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A long haired German Shepherd is sometimes called a “coat” or “coated German Shepherd”. 
So I thought naming our website GSDcoats.com would be appropriate since we do have a majority of plush and long coats.
German Shepherds have 2 coats, an outer and under coat. The true long hairs do not have the under coat. So their outer coat seems very silky and smooth looking because it does
not have the body of the under coat to deal with.
if a puppy blows his puppy coat (usually about 14 to 16 weeks old.) and has tufts of hair in his ears or between his toes, you can be fairly certain the dog will end up being a coated
dog. There is no correlation between a coat and a dogs working ability, although in Europe you will see a lot of police service dogs are coated dogs.
The important distinction between the correct and incorrect coats (per the German Shepherd standard) is not just hair length, but the pattern of hair growth. The incorrect
coats have the bushy tufts behind the ears, the big fluffy pantaloons and big bushy round tail, and long fringes along the backs of the legs, and longer hair between the toes.
Often, owners wonder why the coated German Shepherd is considered a fault. It has been thought that this was due to the fact that long hair German Shepherds sometimes lack the
undercoat of a normal coated GSD. The undercoat was beneficial in helping the GSD withstand the elements during sheep herding in Germany's climate. A dog that is a long stock hairdoes
have an undercoat. However, a true long coat (soft and silky like a Flat Coated Retriever) does not have an undercoat and has always been a disqualification.
Though not "correct" by the German Shepherd Standard(s), the long coated German Shepherd is a beautiful dog to behold. Because they cannot be shown in conformation
only at SV regulated shows (as well as AKC confirmation only.),They are allowed in all other activities like AKC obedience, Rally, Shutzhund, SAR, assistance work, and police work ect…...
We love them! I have personally walked our GSD coats only to empty out offices and stores of people that admire the breed and love the personality of our pups. Of course this
does not hurt them from socializing with people and later makes them so lovable and friendly. (They will still protect when they feel it is needed.)
The long coated GSD is truly the limited edition of the German Shepherd Dog.
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