Berger Blanc Suisse Information & Dog Breed Facts

The Berger Blanc Suisse is also known as the White Swiss Shepherd, and its story is closely connected to the German Shepherd. Experts found evidence in the chronicles of Roman times that already mention shepherd dogs and that at the end of the 19^th century such dogs were kept at Habsburg courts due to their white hair coat that used to match with the ladies’ gowns and grey horses. However, since those times up to now, the Berger Blanc Suisse has had to overcome many obstacles, as these talented and intelligent shepherds were discriminated against and criticized like no breed before them.

Furthermore, the ancestors of today’s shepherds were dogs who served as defenders and property guards in the Middle Ages but they changed across the years. The only remarks about the breeding of white-coated shepherds before 1900 come from Alsace and Lorraine and apparently, people were charmed by their look and color. As I previously stated, the Habsburg dynasty adored the breed, which increased their popularity, even the English called them “White Alsatians”. In the 19^th century, as cities developed, crime grew. Various forces, such as the police and the army, were looking for a kind of dog that might assist them in their daily, often dangerous tasks. Naturally, the requirements were so high that not all dogs could fulfill them but shepherds were perfect for the job.

Moreover, they were first mentioned properly when in 1882, at the exhibition in Hanover, there were a white male Kirass and a short-haired pure white reproductive shepherd named Greiff. Later, during the next exhibition in 1887 Greiff was accompanied by his two daughters, white Greiffa and Russin. According to experts, it was Greiff who passed on a recessive white gene to his descendants. Unfortunately, we do not know what happened later on with them. However, from time to time a white specimen was born. Some people even preferred these shepherds with white coats as they were easier to distinguish from wolves during the night. However, by many, they were considered albinos and were rejected due to the obscurity of the fact that two dark dogs produced white puppies. Soon, they fell out of favor at some point in the 1930s, and white dogs were excluded from being shown or from breeding by the kennel clubs as they were considered undesired. This almost led to the extinction of white shepherds in Europe. Later on, many countries joined in and started removing white dogs from their breeding patterns. The changes in standard made European breeders kill white puppies right after they were being born.

In the meantime, the White Shepherds were successfully bred in Canada and the United States. As time went by people got more and more both knowledgeable and experienced which enabled them to determine that it was a recessive gene that was responsible for the whiteness of some specimens, which came from the white shepherd dog that was used in developing the German Shepherd. From this moment on white color was stopped being ‘persecuted’. In the 1970s White German Shepherd clubs devoted to breeding specifically for the white-coated German Shepherd were formed in the United States and Canada. While not recognized as a separate breed by the American Kennel Club, the White Shepherd went on to be recognized by the United Kennel Club in 1999. Moreover, prior to the formation of these clubs, in 1967, Miss Agatha Burch brought a White German Shepherd by the name of Lobo White Bruch, with her to Switzerland. Ms. Burch then imported a female White Shepherd by the name of White Lilac of Blinkbonny from the UK. These two dogs are considered to be the foundation dogs for the Berger Blanc Suisse, along with several other dogs imported from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The Berger Blanc Suisse is a medium-sized working dog that looks very much like its predecessor, the German Shepherd, although there are a few differences. There is a little more variation in the height for the Berger Blanc Suisse breed than for the German Shepherd and heights of approximately 23 to 26 inches are acceptable for males and 21 to 24 inches for females. The breed is less likely to have the sloping back that is commonly seen in today’s modern German Shepherd as the White Shepherd began development before the sloped back as desired. Furthermore, by 1991, the breed was distinct enough to have members registered as a new breed in the Swiss studbook and it was accepted on the provisional basis by the FCI in 2002, but it took almost 9 more years before the breed was officially recognized, on the 5^th of July in 2011.