told that she was a "plush", same as the previously mentioned member's dog. 

Well, my dog, as an adult, had a coat that would rival a Collie's and I have seen pictures of the other member's dog and it definitely is a coatie. 

It makes me wonder since the vets are commenting on this are they finding a lot of people being told that GSDs they bought which they were told were stock coated but actually are LC and they are alerting their customers before they get too attached?

I know when I bought my showline, I had some concerns myself with him, but he matured into a stock coat that was a little longer coated than my WLs, but not a coatie or a plush. I think WGSLs have a little fluffier coats as pups, but I could be wrong.


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## Dotbat215 (Aug 19, 2015)

There are people in life who seem to have this need to have an opinion on everything... Whether they really know or not. Maybe the vet didn't realize that the dog's coat would have such an impact on the owner. It could have been just a casual guess on the vets part.

When we acquired my dog, we asked the vet if he thought the rescue ID'd the breeds correctly. He gave his two cents and cautioned that we probably would never truly know.


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## holland (Jan 11, 2009)

I have never had a ve tell me that-also never had a coat-but on the plus side having a coat is not a medical expense so would not be upset about a coat


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## holland (Jan 11, 2009)

PS-none of those puppies look like a coat to me


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