# Long Hair Gene in Labs?



## Sharon R. (Dec 28, 2005)

I was browsing Craigslist today looking at all the pet ads. There was an ad for a chocolate lab and they posted a couple of bad pictures. I could see that there was a bit of feathering on the dog, and thought it looked a little like a Flatcoat. The ad specified that the dog was "full blooded" but without papers. So I contacted the guy to ask. He emailed me back saying that no, he was sure that it was full blooded (his term) and that his vet had said that the dog had the very rare long hair gene. Two of the pups in the litter had long hair, and the rest had short coats.

Now, I know that Labs can be mismarked and come out in some different colors due to recessive genes, but I've never heard of the long haired gene. But since this guy's vet told him about it, I figured there was no use arguing. BTW, he said that he was getting rid of him because his other dog got hit by a car and lost a leg and couldn't keep up with this guy anymore.


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## Steve Shaver (Jan 9, 2003)

Had a yellow once with long hair. Papers and all but I just figured there was a golden in the wood pile some where.


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## gsc (Oct 4, 2007)

There is a gene that will produce a longer coat, and yes they are pure bred labs. Not really desirable, but they do exist. I will see if I can remember a reference.


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## ErinsEdge (Feb 14, 2003)

*I think I received an email about this for Labradors
*



*Coat Length*


While it is not a color trait, the length of a dog's coat is of interest to many. It has recently been demonstrated that in many breeds, the gene FGF5 is responsible for whether a dog has a long coat (rough or fluffy), or a short (smooth) coat. The test Vetgen offers detects the presence or absence of the recessive allele that results in long coats when present in two copies, and as such allows dogs with short coats that carry a hidden "long coat" allele to be detected.


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## Cedarswamp (Apr 29, 2008)

One of the DNA labs tests for it in Labradors. Don't remember which one, just stuck with me b/c I thought it was an odd thing to test for.


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## Grasshopper (Sep 26, 2007)

I learn something new every day . . .

apparently you can actually test for the gene:http://www.vetdnacenter.com/canine-long-hair-test.html


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## Montview (Dec 20, 2007)

Yep, they definitely exist (though they're uncommon)...there are a couple of well-known show dogs that have reportedly produced the "fluffy" gene in labradors. One of the get, in fact, was being shown (though I don't think it actually won anything). I remember it being a medium yellow color. I've only seen pictures. 

Interesting...and thankfully, doesn't seem to be linked to any health issues with these dogs. I'll bet most think they are a golden (yellow) or lab/golden cross (black) when they first see them. I would imagine I probably would, just because the long hair covers up most of the labrador structure.


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## Billie (Sep 19, 2004)

Montview
Was it Guidelines Mastercard who produced those coats? If I remember right, I remember seeing a lot of dogs in the LQ who were really heavy long coated . They had a lot of feather on the tails- not proper coat really.
I could have the sire wrong ,but somehow that guy rings a bell with my memory....


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## Aussie (Jan 4, 2003)

Montview said:


> ..and thankfully, doesn't seem to be linked to any health issues with these dogs.


Rough coat, praise the stars LOL, is not related to negative health issues. Autosomal recessive. One of the top bitches in Australia has a nick name, Sheep. She looks cute, in a different.......sort of way.


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## Ironman (Jan 1, 2008)

Here's one. 
Said to be DNA verified 100% Lab.


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## DRAKEHAVEN (Jan 14, 2005)

Have seen 3 lifetime from diffrent pedigrees.


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## Lisa Van Loo (Jan 7, 2003)

The Lab has its roots in a long-coated dog, the St. John's dog. Same with Chessies. We get longcoats, too, although ours also have an extra cross to IWS around the turn of the 20th century, plus no doubt a cross to Airedales. Lots of opportunity to get longcoat genes into the breed!

There was a documented cross of Chessie into the Labrador breed in England. Also an undocumented but highly gossipped about cross of Working Collie (Border or Welsh, no idea which) into Labs in England to increase speed. So the longcoat gene is there. Have seen a photo of a Lab in England with a coat like a Chessie, extremely wavy. 

Lisa


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## firehouselabs (Jan 23, 2008)

Flatcoated retrievers were used in Labrador crosses early on also.


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## lennie (Jan 15, 2003)

My CLM has a very wavy coat, seems to get more wavy as he gets older. He is not as long haired as the yellow in the picture above, but most people who see him, think he is a chessie by his coat. He has a lot of feathering on his legs and tail, and the top of his butt has actual curls.........! 

A couple of his pups have really wavy toplines but none are as long haired or curly like their dad. 

I don't have a recent picture to post of him right now but maybe I can post one later.


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## Sharon R. (Dec 28, 2005)

Thanks for the responses. I had no idea about the long haired gene. I do see Labs on occasion with a little longer coat and especially with waves on the back -- mostly showline types. Certainly have never seen one like the yellow shown. The Lab in the ad is a chocolate, and from the pics, I can see that he has feathering, but can't see how long the coat is overall, as one pic is a head shot and the other is the dog lying down. For the life of me, I can't see why people won't post decent pics when they are trying to rehome a dog.


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## Steve Shaver (Jan 9, 2003)

Ironman said:


> Here's one.
> Said to be DNA verified 100% Lab.


 




Looks just like the one I had, just a little bigger.


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