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White Swiss Shepherd Dog or White
German Shepherd Dog: The
Full Controversy What’s in a Name? As someone who has been involved in whites in Australia longer than most other breeders around today, I would like to set forth my opinion on the status of the breed. So many people ask me what the differences are between the White Swiss Shepherd Dog, White German Shepherd Dog and the German Shepherd Dog and the history of evolution between the types/varieties/breeds. The whole issue can be quite confusing to the general public, and it’s only fair that the truth be told, without the influence of breed politics, club affiliations or personal egos/beliefs. To understand the current status of the breed, one must look back to how this situation developed... In 1899, the German Shepherd Dog breed was created. Whites and their darker-coloured, white gene carrying progeny were used to develop the breed at this early foundation. The first officially recognised dog in the German Shepherd Dog breed was named “Horand v Grafrath”. Horand had a white grandfather and sired many dogs who carried the white gene and, who in turn, produced white pups.
Horand v Grafrath Breed
creator, Max Von Stephanitz (who owned Horand), is quoted "The colouring of the dog
has no significance whatever for service; our shepherd dog accordingly is not
bred for colour”. Von Stephanitz created the first German Shepherd Dog Club in Germany
(SV) and passionately developed the breed based on functionality and purpose
(herding and guarding sheep). The most common original colour of the
breed is sable (not the black and gold colours seen commonly today).
A dog sired by “Greif”, Horand’s grandfather. (German newspaper, 1906) In the first edition of his book
published in 1921, Von Stephantiz included photos of the whites
and many white gene carriers who were included in the early development of
the German Shepherd Dog breed. Out of the 30 dogs that made up the foundation
of the German Shepherd Dog Breed, 18 of them were white, had white parents or
carried the white gene.
Berno von der Seeweise, born 1913 (From Von Stephanitz’s book,
1921) The white coat colour only fell into disfavour in the early 1930ies, when the Nazi Party took over the SV and wanted to “standardise” the breed. They felt that the white coat was a sign of albinism, colour paling and therefore felt it must be degenerate and be exterminated. The Nazi Party enforced certain rules that they expected all breeders to follow and would do house calls to check on what breeders were producing. For example, any puppies over 8 in a litter were culled. They were very strict on these policies, to the point that the whites were all but bred out of existence in Europe. The German Shepherd Dog was a very popular breed in Canada and the United States and breeders continued breeding them to their own fancy. This included breeders who appreciated the white coat and bred them independently. Undeniably, these breeders are the reason whites have survived today. There were also breeders in the UK who continued breeding them, but not on such a scale as those in America and Canada. White German Shepherd Dogs were reintroduced back into Europe via Switzerland, from America and Canada in the 1970ies. Due to the strong disapproval of whites among the German Shepherd Dog community, lovers of whites sought another way for acceptance for their dogs. They decided to call them another name and to stop breeding them to darker coloured German Shepherds. They referred to them as “White Shepherds” and “American-Canadian White Shepherds”. ‘Lobo White Burch’ was registered as a German Shepherd Dog in America, but interestingly enough, is considered the progenitor of the White Swiss Shepherd Dog breed by the FCI (World Kennel Club) and all their associated kennel clubs.
‘Lobo White Burch’ Generally, whites were only bred with other whites in Europe, being long and short coat. During the 1980ies, it became obvious that humans started to change the structure of the show line (“speciality”) German Shepherd Dog from its original form. The topline/back become arched and the angles of the hindquarter were longer, adding more slope to the topline, when the dog was in a show stance. Meanwhile, the breeders of whites continued breeding the dogs to the original shepherd type, where the toplines were straight, and there was less angulation in the hindquarter. In 1995, whites born in Australia were no longer given main “breeding” papers by the Australian National Kennel Council (ANKC). Not unlike Europe, people in White German Shepherd clubs continued to hold breeding records and pedigrees. After some correspondence with the ANKC in early 2000, it became apparent that there was no possibility of getting our Australian dogs registered again as German Shepherds, unless the SV in Germany accepted whites. This was not going to happen, as we know the history there... White Swiss Shepherd recognition A proposal was put forward to the FCI by supporting White Shepherd clubs for the official recognition of whites as a separate breed to the German Shepherd Dog. This was accepted in 2003. What surprised many fanciers, is that the new breed name was called “Berger Blanc Suisse” translation “White Swiss Shepherd Dog”. I still remember finding out this news from my European contacts within the breed. People were asking what was behind this new name, and why it wasn’t just called “White Shepherd”, as originally requested. If I recall correctly, the reasons given was because the White Shepherd club in Switzerland were the ones who put forward the proposal, and also because the progenitor of the breed was considered “Lobo White Burch” who was imported into Switzerland in the 1970ies. Therefore they call the country of origin of the White Swiss Shepherd Dog, Switzerland, which is controversial enough, but at the end of it all, white fanciers finally got what they wanted – breed recognition for their dogs. Recognition as a separate breed is fraught with the concerning issue of gene pool sustainability and availability for future generations. With the English, American and Canadian kennel clubs registering the majority of whites as White German Shepherd Dogs, this means that these bloodlines cannot be bred with the dogs registered as White Swiss Shepherd Dogs. This basically separates the whites (which are genetically the same) into FOUR exclusive, kennel club-made gene pools, further closing of the possibility of genetic diversity amongst the whites. Technically, we have 4 “breeds” within
the whites:
As a result of FCI White Swiss Shepherd recognition, supporting clubs put forward their club pedigree papers (mainly showing 3 generations of white breeding behind them) and many breeders had their dogs assessed by FCI judges. The bloodlines accepted were made from 8 independent bloodlines. Each country’s registration rules varied slightly, but it is important to note that kennel clubs accepted the White Shepherd Club’s records, without opposition. At the same time as the FCI acceptance of the new breed name in 2003, I was assisted by people within the ANKC, along with people in Europe who helped gain recognition for their dogs in their respective countries, to get together a proposal for our Australian whites. Breed separation and recognition as a White Shepherd seemed the only way forward if we wanted to have official registration. A lot of correspondence was sent and received with the ANKC and official proposals were put forward for the recognition of our bloodlines. Unfortunately, the ANKC created the strictest rules, which made recognition of our Australian blood lines all but impossible. Australia is the only country in the world that does not register and allow official kennel club breeding with our locally bred white shepherds, either under the White German Shepherd Dog breed OR the White Swiss Shepherd Dog breed. I believe the main reason is due to the conflict of interest among those involved in the ANKC being also involved or influenced by the German Shepherd Dog community. The only way that whites residing in Australia are now able to be registered with the ANKC, is if they are imported from an FCI country and have a pedigree that falls in accordance with ANKC Regulation Part 6, Clause 3.4. More info here: http://www.ankc.org.au/News.aspx?id=191 Over the years, Australian breeders (myself being one of them) have exported our local stock to Sweden, Finland, Netherlands and France, which have then been registered under the FCI “White Swiss Shepherd Dog” breed name, even though our own country does not accept them as such. These dogs have provided new blood for the overseas gene pool and have produced some very fine stock in some of Europe’s top kennels. Some of the Australian lines are without a doubt some of the best in the world, but the ANKC fails to register them. In time, I am sure we will bring descendants of our exports back into Australia who fulfil the ANKC regulations noted above. Though in the meantime, the ANKC appears stagnant and blatantly ignorant of our quality lines, even though they are well accepted internationally and greeted with open arms. One major concern of mine *IF* the ANKC eventually recognises our locally bred whites, is that there have been considerable numbers of backyard breeders who have disregarding breeding for temperament and health and keeping the lines purebred. DNA testing does not prove that a dog is purebred, so to a degree, people would have to take the word of a sponsoring club. I know for a fact that the ethics of some clubs are much to be desired, to say the very least. Breeding dogs that are suspected not to be purebred, severe hip dysplasia, UAP, elbow dysplasia and dogs who are even sourced in pounds with no pedigree or knowledge about backgrounds, is not something a breed club should be meddling in, but in some cases, committee have emotional attachments to their dogs and have put aside the betterment of the breed in order to breed their dogs, regardless of health and temperament. If the local lines are ever considered for registration by the ANKC, I would have to recommend that they be very careful on the dogs and blood lines selected. What do you choose? White Swiss Shepherd or White German Shepherd Dog? ANKC or non-ANKC? Is any one really better than the other? This is a hard one to answer.... Not only because of the fact that there are good and no-so-good breeders in ANKC and non-ANKC categories (yes, just because a breeder is registered with any particular organisation – such as the ANKC – does not mean they are “good”.) but it depends on what the newbie buyer wants. There isn’t all that much difference between price between the two “breeds” and registrations, so one has to look a bit more into it. The main reason someone would buy from an ANKC breeder is if they want to show their dog in conformation shows regularly. Whilst, locally bred White German Shepherd Dogs have only one main show per year. What makes a dog “official” anyway? Could it be a piece of a paper from a kennel club or breed club with the dogs family tree on it? Is it the ethics of the breeder who bred it? Could it be the health guarantees provided? Is it the working or show titles achieved by the parents or dogs in the pedigree? Could it be the legitimacy and quality of the pedigree and dogs in it? Is it the health results of the parents? Answer: None of these things prove the true quality of what the dog really is. It varies with each individual breeder, each individual dog, each blood line used - regardless of ANKC or non-ANKC registration. The ANKC White Swiss Shepherd Dogs currently available in Australia have all come from import lines from Sweden, Slovenia, New Zealand and France. Any breeder who has not bred many generations of dogs, in contact with all their puppy buyers and genetically testing their dogs and keeping tabs on them, does not “entirely” know the stability of their lines and the and reliability of those lines, and rather, has to rely on overseas breeders as to the truth behind them. Not all breeders are as open and honest as others. It may appear “impressive” and good for a breeders’ reputation to have exported to an overseas country, especially where there are not many dogs in the breed yet. The kennel and dog would get substantial exposure and promotion, reflective very positively on that kennel. Therefore, not being 100% honest could be tempting to some, especially when faced with having the prestigious title of exporting and having your kennel involved in the foundation of the breed in another country. I’ve seen breeders import dogs from overseas and be tragically disappointed when the dog arrived, finding out the breeder has not been honest and the dog has faults or other issues. It’s very difficult to take the matter further when dealing with overseas laws, especially when you have already spent $8000 to import a dog. So as much as we’d like to trust these people and these overseas lines, one must err on the side of caution and develop their own trust of these lines after several years breeding forward. If it’s a matter of authenticity of pedigree, it’s important to note that some of the lines of White German Shepherds here have just as much pedigree information as the White Swiss Shepherd Dogs – it is just a matter of being registered by differing registries. If our local dogs were born overseas, there would be no issue with registration and obtaining full “official” papers. As mentioned earlier, I have personally exported my locally bred lines to countries overseas who have welcomed them with open arms and had them officially registered into the ‘new breed’. It’s important that regardless of where you look for your dog, you must be satisfied in yourself that you are buying from the right place. If you don’t rush in, if you do your research, you will feel the right “vibe” when you select the right breeder. You will need to interview and evaluate each breeder you are looking at in order to establish the “right” place for you to get a pup from. These points should help you along the way: - How much experience does the breeder have and what is their reason for breeding? - Is the breeder willing to have decent chats and/or emails with you about their lines, the positive and negative traits found in the dogs they own and have bred? - How can the breeder prove they are an “ethical breeder”? - Do they keep their dogs and pups in excellent condition, vaccinated, micro-chipped and wormed regularly? - Does the breeder discuss responsible pet ownership with you? - Will the breeder be available after the sale for any query, problem, training or behavioural advice? - Is the breeder enthusiastic and able to talk to you about general information, hereditary diseases and/or health problems that affect the breed? - Are the parents of the puppy friendly, have good hip/elbow scores and can you meet them? - What is known about the grandparents and dogs further back in the family tree/pedigree? Most people will just want a well-bred pet/companion that is stable in temperament and bred by a breeder who takes pride in their dogs, ethical breeding. It’s always a bonus if they provide written genetic/health guarantees with the dog, but you will find the number of breeders who do this is very low. In summary, I would never go so far as to say that one breed is better than the other. I know good and not-so-good breeders in ANKC and non-ANKC breeders. Each breeder has differing amounts of knowledge, experience and quality in their dogs and what they provide with their puppies. It depends on how comfortable you are with what the breeder provides and what individual puppy you feel is the right one for you. Don’t see it as choosing between an ANKC and non-ANKC breeder. The main difference between the two types are a piece of paper (ANKC registration/pedigree) and if you are a keen “showie” or not. What’s even more important is looking at the breeders experience, knowledge, ethics and credentials. Not forgetting of course the genetics of the parents, grandparents etc, because that is a good indication of what your puppy with turn out like. If you’re paying decent money for a dog with a lifespan of approx 13 years, the less money you have to spend on vet bills, and the less possibility of your puppy having a hereditary disease, the better, right? |
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