History of the White Swiss Shepherd
The intertwined histories of the White Swiss Shepherd and the German Shepherd Dog.
To know the history of the White Swiss Shepherd is to also know the history of the German Shepherd Dog; as their histories are intertwined. The breed standard for the White Swiss Shepherd calls for a dog based on the type and coloration of sheepdogs found in the German state of Thuringia, which were known as white dogs.
The founding dog of the GSD breed, Horand von Grafrath SZ1’s maternal grandfather was a white Thuringian sheepdog named Greif von Sparwasser born around 1879. Horand was bred to 35 different bitches, producing 53 litters of which 140 progeny were registered with the SV.
When did the first White German Shepherds appear in the United States? A litter born March 27, 1917, bred by one of the German Shepherd Dog Club of America (GSDCA) founders Anne Tracy, contained four white puppies — known as Stonihurst Edmund, Stonihurst Eric, Stonihurst Eadred, and Stonihurst Elf.
Why Were White Dogs Disqualified?
Why was the white colored German Shepherd Dog disqualified? That is a question that only the German SV and the German Shepherd Dog Club of America can answer. The SV was the first to officially eliminate white dogs from the gene pool through the disavowment of the color in the 1930s.
By mid-1930s, the Nazi party had begun to hold large memberships within the SV club, eventually forcing founder Capt. Max Von Stephanitz out. By the time of Von Stephanitz’s death in 1936 the takeover was complete. Even after the War, breeders continued removing “degenerative throwbacks” from the gene pool. To this day, white dogs remain ineligible for registration as GSDs within Germany.
“Though many feel the (whites) are structurally and temperamentally unsound, there is no scientific evidence of genetic linkage in the breed. The genes for poor temperament or proportions are not side-by-side with the genes for white… the colored dogs and the white dogs may differ only in that respect.” — Scott & Fuller, Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog, 1965
Recognition as a Distinct Breed
In the USA and Canada, White Shepherd dogs gradually came to be accepted as a distinct breed. The first dogs of this breed were imported to Switzerland in the early 1970s. The American male “Lobo,” whelped March 5, 1966, can be considered the progenitor of the breed in Switzerland. His descendants registered with the Swiss Stud Book (LOS) gradually multiplied, leading to registration as a new breed in the Swiss Stud Book since June 1991.
On July 4, 2011, the White Swiss Shepherd was formally accepted as a distinct breed by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI), after having had provisional breed status since November 26, 2002. The country of origin is Switzerland.
In 1999, the United Kennel Club (UKC) recognized the White Shepherd as its own distinct breed in the United States. Many people register their imported WSSD as UKC White Shepherds, as the UKC considers the WSSD and the White Shepherd to be the same breed. Owners often dual register.
It is hopeful that in time the AKC will recognize the White Swiss Shepherd, just as the United Kingdom’s Kennel Club did in 2017. The only FCI-associated registries left to recognize this wonderful breed are the American Kennel Club and the Canadian Kennel Club.