At first, no one objected to the beautiful white colour. But in the 1930s, breeders of dark-coloured German Shepherds began campaigning against whites, believing that the colour indicated albinism. Although white German Shepherds are not albino, and many have the desirable jet black noses and dark brown eyes, these breeders were successful in making white a serious fault. People who tried to show their white German Shepherds were quickly shown the gate by judges. Eventually white became an official disqualification.
White Shepherd breeders fought for decades to get the colour accepted again, but failed. White Shepherd fanciers in North America and elsewhere formed their own clubs and held breed shows. They drew up a standard that reflected the original look of the German Shepherd breed, but with a white coat. Most breeders bred white to white, resulting in generations of white German Shepherds that looked like the original dogs of a century ago.
White Shepherd is FCI Recognized as a Breed
The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI), a world organization for purebred dogs, recognizes 339 breeds, with each official breed standard being that of the breed’s country of origin. The national kennel clubs of 83 countries belong to the FCI, but the national clubs of Canada, the United States and Great Britain do not. In these countries, the White Shepherd is still registered as a German Shepherd Dog but is disqualified from conformation shows. The exception is the United Kennel Club in the USA, which recognized the White Shepherd in 1999.
The White Shepherd became known as the White Swiss Shepherd (Berger Blanc Suisse) in November 2002, when it was accepted by the FCI. The White Shepherd was attributed to Switzerland because, in 1991, the Swiss Kennel Club was the first national kennel club to recognize the White Shepherd as a breed. The breed is provisionally recognized as part of the FCI Group 1, Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs (Except Swiss Cattle Dogs) and is also officially recognized by several national kennel clubs.
White Shepherd Genetics
For a dog to be white, both its parents must carry at least one recessive white gene. White bred to white will always produce white. White bred to dark will not produce a spotted dog unless the parents carry separate genes for spotting. What the white does is prevent any genes for colour in the coat from being expressed. This is not a dilution gene. The dog will have dark eyes and a black nose and eyerims.
Some Whites are actually cream, sometimes with biscuit markings. This is probably the same “biscuit” colour present in the Samoyed, which always has dark eyes and pigment whether the coat is white, cream or biscuit..
Advantages of the White Shepherd
The White Shepherd lacks the physical exaggerations that have crept into its darker brother, and therefore has fewer structural problems. The breeders also have worked very hard to reduce the incidence of hip dysplasia, which is less common in this breed than in the dark Shepherds. White Shepherds have served as search and rescue, cadaver, Hearing Ear and police dogs. They have been guides for blind people and worked as sheep herders and personal protection dogs. They have been movie and television stars. One White Shepherd, Hoofprint Fin Tan Fearghas, received a Medallion and Certificate for his work as a cadaver dog at the Pentagon following the terrorist attack on 9/11.
Because they have been bred mainly as pets and working/service dogs, not as Schutzhund, army or guard dogs, the temperament of some White Shepherds may be a bit less intense than that of modern German Shepherds. But both breeds have retained the intelligent, courageous and loyal nature that made the original German Shepherd one of the most popular dog breeds in the world.
Terry McNamee - As a community newspaper reporter for nearly 30 years, Terry McNamee won many regional, provincial and national awards for her writing.
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