- White
About the White Swiss Shepherd Dog
Origin: Switzerland
- Typical life span
- 12-14 years
- Size
- Large — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 30-40 kg
- Female
- 25-35 kg
- Height
- Male
- 58-66 cm
- Female
- 53-61 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Sheepdogs and Cattledogs (except Swiss Cattledogs)
- Origin
- Switzerland
- Also called
- Pastor Blanco Suizo
- Known hereditary risks
- 4 documented conditions, with the test for each
About
What is a White Swiss Shepherd Dog?
A powerful, well-muscled, medium to large white shepherd with erect ears, elegant lines, straight back, and an attentive, intelligent expression. A direct descendant of the German Shepherd Dog with a striking white double coat.
White Swiss Shepherd Dog history and origins
Developed from white-coated German Shepherds that were disqualified in Germany in the 1930s. Enthusiasts in Switzerland and North America preserved the variety, leading to FCI recognition as the Berger Blanc Suisse in 2002.
White Swiss Shepherd Dog appearance and size
Males typically weigh 30-40 kg and stand 58-66 cm at the shoulder; females 25-35 kg and 53-61 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Companion and family dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“Lively balanced temperament, enjoys action, attentive with good ability to be trained. Friendly and discreet. High social competence and devoted to his owner. Never afraid or aggressive without provocation. A joyful and easy to teach working and sporting dog with capability for all round education. High social competence allows for a marked ability to adapt and integrate to all kinds of social events and situations. and”
Quoted from FCI standard n°347. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Large
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Companion and family dog” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 2 of 5
- 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
- 4 conditions documented
Medium length coat3 of 5
Long coat4 of 5
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the White Swiss Shepherd Dog
What you get with the White Swiss Shepherd Dog
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Companion and family dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Lively balanced temperament, enjoys action, attentive with good ability to be trained”
What you are taking on
- 2 serious inherited conditions are documented, mainly in bones & joints and brain & nerves. The health guide tab has the test to ask for on each.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; Association Française du Berger Blanc — Tests de santé. 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 · White Swiss Shepherd Dog
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Medium length coat: Dense, close-lying double coat
abundant undercoat covered with hard, straight protection hair
face, ears and front of legs are covered with shorter hair
at the neck and the back of the legs the coat is slightly longer.
Slightly wavy, hard hair is permitted.
Long coat: Dense, close-lying double coat
abundant undercoat covered with hard, straight protection hair
face, ears and front of legs are covered with shorter hair
at the neck the long coat forms a distinct mane and at the back of the legs it forms trousers and the hair on the tail is bushy.
The coat length should never be exaggerated.
Slightly wavy, hard hair is permitted
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°347 — 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
- “Height at the withers: Males: 58 - 66 cms. Females: 53 - 61 cms. Weight: Males: ca. 30 - 40 kgs. Females: ca. 25 - 35 kgs. Typical dogs slightly under- or oversized should not be disqualified”
- FCI names a size at which a dog is disqualified.
Quoted from FCI standard n°347. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the White Swiss Shepherd Dog down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Severe faults
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
- Heavy appearance, too short build (square outline).
- Absence of sexual dimorphism.
- Missing more than two PM1; the M3 are not taken into account.
- Drop (hanging) ears, semi-pricked ears, button ears.
- Severely sloping backline.
- Ringtail, kinked tail, hook tail, tail carried over back.
- Soft, silky topcoat; woolly, curly, open coat; distinctly long hair without undercoat.
- Distinct fawn colour (distinct yellowish or tawny overlay) on ear tips, back and upper side of the tail
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- One eye or both blue, protruding eyes.
- Entropion, ectropion.
- Over- or undershot mouth, wry mouth.
- Total loss of pigment on nose, lips and/or eye rims.
- Total loss of pigment in the skin and on the pads.
- Albinism
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the White Swiss Shepherd Dog in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the White Swiss Shepherd Dog
Known hereditary risks for the White Swiss Shepherd Dog breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
4 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Bones & joints
Hip and elbow dysplasia
Serious
Malformation of the hip and/or elbow joints causing pain, lameness and early arthritis; documented at around 13% of screened individuals by breed sources.
What to ask for
Hip and elbow score from a recognised national radiographic scheme (the breed's own clubs require official radiographs before breeding — AFBB in France, ZGBBS in Germany), on both parents
Lumbosacral transitional vertebrae
Monitor
A malformed vertebra at the junction of the spine and pelvis, associated in shepherd-type breeds with lower back pain and, in some dogs, cauda equina-type nerve signs.
What to ask for
No DNA test. Visible on the same pelvic/spinal radiograph taken for hip scoring — ask specifically whether the vet who read it checked for a transitional vertebra, since it is not always reported by default.
Brain & nerves
Degenerative myelopathy
Serious
A progressive, incurable disease of the spinal cord causing hind-limb weakness and eventual paralysis, usually from around eight to fourteen years old onward.
What to ask for
Degenerative myelopathy (SOD1) DNA test, on both parents — mandatory for breeding approval under the German club (ZGBBS) and recommended by the French club (AFBB), which cites around 99% test reliability
Medication sensitivity
MDR1 drug sensitivity
Monitor
Not a disease in itself, but a mutation that makes some dogs abnormally sensitive to ivermectin and several other common veterinary drugs, which can be fatal if the prescribing vet is not told in advance.
What to ask for
MDR1 (ABCB1) DNA test, on both parents
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where White Swiss Shepherd 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 White Swiss Shepherd 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.