FAQ (frecuently asqued questions)

¿Were does this breed come from? Has it something to do with German shepherd? Its origin is the same that the German's, in fact at the beginning of the last century white colour was accepted for German shepherd breed. Even though it has been bred separately for a long time, attending only to the colour, (prohibited or penalized by some German Shepherd Clubs but defended by another ones), the White Swiss Shepherd is genetically a German shepherd dog but white coloured.

Is it family of American-Canadian White shepherd? Yes, it does. In fact, it's the same. The long known as White or American-Canadian shepherd, is the same shepherd dog that was so protected in North America when it was prohibited in Europe . Along the years he survived to the fights about which should be its definitive name and that's why it is known with different similar names, also depending on the Canine Federation they belong to.

¿Where does the name Swiss White shepherd come from? For the FCI this breed didn't exist with that name being almost all the specimens registered in the American Kennel Club (AKC) with the name of German white shepherd, variety not accepted by the European clubs and not recognized by the FCI. Switzerland was the first country to fulfil the requirements for the concession of a breed. They presented families with over 8 blood lines completely different one to each other, and they could register these first White Shepherds imported from America with the name of Swiss White shepherd. This is the way the name has evolved till reaching this definitive form. Even though, due to the geographic location of Switzerland , it doesn't distort too much the real origin and utility of this breed.

Why they stopped accepting white coloured German Shepherds? There are many theories about it, but the truth is they were accepted in the first part of the last century. Later it stopped being accepted and they started being persecuted, perhaps because they were confused with albinos specimens, which had a non desirable disease.

¿Are they albinos? No, they don't. They simply are white coloured shepherd dogs, same way Samoyedo or West Highland White Terrier are white dogs non albinos. The albino specimens, in every breed, use to show pink skin, reddish or blue eyes, depigmented eyelid, nose and lips, and with problems when they expose too much to the sunlight. Also some of them are deaf or have sight problems.

Where does their white hair gene come from? It always existed in the German Shepherd breed, and for the first years even some of the best broods were of this colour. Even today it is accepted a little spot of this color in their examples and still nowadays, every now and then are born completely white pups.

How is this color transmitted? By a recessive gene. This means that white colour will only be showed when both parents will transmit it to their pup. That's why if two white shepherds have a litter they will only produce white colored shepherds, because their genotype coincides with their phenotype, and all their hair color genes produce white color.

Are they deaf? No, they don´t. In some other breeds white dogs use to suffer hearing problems, but that´s not happening with this breed. In fact, they have a well developed hearing.

Why do some of them have reddish nose or it changes its color in every season? That is absolutely normal and it is admitted although it´s better valued if they have a dark nose. It can be due to less pigmentation in that zone and that's known as ‘snow nose'. Sometimes color changes and it's not known why, but it seems to be related to cold weather so it happens more often during winter months.

Is it true that they rarely suffer illnesses? Actually they are really healthy dogs, strong and resistant. In 2000 the AWSA made a study over more than 1000 white shepherd dogs, most of them from the USA and Canada. The results were surprising when only they detected 57 genetic diseases in White Shepherds, what compared with the 138 genetic diseases identified in German Shepherds, is more than double. Also their rate of hip dysplasia is really low, under 6 %.

What makes them to stand out? What are they used for? It's a very polyvalent and docile dog. Remember it is still a German shepherd, with its same virtues but white haired. So it´s good for a lot of different uses and tasks, such as shepherd, police dog, guards, seeking, dragging, service for all kind of disabled persons, rescue dogs in natural disaster, catastrophes, etc. They stand out in all kind of work and obedience proofs, and also in agility proofs. Even a wide amount of these dogs have succeded in the world of cinema. This breed adapts to every kind of person and every task they are entrusted to.

Are they easy to educate? Absolutely yes! With the pass of years they even have shown a more obedient willingness than German Shepherd´s. They are elegant, clever, imaginative, intuitive, and they always do things willingly to please their owner. That's why it isn't necessary to use hard methods with them. In fact, the closer they are with their owner, the better they will integrate in their family and will work together in it. With a little bit of extra love and education, their capacities have no limit.

Which are their needs? Reasonable cares about feeding and higiene. Their hair even if its white keeps very clean. In the moult seasons it's necessary to brush them every day. Also they need to feel valued and to be educated. Also they should have commended tasks. They are very active dogs, so they need to do exercise every day to keep good physical and psychical health. The vaccines and desparasitations are the same as usual in all kind of dogs.

Are they good to live with children? Maybe the question should be made the other way round: Would the children get on well with the dog? Due to their adaptabilitie and obedience, they usually show willing to stand and even obbey the orders of the younger ones at home. This gets accentuated if they have grew up together.

Are they aggressive or easily frigthened? If they are well socialized they won't show any of that extreme behaviours. Their temperament is a bit less dominant than in German Shepherds and if it´s more socialbilized it will probably reaction with precaution in every uncertainty situation, and not being aggressive. In fact, currently the White Shepherd has a succes rate of 75% on temperament tests, that means the highest average among all breeds!

Why is it so important to choose a well-socialized example? Being dogs that were selected firstly for shepherd and adapting to the environment in a little time, being in a permanent state of alert so that they can quickly react to changes and unforeseen things, they are dogs with an extremely high reactivity to stimulus. This is a very good point that makes them easily to train, but a bad socialization, depriving the pup of contacts and necessary experiences, or without the needed knowledge for this delicate stage, could give rise to more nervous or easily-frightened dogs. That's why it's very important to adquire a pup from a reliable breeder who well knew this breed.