"Both the Uk Kennel club and the WUSV share the identification of Long coats and short coats as two different varieties within the same breed,differentiated solely on the basis of coat.Both regard the 2 varieties as equal in esteem and given the same opportunities to attain the same awards in the breed ring and in the status of their respective progeny.BUT the difference lies in this:
The WUSV does not allow interbreeding between the 2 varieties and a separate register is kept for each variety
The KC allows interbreeding of long coat to short coat.Registration does not depend on variety of coat(which is not recorded for breeding or showing purposes)
As a consequence both Long coats and short coats may compete together in the same class for the same awards.But occasionally a Special class for Long coats only may be put on the schedule in which long coats compete against long coats only.The owner decides whether the dog is a long coat or not( there is no indication on the registration certificate) So there COULD be cases where a judge might say the dog was NOT a long coat,(so called borderline coats!) and presumably therefore not eligible for the class! I have not yet heard of any such situation arising but it's conceivable! Who decides?
In these days when the wheel has turned full circle and L/C are harder to sell than S/cc's this reply also is worth sharing .... "And it seems we in the UK are likely to end up with more ' borderline ' cases, simply because of mixing the 2 varieties. It's been long-term practice in the 'pet' breeding arena, where they've increased production of coats above the breed normal ratio, because fluffy pups sell!"
It may seem easy to follow the WUSZ route and separate the varieties, but to quote George, "I have a question, a big f*cking question" ... in that scenario ... what happens to the L/C born from S/c parents?
