White German Shepherd
Dogs
American White Shepherd
White German Shepherd dogs look exactly like their common
black and tan counterparts, except that their color is completely
white.
One notable difference is that the
long-haired dogs do
not have an undercoat.
The recessive gene necessary for the white
coat hair was
introduced into the breeding gene pool between
the late 19th and early 20th century German breeding
programs.
Horand von Grafrath Lineage
Greif, a
white herding
dog was the grandfather of Horand von
Grafrath, the first registered German Shepherd Dog.
White German Shepherds are also called Swiss
Shepherd Dogs (Berger
Blanc Suisse).
At one time, the white coat was considered a
fault.
It is now known that the
recessive white gene masks
the actual color of the dog.
In the 1970's, fans of the breed in Canada
and the US
formed their own breedclubs, showing the dogs at specialty dog
shows.
By 1995, the American White Shepherd
Association (AWSA)
was founded. Together with
the White Shepherd Club of Canada, AWSA published a
new breed standard. And eventually petitioned the American
Kennel Club for full recognition as a unique pure breed. The American
White Shepherd became a separate breed, independent of the German
Shepherd Dog.
I have owned and trained white and
dark German Shepherds for 27 years. The difference lies in
the individual animal, not the coat color.
~Dorothy Crider, former actress, breeder, & trainer for motion
pictures & TV
Crider's GSD, "White
Shadow Crider," appeared in 168 films and was awarded a title
for best actor dog.
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