History
The history of the noble White Swiss Shepherd has long been fraught with pitfalls and is, to some extent, written by the political environment in which it evolved from a white-coated German Shepherd to a White Shepherd. Thanks to the efforts of a number of people and the very factors that threatened to extinguish the white-coated German Shepherd breed, the White Shepherd breed was able to develop and evolve as a dog breed in its own right.
The White Shepherd is a sheepdog whose origins can be traced back to the United States, Canada and England. Its heredity, however, comes from Germany, as this dog is descended from the white lines of the German Shepherd. The White Shepherd is therefore a direct descendant sharing a common ancestry with the German Shepherd. Switzerland, although not the breed's country of origin, was the first country to officially recognise it as a distinct breed. This is why the White Shepherd today bears the name ‘White Swiss Shepherd’.
The development of the White Shepherd began in Germany at the same time as the establishment of the German Shepherd breed. At the end of the 1800s, Max von Stephanitz set himself the challenge of creating the ideal dog. This dog would be gifted, intelligent, of sound mind and body, with a noble and elegant appearance. He set out to combine farm dogs, often of different coat colours or morphologies, mainly sheepdogs of the ‘Old German Type’, and this is how the most versatile of working dogs was born: the German Shepherd.
The development of the White Shepherd therefore began in Germany at the same time as the establishment of the German Shepherd breed. At the end of the 1800s, Max von Stephanitz set himself the challenge of creating the ideal dog. This dog would be gifted, intelligent, of sound mind and body, with a noble and elegant appearance. He set out to combine farm dogs, often with different colours of coat or morphology, mainly Old German Shepherd dogs, and this is how the most versatile of working dogs was born: the German Shepherd.
Together with other enthusiasts, he founded the German Shepherd breed club: the ‘Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde - SV’ in 1899, in which the dog named Horand Von Grafrath was the first to be registered, along with Luchs von Sparwasser. The story goes that these two German Shepherds had a maternal grandfather with an all-white coat named GREIF. Both Horand and Luchs were widely used and bred in inbred lines, producing numerous litters and registering many offspring in the SV. Their genetic code, which possessed the recessive gene coding for the white colour of the coat, was passed on to many of their offspring, and the white coat has been part of German Shepherd genetics ever since.
The German Shepherd's worldwide reputation grew rapidly and the dogs were imported into many countries. The first German Shepherd dog was registered in the United States in 1908 at the American Kennel Club (AKC), where Ann Tracy was one of the founders.
She continued her work through judicious breeding, and had the first White German Shepherd registered with the AKC in 1917.
Until the 1930s, the white-coated German Shepherd continued to be widely registered, but in 1933 the German SV, which had a strong influence on the standard throughout the world, declared that the white colour was a ‘defective’ characteristic of the breed and refused to register white-coated dogs unless they were old-style German Shepherd dogs. It was in its 1960 revision that the SV, fearing that this pigmentation might be linked to infirmities, banned the registration of all White German Shepherd Dogs. As a result, all puppies born with white hair are considered undesirable for reproduction and are eliminated from birth. Many countries around the world that have adhered to the strict German SV standard have also participated in the elimination of the White German Shepherd. However, some countries, including the United States, Canada and England, which have their own dog regulations, have continued to register white-haired puppies, allowing the breed to flourish.
À l'inverse, aux États-Unis et au Canada, les efforts déployés pour faire reconnaître le berger allemand à poil blanc comme faisant partie de la race du berger allemand ont finalement abouti à la création d'une race distincte. L'AWSA et le White Shepherd Club of Canada (WSCC), fondé en 1971, ainsi que l'American White Shepherd Association (AWSA), fondée dans les années 1990, travaillent ensemble pour promouvoir la reconnaissance et l'acceptation mondiales du berger blanc en tant que chien de travail et race de berger distincte du berger allemand. L'UKC (United White Shepherd Club) a ensuite été créé et a officiellement reconnu le berger blanc comme race de chien de berger en 1999. Les propriétaires ont pu transférer les papiers de leurs chiens à la nouvelle race, mais cela signifiait que les titres de champion du berger allemand étaient invalidés et que les chiens devaient à nouveau obtenir leurs titres selon le standard de la race du berger blanc. Depuis la naissance du berger blanc, en un peu plus d'une décennie, la race a connu une progression fulgurante, se classant 47e sur 300 races (2009) aux États-Unis.
It was in Europe, where the white-coated German Shepherd was almost extinct, that AKC-registered Lobo With Burch was imported into Switzerland, the home country of his owner Agatha Burch. Along with other dogs known as American-Canadian White Shepherds, he was used as the foundation dog to establish the new breed in Europe. Identifying this new breed and establishing that these dogs belonged to their own breed was made easier because they were not allowed to be registered as German Shepherd dogs. So it was in 1991 that the White Swiss Shepherd was registered as a new breed in the appendix to the Swiss StudBook (LOS) and in 2002 that it was provisionally recognised by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI). The breed was also recognised a year later by the SCC.
In 2011, the provisional status of the Swiss White Shepherd was changed to official recognition by the FCI and the breed became eligible for CACIB at dog shows. Since then, the breed's popularity has soared throughout Europe, and has even returned to Germany, where it is recognised by the SV as a breed distinct from the White German Shepherd.
Conversely, in the United States and Canada, efforts to have the white-coated German Shepherd recognised as part of the German Shepherd breed eventually led to the establishment of a separate breed. It is the AWSA and the White Shepherd Club of Canada (WSCC), founded in 1971, and the American White Shepherd Association (AWSA), founded in the 1990s, that are working together to promote worldwide recognition and acceptance of the White Shepherd as a distinct working dog and shepherd breed from the German Shepherd. The UKC (United White Shepherd Club) was then created and officially recognised the White Shepherd as a sheepdog breed in 1999. Owners were able to transfer their dogs' papers to the new breed, but this meant that their German Shepherd champion titles were invalidated, and the dogs had to earn their titles again according to the White Shepherd breed standard. Since the birth of the White Shepherd, in just over a decade, the breed has gone from strength to strength, ranking 47th out of 300 breeds (2009) in the United States.
All in all, whatever their name or place, lovers of White Swiss Shepherds or Withe Shepherds continue to appreciate the versatility of this dog. Their temperament makes them excellent family companions, and their natural working ability means they can compete at every level with other, older breeds.
Breed standard
CHARACTER
The White Swiss Shepherd is distinguished by his exceptionally gentle and supple character. Its loyalty, faithfulness and intelligence are beyond doubt. They are not aggressive, but can be reserved towards strangers or new situations. His shepherding instinct makes him an undeniable watchdog. Calm and composed, playful and teasing at the same time, very receptive and always looking for contact with his masters, he is the ultimate ONE FAMILY dog. He gets on wonderfully with children and will instinctively protect them as long as he is respected. Their social nature means they have no trouble getting along with other dogs and animals.
White Swiss Shepherds are outstanding in a number of disciplines: tracking, agility, obedience, defence, utility and ...... Their working abilities make them versatile dogs.
White Swiss Shepherds are not very demanding dogs. His family by his side, quality food, regular physical/intellectual activity and weekly brushing are the minimum he needs. It is possible to keep a White Swiss Shepherd in a flat, provided you are prepared to give it several hours of daily exercise.
STANDARD
The White Swiss Shepherd is a medium-sized, sturdy, well-muscled, slightly elongated sheepdog with pricked ears and a medium to long double coat. The colour is solid white.
Health and Tests
Thanks to technological progress in the field of genetics, we have been able to carry out specific health tests for several years now. Health tests on breeding stock make it possible to limit poor genetic mixing and even, sometimes, to eliminate individuals at risk of transmitting hereditary diseases.
We therefore have all our breeding stock tested for diseases whose incidence is known for the White Swiss Shepherd breed, to ensure the quality of matings and therefore of litters.
Overview of diseases tested
>> Hip and elbow dysplasia.
>> MDR1 drug sensitivity
>> Degenerative myelopathy DM
>> Pituitary dwarfism NAH
>> Since 2023, all breeding dogs must have their DNA card, a genetic identification, to guarantee progeny and enable puppies to be registered with the LOF.
All our breeding dogs are identified by their DNA and registered with the SCC.
Exhibitions and Competitions
We made a timid start with beauty dog shows a few years ago.
These shows are used to classify dog participants, mainly on the basis of the dog's morphology. The dog's ranking at the various shows determines access to various titles, such as Champion of the Shows, for example. Each country has its own criteria for awarding titles.
We continue to take part in these competitions, but in the near future we'd like to move into other, more sporting disciplines where the dog's physical performance is paramount.
Some of our dogs have an atavism for tracking, others for herding. This is an area we have yet to discover. However, all our dogs receive obedience training, and are capable of taking the CSAU (certificat de sociabilité et d'Aptitude à l'Utilisation) tests.
