<P> German Shepherds have a two - layer coat which is close and dense with a thick undercoat . The coat is accepted in two variants ; medium and long . The long - hair gene is recessive , making the long - hair variety rarer . Treatment of the long - hair variation differs across standards ; they are accepted but not competed with standard coated dogs under the German and UK Kennel Clubs while they can compete with standard coated dogs but are considered a fault in the American Kennel Club . The FCI accepted the long - haired type in 2010 , listing it as the variety b -- while short - haired type is listed as the variety a . </P>
where do long haired german shepherds come from
The long - hair gene is recessive