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About the Great Swiss Mountain Dog

Origin: Switzerland
FCI status
Recognised by FCI
FCI group
Pinscher and Schnauzer - Molossoid and Swiss Mountain and Cattledogs
Origin
Switzerland
Also called
Gran Boyero Suizo
Known hereditary risks
Not researched yet

About

What the breed standard says

Bred for
Originally watch- and draught dog. Nowadays also companion, guard- and family dog
Behaviour and temperament
“Self-confident, alert, watchful and fearless in everyday situations. Good-natured and devoted towards people familiar to him. Self-assured with strangers. Medium temperament”

Quoted from FCI standard n°58. 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 Great Swiss Mountain Dog

What you get with the Great Swiss Mountain Dog

  • Purpose stated in the standard: “Originally watch- and draught dog. Nowadays also companion, guard- and family dog”
  • The standard describes the breed as: “Self-confident, alert, watchful and fearless in everyday situations”

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 · Great Swiss Mountain Dog

Coat and colour

As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged permissible.

Coat

Double coat consisting of thick, outer coat of medium length and dense undercoat.

The latter as dark grey or black as possible.

Short outer coat permissible if there is undercoat

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.

Base colour

Typically tricolour

  • Main colour black with symmetrical, reddish-brown (tan) markings and clean white markings.
  • The reddish-brown colour is situated between the black and the white markings on the cheeks, above the eyes, on the inside of the ears, on both sides of the forechest, on all four legs and underneath the tail.
  • The white markings are on the head (blaze and muzzle), running down unbroken from the throat to the chest, also on the feet and the tip of the tail.
  • Between the blaze and the reddish-brown markings above the eyes, a band of black should remain.
  • Permissible: A white patch on the neck or a white collar around the neck

Shortened from FCI standard n°58 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.

Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Great Swiss Mountain Dog in general; any individual animal can differ.

Health guide

What to ask for in a Great Swiss Mountain Dog

No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Great Swiss Mountain 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 Great Swiss Mountain 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 Great Swiss Mountain 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.

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