- Basic colour black or havana brown with reddish-brown and white markings as symmetrical as possible.
- Small reddish-brown spots over eyes.
- Reddish-brown markings on cheeks, chest (left and right in the region of the shoulder-joint) and on legs.
- The reddish-brown on the latter must invariably be located between the black, resp.havana brown and the white.
- White markings: • Distinct white blaze which runs from the skull without break over the bridge of the nose and can reach totally or partially round the muzzle. • White from chin, covering throat without break at chest. • White on all four feet. • White on tip of tail. • White spot on nape of neck or half collar. • Thin white ring all around neck tolerated but not desirable
About the Appenzell Cattle Dog
Origin: SwitzerlandAppenzell Cattle Dog
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Pinscher and Schnauzer - Molossoid and Swiss Mountain and Cattledogs
- Origin
- Switzerland
- Also called
- Perro Boyero de Appenzell
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Driving-, watch-, guard-, house- and farm dog. Today also a versatile working and family dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“Lively, high-spirited, self- assured, reliable and fearless. Slightly suspicious of strangers. A watchdog which cannot be bribed, and capable of learning”
Quoted from FCI standard n°46. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Characteristics
- Size
- —
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 4 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 3 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Appenzell Cattle Dog
What you get with the Appenzell Cattle Dog
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Driving-, watch-, guard-, house- and farm dog. Today also a versatile working and family dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Lively, high-spirited, self- assured, reliable and fearless”
What you are taking on
Nobody has written this side yet. It is a judgement rather than data, so it waits for a person — not for a missing source.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Appenzell Cattle Dog
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Double coat (Stockhaar): Firm and fitting.
Topcoat thick and shiny.
Undercoat thick, black, brown or grey.
It is undesirable for the undercoat to be visible through the topcoat.
Slightly wavy coat only on withers and back just tolerated, but not desirable
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°46 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the breed standard says
- Size
- “Desired height at withers: Dogs: 52 – 56 cm, 50 – 54 cm. Bitches Tolerance of plus or minus 2 cm”
- FCI states a tolerance around the figure.
Quoted from FCI standard n°46. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Appenzell Cattle Dog in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Appenzell Cattle Dog
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Appenzell Cattle Dog on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Appenzell Cattle Dog owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Appenzell Cattle Dog breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.