About the Smooth Coat Carrier
~the traditional shorthair Weimaraner Longhair Carrie (LHC)
The females pictured at the top of this page are traditional gray ghost Weimaraners. They look like any other Weimaraner. However, they carry the (recessive) DNA marker for the Longhair. The only time this will become relevant is when the breeder selects another carrier or a longhair as their mate of choice.
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When a Longhair carrier is mated to a longhair (or a longhair carrier), some of the pups in the litter will be longhairs. At birth, it is very difficult to distinguish the longhairs from the smooth-coats with 100% accuracy. In America, this becomes an issue because the American Breed Standard calls for a docked tail on the traditional Weimaraner. However, the longhair requires the tail to be undocked. Tail docking happens early for a lot of reasons, but we will forego that discussion here.
Note: Please look at the photos to the right. The top photo was taken not too long after the birthing. Greta was out for her first potty break, and Cliff snapped a quick photo. The other photos are of two of the pups at five weeks--the traditional smooth coat, and then the longhair litter-mate. More on the DNA Coat Length Test DDC Veterinary a division of DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC) in Ohio offers DNA Coat Length Testing. Some people refer to it as the fluffy-coat factor. When two carriers are mated about 25% of the litter will be longhairs. 50% of the pups will carry the recessive longhair trait, but like their parents, they will have the smooth eye-lash length coat. The remainder will not carry the longhair DNA marker. These are averages, and the number of longhairs within the litter can vary. When the carrier is mated to a longhair, 50% of the litter should be longhairs, and the rest will be carriers. Of course, if you mate two longhairs all the pups will be longhairs.
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(Above Photo) Greta's Newborn pups--Mated to Stackhouse they produced a litter of ten pups. Six of the ten pups were longhairs. This photo was taken on the day of the whelp.
Above you see two of the ten pups (born to Greta) at five weeks. Now, by the 5th week, it is clearly evident which one is the longhair. It is amazing!
To the left, the same two pups are compared at one week, and then again, at week three. As you can see, there is little to worry about their coat changing later. By the time the pups are old enough to leave OwyheeStar, there is no doubt whatsoever. |
