I have owned Collies, glGolden Retrievers and a Newfoundland All as pets.  I am now keen to own, as a pet, a  large long coated shepherd and this seems to be the Shiloh Shepherd. Are there any breeders in the UK or will I need to import from Holland?
Any advice gratefully received.
Thank you

These dogs are not a breed but crossbreeds, originally bred in the US by Tina Barber, from a mix of oversized long coated GSDs, Malamutes, "white" shepherds & some "breed known as Texas Woolies"(from a Yugoslavia n shepherding breed known as Sarplaninac)they were produced. The actual breeds involved in production of these dogs seems to vary depending on which kennel or club you research !!

They seem to have no real purpose or function other than aesthetically attractive to people who like big hairy breeds.

You should bear in mind all cross bred long coated dogs may carry the recessive gene(s) for medium or short coats so your desired long coat may turn out differently to what you actually want.

Like all giant types of dogs HD, ED & other skeletal conditions exist no matter what theories & alleged breeding away from May suggest. Large dogs bred for size need careful rearing & only dogs from proven condition improving lines should be bred from.

I would also require parental DNA proof that the dog I was buying was the offspring of the alleged parents.

No breeders here in the UK I believe so you would need to import a puppy from abroad & hope that the breeder would socialise & exercise the puppy from 8 weeks to 15 weeks in order for you to end up with a well adjusted & healthy dog.

I don't find these very varying in appearance &  type designer dogs appealing especially when there are already so many established breeds in existence, breeds that have been developed over 100s of generations to fix type & character

I'd suggest a good alternative would be the Leonberger.

For a giant breed they have an enviable Hip status, as the early importers and breeders have been vigilant.
https://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/Canine_Health_Schemes/hip-dysplasia-breed-specific-statistics-jul-15.pdf

Elbows too, 91.6% of the over 1000 scored have perfect 0 scores https://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/Canine_Health_Schemes/elbow-dysplasia-breed-specific-statistics-jul-15.pdf

Anal Furunculosis is known in the breed as it is in the GSD.

nks for that very informative response. I am a very responsible dog owner and would not like to trust anyone to socialise a puppy that will grow into a large dog, it’s too important.
I will go back to my original plan of a UK GSD.

Thanks  for that very informative response. I am a very responsible dog owner and would not like to trust anyone to socialise a puppy that will grow into a large dog, it’s too important.
I will go back to my original plan of a UK GSD.

http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/reviews/shilohshepherds.html

For information.

Also - https://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/learning-about-the-shiloh-shepherd-dog.html?fb_comment_id=916414515113770_920885131333375#f9ee3907da80f2

I also found this, below - an old thread about the Shiloh Shep.
https://forum.champdogs.co.uk/topic_show.pl?tid=33763

If you get a GSD puppy please ensure that he/she comes from 100% health tested parents & pedigree. Hip scoring has been in existence for over 30 years so there is no excuse for a single dog in a dogs pedigree for 30 years not to be at least hip scored. I would expect elbow scoring for all dogs in a 5 generation pedigree & DNA testing for the last 10 years, this includes AF, DM etc. Please don't buy an unregistered puppy as these rarely come from health tested parents

Are you able to recommend a breeder . I am not in a rush as getting the right dog is important. I do love long coated dogs so that is my only stipulation. This will be a pet and I have intention of breeding.thanks

Sorry no I don't know any breeder who breeds specifically for length of coat, only for health & working ability. They breed correctly sized dogs rather than as big as possible.

Lots of nice long coated GSD around in the UK. There is a good FB group Long coated German Shepherds and a society - just be wary of all the usual health checks etc

Thanks can you recommend a breeder

Sadly very few non standard shepherd breeders do full health testing.

>Sadly very few non standard shepherd breeders do full health testing.

Longcoat is now accepted in the standard.

That is correct however the acceptable long coated dogs do have to have a correct DOUBLE coat(i.e. with an undercoat)generations of breeding LC to LC has resulted in dogs without an undercoat tending them unsuitable as working dogs, hence extra care is required when looking for a deliberately bred LC GSD puppy. Also very LC GSD puppies that look like "Shiloh"dogs rarely occur in litters from short coated dogs.
Most LC to LC breeders pay scant regard to correct size & type & sadly do little health testing other than hip scoring.
If you are looking for an English Alsatian type LC I wish you look finding a puppy from fully health tested breeding, it is my experience that this"type"of dog comes from breeders who wrongly believe the HD, ED etc only occur in German bloodlines. They are only now hip scoring & even then breed from dogs with unacceptable high scores. Get yourself a MYKC account so you can check the scores(if any)in the pedigrees

And also check the COI on KC mate select . Quite revealing sometimes

> generations of breeding LC to LC has resulted in dogs without an undercoat

That is very interesting.  I had a training client recently with a LC, and he commented that the dog hardly moults at all - this would explain why.

"I am now keen to own, as a pet, a  large long coated shepherd and this seems to be the Shiloh Shepherd".

Their outline (profile) looks good but what are their Temperaments like ....?  looking at them I would have thought they would have been rather popular by now.

I believe the German Shepherd excelled in popularity mainly due to their superb Temperament (most would take a bullet for you).

Tip-toing in ..... I think the Shiloh's comparative lack of popularity could be that 'longcoats' in the GSD were rather frowned on plus are the Shiloh bigger, which may not have been popular.   Also while there are GSDs with longer coats, to satisfy those wanting that, maybe the Shiloh wasn't considered as a viable option?   Is their temperament 'softer' making them less attractive to those wanting a guard dog?

Wish I could say the same for mine lol however he is a double coated LC . I just have carpets to match his colour :)