It is no secret that I own and love the longhaired GSD. However, is it true that, over time, when longcoat is bred to longcoat, the "type" of GSD changes (and dogs of less substance, narrower heads etc are bred)? Basically I have noticed through trawling various sites over the years that the best examples of the longhaired GSD (in my opinion of course!) are the ones that crop up in litters of standard coats rather than ones specifically bred for. Both of my current shepherds are bred from longcoated parents. My bitch is from obedience lines and my male is from WG showlines. However, Yogi's breeders regularly introduce standard coats back into their breeding to keep the correct type and substance of GSD - therefore not just breeding for the longcoat, but taking into account type, health, temperament etc. So, for those of you who are up on genetics - why is it that breeding coat to coat over a number of generations seems to lose the substance you usually see in shepherds? Is it down to a limited gene pool, and/or other factors?
Breeding any dog simply for one trait(be it colour, coat length etc etc)with no regard for the breed standard IMHO results in atypical dogs being included in the bloodlines because of the phenotype they exhibit & ignoring the genotype of the dog. This includes dogs with weak snipey(sp) muzzles & narrow heads This means that any genotype can & is carried on to future generations. It is very noticeable in the breeding of "white"GSDs that the vast majority have atypical heads when compared to the breed standard. It is a genetic fact that breeding LC to LC GSDs reduces the undercoat quality(LCs from "normal"parents do have a degree less of undercoat than their "normal"coated siblings)resulting in the undercoat almost disappearing altogether.
People who breed longcoat to longcoat are not breeding do type .... They either want obedience dogs, pretty pets or ??? Not breed standard typy dogs. They lose type because no effort is made to keep it ... IMHO
