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The White Swiss Shepherd Dog

 

The first SV registered all-White German Shepherd Dog (recorded in the stud book as White with Yellow undertone) was a female called Lotte von Burg Elz, registration number SZ 43091 and born 25th February 1913. A daughter of the Grey Sable, Horst von Boll to Munko von Boll out of a Grey Sable called 'Lotte', she was linebred 3-4 on Graf Eberhard von Hohen-Esp.

Berno von der Seewiese, born a month after Lotte on 24th March 1913 and recorded as all-White, was the second all-White German Shepherd Dog to be registered with the SV. Berno had four littermates recorded in the stud book, Benno, a light wolf Grey colour with Yellow markings; Bodo, a dark wolf Grey colour with Grey overcast; Bolko, a dark wolf Grey colour with Yellow markings; the Sister, Berna, a White. 

From 1900 to circa. 1916 there were a considerable number of registered Whites, and from the release of the 1926 stud book through to the mid-1930's, there were many discussions taking place between judges, breeders and within the SV hierarchy. Concerns were raised about all-White and/or Cream Shepherd Dogs with their constitutional health and colour paling being of detriment to the breed and many breeders were culling Whites. It all came to a head, no doubt in no small part as a consequence of the impact of Utz von Haus Schütting through to Donna zum Reuerer when in 1931 the SV decided that other than 'White wire haired Shepherd Dogs from Braunschweig', White German Shepherd Dogs were disallowed from breeding. Wire haired Whites were allowed for political reasons, but their days were numbered and they were disallowed two years later. Consequently the once popular White Shepherd Dog disappeared into oblivion!

Regardless of the opinion of Captain von Stephanitz, the founder of the German Shepherd Dog, non-albino White was a popular colour for German Sheepdogs before the creation of the SV and many enthusiasts argue that Captain von Stephanitz got it wrong in the way he viewed and dealt with dark eyed, black pointed Whites. 

The White dogs continued to have a strong following. In 1967, Mrs Agatha Burch established a kennel in Switzerland with her American bred White German Shepherd Dog, Lobo of White Burch. Lobo was joined by White Lilac of Blinkbonny from England and bred under the Shangrila prefix. Their offspring began to spread throughout Europe and the Shangrila breeding lines were intermingled with the scattered remnants of White German Shepherd Dogs still in existence and other American/Canadian imports. In 1989, the 'White Shepherd Dog Society Switzerland' was formed and became a registered organisation with the Swiss Kennel Club in 1991. 

In Europe, the White German Shepherd Dogs were commonly known as 'White Shepherds', until, after many years of petitioning, the FCI provisionally recognised the White Shepherd in 2002 as a new breed and officially recognised it in 2011. Countries affiliated with the FCI slowly accepted the provisionally registered 'White Swiss Shepherd' breed, also accommodating any local unregistered White Shepherd bloodlines using development registers. The Australian KC recognised the breed in 2008 and in the UK, The Kennel Club officially recognised the breed as their 219th Pedigree dog breed on 1st October 2017. The breed is classified in the Pastoral group on the AV Import Breed Register. The recognised 'Country of origin' for the breed is Switzerland.  

The breed now enjoys popularity in many countries, not only as a show dog but as a companion and worker, where its devotion to its owners and its intelligence and trainability has endeared it to many.

Swish Sheps Puppy ~ 'Oona'



Appearance

The White Swiss Shepherd Dog is a medium to large sized, powerful, well-muscled dog with harmonious lines and an elongated rectangular outline. 

Its long, wolf-like head is cleanly wedge-shaped, with little in the way of brow or cheek arches, and the line of the stop is subtle where the forehead slopes to the muzzle. The breed’s almond-shaped eyes are a dark brown colour and sit a little obliquely. The lips, eyelids and nasal cartilage should all have strong Black pigmentation to sit in stark contrast to the brilliant White colour of the coat.

This intelligent and watchful breed has large, triangular ears that are held erect and directed forward. The neck and back are strong and long, with pronounced arching over the withers and the muscular loin.

 

The White Swiss Shepherd has a moderately narrow but deep chest that extends well back, giving it a large capacity and the lean abdomen is reasonably well tucked. Its long, bushy tail is held sabre-like at around the hock level most of the time, although it will be raised when the dog’s attention is aroused. As previously mentioned, the rear end is sloped through the hip and thigh; this should not be exaggerated, as it can predispose to hip and stifle problems due to exceptional stresses during exercise.

The double-thickness White coat is extremely dense throughout and can be either medium-length or long, with slight waviness being considered acceptable. Male White Swiss Shepherds are between 58 and 66 cm tall, while females stand 53 to 61 cm in height; their respective weight ranges are 30–40 and 25–35 kg.

White to White breeding of German Shepherd Dogs that established the White Swiss Shepherd has 'fixed' +e allele (and e/e genotype) at the MCIR gene locus, but the Agouti colour coat alleles remain hidden in their DNA. A Black nose is preferred in the White Swiss Shepherds, but snow nose and liver-coloured nose is accepted. Whites can sometimes have a 'Dudley nose', this is when the usually Black nose begins to turn pinkish in the middle, spreading outwards until the whole nose is almost covered.

 

White is a recessive gene that can hide under standard colours for many generations and so the complete bloodline spectrum of the origin of all-White in the German Shepherd Dog breed (ergo the Swiss Shepherd) is impossible to trace. 

If you have any questions at all about this magnificent breed, please don't hesitate to get in touch! 

 

The White Swiss Shepherd Dog

El Pastor Blanco Suizo

كلب الراعي السويسري الأبيض

Bílý švýcarský ovčák

Den hvide schweiziske hyrdehund

Le Berger Blanc Suisse

Der Weiße Schweizer Schäferhund

Ο Λευκός Ελβετικός Ποιμενικός Σκύλος

Il Pastore Svizzero Bianco

Baltasis šveicarų aviganis

Biały Owczarek Szwajcarski

O Cão Pastor Branco Suíço

Белая швейцарская овчарка

Beyaz İsviçre Çoban Köpeği

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