It seems that no other dog breed has had as much political history and controversy as that of the White Swiss Shepherd Dog and white German Shepherd Dog! This has made their recognition a struggle and quite confusing to the general public.

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The White Shepherd movement in Australia was started by Brooke Taylor in 2000 after she discovered whites were being culled at birth when born in a litter of German Shepherd Dogs.

 

Many different bloodlines containing white pedigrees were registered in Australia, with several going back to ANKC (Australian National Kennel Council) registered German Shepherd Dogs with complete pedigrees. 

 

History

In 1995, people involved in the Australian National Kennel Club (ANKC) advised breeders producing White German Shepherds, that white pups could no longer be registered on the main/full register, although no official rule was passed.  As a result, many records were lost of the white dogs, much to the detriment of the white dogs. During this time, a few breeders would register white pups but list them as "gold-sable" or "silver-sable" as a bit of a back door way of registering their white puppies, but many breeders who produced whites were simply told they couldn't anymore register them anymore.

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Ten years passed before the ANKC made an actual rule about the registration of non-standard colours, but by that time, the community of White German Shepherd dogs was very small. 

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Due to breed politics and unfairness when it came to the whites within the German Shepherd Dog Clubs and Australian National Kennel Council and its state member bodies, Brooke felt the need to preserve these dogs in Australia and started a breed club called the "White Shepherd Association of Australia". She created an accompanying website, stud book and facilitated a national breeding program.

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In November 2002, the FCI (World Kennel Club) announced they had accepted a new breed with the new name, called the White Swiss Shepherd Dog (Berger Blanc Suisse).

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Following the FCI acceptance of the new breed, White Shepherd clubs all over the world started to register their locally bred White German Shepherd dogs with their kennel clubs as White Swiss Shepherd Dogs. The general requirement for FCI registration outlined that dogs had to have three generations of all white breeding behind them and they had to undergo a breed standard compliance assessment by a panel of FCI judges.

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In 2008, two White Swiss Shepherd Dogs were imported into Australia, with FCI pedigrees. The ANKC accepted these dogs for registration. The first time a White Swiss Shepherd Dog was exhibited at an ANKC show was in 2009 on Australia Day.

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Shortly thereafter, the ANKC published a circular stating that unlike other countries, Australia would not assess and accept dogs already in the country.

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It is interesting that the first White Swiss Shepherd Dogs registered by the ANKC in 2008, had export pedigrees containing registered white German Shepherd Dogs (not all White Swiss Shepherd Dogs). When this mistake was pointed out in 2010, the ANKC relaxed the pedigree requirements on White Swiss Shepherd Dog imports.

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At this current point in time, the ANKC still only allow imported dogs from overseas, with an FCI export pedigree, and their progeny to be registered as White Swiss Shepherd Dogs.  Australian bred dogs cannot be registered by the ANKC here in their own country.

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The FCI White Swiss Shepherd Dog Breed Standard states that the progenitor of the White Swiss Shepherd Dog breed was Lobo White Burch. This male was bred in the USA (as a registered white German Shepherd Dog) and imported into Switzerland in 1967. Techically, all White Swiss Shepherd Dogs have come from German Shepherd Dogs.

 

There is no question that White Swiss Shepherd Dogs have been directly derived from purebred German Shepherd Dogs of white coat colour and have not been crossed with any other breed. DNA evidence illustrates this as 100% correct. The purebred white German Shepherd Dog ancestory of Australian bloodlines is no different to dogs registered as White Swiss Shepherd Dogs around the world.

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The majority of locally bred whites are now from imported FCI White Swiss Shepherd lines, as Australian breeders have imported dogs and frozen semen.

Locally bred Australian whites have at least three generations of all white breeding behind them, and in this point in time, many of them have imported White Swiss Shepherd Dogs in their pedigrees, but they are not able to be registered with the ANKC.

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Many Australian lines have been exported overseas, with the first export in 2006, (Neigepearl Warrungal Wiseguy - by Linda from Terluner Schloss Kennels In the Netherlands) where this dog and his ancestors were registered as FCI White Swiss Shepherd Dogs. Australian exports (and their progeny overseas) have been awarded many titles in working and conformation overseas, proving the quality of our Australian-bred lines.

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Australian bloodlines have been assessed by overseas judges for their compliance to the FCI White Swiss Shepherd Dog Breed Standard. These judges believe that Australian bloodlines should be accepted by the ANKC into the White Swiss Shepherd Dog breed, but unfortunately, this has not happened, despite numerous official attempts since 2000.

 

Several health surveys have been carried out since 2013 and the incidence of health problems in the ANKC White Swiss Shepherd Dog breed was very high, with the Australian bred dogs resulting in much healthier results. 

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Regardless of the ANKC, our Australian bred White Shepherds continue to prove themselves as fabulous family pets, with impeccable health and excellent working dogs under the ANKC's sporting register.

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Australian lines hold the national record of ANKC working titles under the sporting register, while ANKC registered White Swiss Shepherds are not very active in proving themselves in trial rings.