I am wondering if there is a way to identify an open coat on a puppy?
I am not experienced with this and I am not sure if I might have one.
Thank you!

Do people mean different things when they use the phrase "open" coat? I thought open coat simply meant lacking in undercoat so the guard hairs themselves don't seem as dense. Others have used "open coat" to mean when the guard hairs are too long (which I see a lot know-a-days), even if they lay flat and really don't appear open. Bottom line...I really don't know what people mean by the phrase "open coat".

Take your puppy for a swim. If he can shake dry after coming out of the water, he has a correct coat.
Not sure with little puppies, but this is how I found out what I had in my kennel.

Puppies often are such fur balls that in reality, they almost all have open coats. I guess it might matter the age. I'm thinking in the 6-8 week range.

A twizzle at the end of the tail is a good indicator that they will have a correct, "wrapped" tail, which is usually an indicator of a correct, tight coat.

For the poster who asked about the meaning of an open coat; an open coat is one that the outer coat grows pointing out, as opposed to lying flat, and tight against the body. An example of a breed with an open coat might be a Chow, or maybe Akita. (I'm not an expert on those breeds, but that's what came to my mind) They have a thick dense coat, but it grows out. They are warm coats, but do not repel water.

To me an open coat is one that has far too much undercoat and not enough outer coat to cover it. The puppies will look fluffy.When they swim they will get waterlogged.The coats may be abundant but not have enough of the denser harder outercoat to repel the water. When I hear the expression "Dripping with coat" it means that that dog will be dripping tons of water when it gets wet,without enough of that dense harsh coat to cover the superfluous undercoat the undercoat acts like a sponge.
I sold a bitch with a correct coat to a family that later bought 2 other dogs that had open coats, the wife commented on how after swimming my girl shakes off and it takes only half a towel to get her dry enough to come in the house, she then uses the rest of that towel and 2 more each for the other dogs to get them dry.

Thanks for the replies but I am still very unclear on this since it seems everyone has a different concept of open coat.

I am really asking how to tell on a puppy, 6-12 weeks old.
I know they have puppy coat and puppy coat is different than adult coat so how do you know from a puppy coat what will the adult coat be?

I am just not sure if my puppy has a better coat than it's littermates OR an incorrect coat.

Not sure what to do, it's the pick, of course

You can't on a puppy.

I'm seeing puppies with a lot of bone end up with a somewhat open coat.

I'll take a stab at trying to describe. What comes to mind is one of my grandsons. Some people have hair that is ever so little wavy, so the hair can be combed and neat. (cowlicks don't show up.) My grandson has hair that does not lay flat, so when his short shaved hair grows - it sticks out straight and you can see into the hair growth.

With an open coat, it does sort of stick out - is less stiff, sort of soft, but does not lay down against the body. I have had pups that looked like they would have open coats and they do not. I have also had a boy that I held until he was 12 months old and his coat was still open, so he was placed.

Let me respond to the statement re the Akita coat, Chow coat....I don't have either, but have Siberians and they have a lot of dense wooly undercoat and in a correct coat the guard hair should also lay flat on top and not stand outward. If you have ever tried to bath a Siberian with a correct coat, it becomes very frustrating as with each shake they are essentially dry. Their coats repel water, ice, etc in order to keep them insulated. If you have a Sibe with an incorrect coat in which the guard hairs are too long and stand off the body too much, you get the same problem. Water logged when wet.

Question. Something I heard was that if you use your hand to rake the coat backwards and see skin, its no good? How could that work on aq puppy with a puppy coat though?
So what about a puppy with really short, thick undercoat type looking hair and NO guard hairs visible? There are no wispy, longer hairs. Just the short, dense, thick softer undercoat all over the body.

I would not give up on the pup. It could be a longer coat / regular coat / or open. Wait and see.