The White Swiss Shepherd Dog or (german: link=no, Weisser Schweizer Schäferhund, it, Pastore Svizzero Bianco) is a Swiss

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

shepherd dog A sheep dog or sheepdog is generally a dog or breed of dogs historically used in connection with the raising of sheep. These include livestock guardian dogs used to guard sheep and other livestock and herding dogs used to move, manage and co ...

. It descends from North American

White Shepherd The White Shepherd is a variety of the German Shepherd bred in the United States. Although white-coated German Shepherds have been known in Europe as early as 1882, in 1933 the breed standard was amended in their native Germany, banning white-co ...

s imported to Switzerland; the White Shepherd itself descends from white-coloured purebred

German Shepherd The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for he ...

History

White-coated German Shepherds were once barred from registration in their native Germany, but in the United States and Canada the colouration remained popular; a

breed club Breed clubs are Voluntary association, associations or Club (organization), clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of anima ...

was formed and these white dogs came to be recognised as a distinct breed, the

. The Berger Blanc Suisse derives from dogs of this type imported from North America to Switzerland from the early 1970s. The first of these was an American dog named Lobo, born on 5 March 1966; other dogs were imported from Canada and from the United States. It was recognised as a breed in Switzerland in June 1991, and registered in the ''Livre origin suisse'' of the

Société Cynologique Suisse Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the se ...

. It was provisionally recognised by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) (English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium. History The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices ...

in 2002, and was definitively accepted in 2011. It was recognised by the British Kennel Club in 2017.

Characteristics

The White Swiss Shepherd is of medium size, with a weight in the range and a height at the

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

usually between 53 and Two types of coat are seen, medium-length and long; the coat is always white, preferably with dark skin. The eyes range from light to dark brown and are almond-shaped; the ears are erect, forward-pointing, triangular, and slightly rounded at the tips. Its herding abilities are similar to those of the German Shepherd. Registration is not subject to a

working trial Working may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community Arts and media * ''Working'' (musical), a 1978 musical * ''Working'' (TV series), an American sitcom * ''Workin ...

References

{{Pastoral dogs FCI breeds Herding dogs Dog breeds originating in Switzerland