White Shepherd (swiss/german) Vs Gsd

[jacqui835]

Rather than hijack my other thread, I thought I would start a new one and ask a question I have often wondered about. If I were to get a GSD, I would consider a white one as I love the reception my red doberman gets as he is rarely correctly identified compared with what our rottie used to cop (as everyone knew exactly what she was). I particularly like that I haven't seen any white Shepherds with backs as curved (and most seem straight) as typically coloured GSD's.

I know white Shepherds can be born to coloured parents, and this would be ideal for me, but I also know there is now an emerging second breed/type (?) referred to as the Swiss Shepherds. Do they have the same temperaments as typical GSD's or in what ways do they differ? Has anyone found colour to have any affect on temperament?

[~Shepherd~]

Rather than hijack my other thread, I thought I would start a new one and ask a question I have often wondered about. If I were to get a GSD, I would consider a white one as I love the reception my red doberman gets as he is rarely correctly identified compared with what our rottie used to cop (as everyone knew exactly what she was). I particularly like that I haven't seen any white Shepherds with backs as curved (and most seem straight) as typically coloured GSD's.

I know white Shepherds can be born to coloured parents, and this would be ideal for me, but I also know there is now an emerging second breed/type (?) referred to as the Swiss Shepherds. Do they have the same temperaments as typical GSD's or in what ways do they differ? Has anyone found colour to have any affect on temperament?

There is a lot of information on the White Swiss Shepherd Dog Club of Australia including the breed standard.

http://www.whiteshepherdsaustralia.com/

FCI Breed Standard : http://www.whiteshepherdsaustralia.com/breedstandard.htm

Here are some of the Vic club members including myself at Kepala at Christmas!

Edited January 12, 2011 by Chewbacca

[Fanuilos]

Temperament wise, all Shepherds regardless of colour should have the same temperament. They should not be aggressive or overly shy or timid.

If you are going to make one of these dogs part of your family, make sure you see the parents. It's not always possible to see the sire but try and see the dam. If you can't see the dam, see if you can see a few dogs bred by the breeder from that dam, if possible. Parents and blood lines aren't the only influence in temperament.

The way a breeder raises a litter of pups will have a MASSIVE influence on them. Two breeders with the same dogs or same blood lines can produce two very different temperaments. What happens to a dog in it's first 8 weeks with the breeder is very important. A breeder who exposes a puppy to many many types of sensations in a safe caring manner will raise a very different litter compared to a breeder whose only real contact with their pups is when they pick them up to clean the whelping box or weigh them, if they even do that.

[Fanuilos]

Here are some of the Vic club members including myself at Kepala at Christmas!

I always love seeing big dogs in doggy life jackets, it cracks me up. Like when the Rotties are at Kepala.

[jacqui835]

Love the photos, they're certainly a very beautiful dog. I guess what I was trying to get at is that I have looked at a lot of websites about the white shepherd, and have seen on numerous occasions these sorts of things;

"The basic temperament is softer than that of the typical colored German Shepherd Dog. White Shepherds can be sensitive almost to the point of timidity."

"have an overall softer, more mellow, more sensitive personality than traditionally colored (black and tan) German Shepherds.

Because of this sweeter temperament, White German Shepherds are almost never used in protection dog sports such as schutzhund. A White German Shepherd can be a good watchdog, but his "watching" is usually limited to alerting you that someone is coming. White German Shepherds are not typically aggressive.

In fact, if a White Geman Shepherd is going to have any temperament fault, it's more likely to be timidity or skittishness. White Shepherds need a great deal of early socialization to build a confident attitude toward strangers and strange situations."

Etc

I was just wanting to find out from people who actually owned them or had lots of experience with them if this was actually the case.

[Fanuilos]

Having owned coloureds and whites, I think the above is not necessarily true. I've never noticed the difference in temperament with the dogs we have owned. Our kids will bark if someone comes onto our property who they don't know. I've had a few occasions when friends have just walked into the house when the door was unlocked, no knocking etc, and one of the dogs baled the person up at the door until we came. The dog knew this person but knew we hadn't let them in so was basically stopping them coming any further in until we let them.

Alot of whities do Schutzhund in Europe.

Like any dog, it all depends on what the breeder is breeding for. Are they breeding for companions, companions with working abilities or straight out working abilities?

[jacqui835]

Having owned coloureds and whites, I think the above is not necessarily true. I've never noticed the difference in temperament with the dogs we have owned. Our kids will bark if someone comes onto our property who they don't know. I've had a few occasions when friends have just walked into the house when the door was unlocked, no knocking etc, and one of the dogs baled the person up at the door until we came. The dog knew this person but knew we hadn't let them in so was basically stopping them coming any further in until we let them.

Alot of whities do Schutzhund in Europe.

Like any dog, it all depends on what the breeder is breeding for. Are they breeding for companions, companions with working abilities or straight out working abilities?

Thanks that's very helpful and exactly what I was hoping to hear. Well, it won't be anytime soon but I think my next dog will be a White Shepherd