Stock Coat
The outer coat should be as thick as possible and composed of straight, coarse hairs that lay close to the body. The coat is short at the toes, but it grows longer and more profuse on the neck. The hair grows longer on the back of the fore and rear legs as far down as the pastern and the hock joint and forms moderate trousers on the thighs. The length of the hair varies due to these differences in length; there are many intermediate types. A too short or mole-like coat is faulty.
Long Stock Coat
The individual hairs are longer, not always straight and definitely not lying close and flat to the body. The coat is considerably longer inside and behind the ears, on the back of the forearm and usually in the loin area. Often there will be tufts in the ears and feathering from elbow to pastern. The trousers along the thigh are long and thick. The tail is bushy with light feathering underneath. This coat type is not as weather proof as the stock coat and is therefore undesirable. Dogs with long stock coats are commonly narrow chested and have narrow, over stretched muzzles. Effective January 1, 1999 long stock coated dogs will not be acceptable for breeding purposes. This reflects changes implemented by the SV.
Long Coat
The hair is appreciably longer than that of the long stock coated dog and tends to form a parting along the back. If present at all, undercoating will not be weather proofing nor of utility value and therefore will not be passed for breeding.