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Appenzeller Sennenhund

The breeds · working

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Guardian · FCI standard 46

Appenzeller Sennenhund.

FCI utilization: driving, watch, guard, house and farm dog; today also a versatile working and family dog. AKC page: a good driving, watch, guard, house or farm dog. ProSpecieRara (Swiss): used originally in the Swiss Alps as a driving dog, and also as a draft, herding and guard dog; today a very versatile working, sport and family dog. Wikipedia (English): traditionally used by Alpine cattle-herders and dairymen to herd cattle and guard property, and often kept as a companion. Wikipedia (German): good herder and driver of cattle and well suited as a watchdog..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
48–71LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 48 to 70.5 lb; breed bitches 48 to 70.5 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 19.7 to 22.8 in · bitches 18.9 to 22 in

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 46, 2003

FCI prints a desired range, so no center. Low and high span the FCI tolerance and the AKC page figure (breed-wide, counted in both sex rows). cm to in: 48 cm = 18.9, 56 cm = 22.0.

Weight

dogs 48 to 70.5 lb · bitches 48 to 70.5 lb

Breed clubAKC

One breed-wide band counted in both sex rows; the FCI standard prints no weight. kg to lb: 32 kg = 70.5.

Coat

FCI: double coat (Stockhaar), firm and fitting; topcoat thick and shiny, undercoat thick and black, brown or grey; slightly wavy coat on withers and back just tolerated, not desirable. Always tricolour: black or havana brown base with reddish-brown and white markings; other than a tricoloured double coat is a disqualifying fault. Wikipedia (German): very easy to care for.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 46, 2003

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

4 of 5 · FCI: firm, fitting double coat with a thick topcoat and thick undercoat. Wikipedia (German): weather-hardy.

DerivedFCI Standard No. 46, 2003

Derived from the coat description (short dense double coat = 4). No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

ProSpecieRara: a very active dog that needs a task or suitable occupation, worked physically and above all mentally; dog sport is a good outlet now that cattle driving and farm guarding are rarely available. Wikipedia (German): likes to move and needs suitable occupation. AKC page bands: Energy Level 5 of 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 5 of 5.

Breed clubProSpecieRara

Energy

AKC page bands (AKC, not measured): Energy Level 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 5, Trainability 5, Barking Level 5, Adaptability 5, Affectionate With Family 5, Good With Young Children 3, Good With Other Dogs 5, Openness To Strangers 1, Watchdog/Protective Nature 5, Playfulness 3. FCI temperament: lively, high-spirited, self-assured, reliable and fearless, slightly suspicious of strangers, a watchdog that cannot be bribed and is capable of learning. ProSpecieRara: reserved to suspicious toward strangers, lively and often boisterous, loyal.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands, not measured.

Grooming load

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming

Wikipedia (German): the coat is very easy to care for. AKC page bands: Coat Grooming Frequency 3 of 5, Shedding Level 3 of 5, Drooling Level 3 of 5.

EditorialWikipedia (German)

No club or Royal Kennel Club grooming band was read, so grooming_load is left out.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI utilization: driving, watch, guard, house and farm dog; today also a versatile working and family dog. AKC page: a good driving, watch, guard, house or farm dog. ProSpecieRara (Swiss): used originally in the Swiss Alps as a driving dog, and also as a draft, herding and guard dog; today a very versatile working, sport and family dog. Wikipedia (English): traditionally used by Alpine cattle-herders and dairymen to herd cattle and guard property, and often kept as a companion. Wikipedia (German): good herder and driver of cattle and well suited as a watchdog.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 46, 2003

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

Cattle (FCI, which quotes an 1853 description of the dog as used partly to guard the homestead and partly to herd cattle; Wikipedia English and German; ProSpecieRara).

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 46, 2003

Stock worked, not game.

Also used on

AKC page: agility, obedience, herding and search and rescue. ProSpecieRara: rescue, guide and therapy dog, at home in every dog sport. Wikipedia (German): avalanche dog, and increasingly trained as a guide dog for the blind. Wikipedia (English): often kept as a companion.

EditorialAKC

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Search pattern

FCI: a driving dog and watchdog; the 1853 description it quotes calls it a high-pitch barking cattle dog used partly to guard the homestead, partly to herd cattle. FCI temperament: lively, high-spirited, self-assured, reliable and fearless, slightly suspicious of strangers. Wikipedia (German): a good herder and driver of cattle. Single-dog or team work, range and cry on a line are not stated by any source read.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 46, 2003

No source describes a gather, drive or tend pattern in sheepdog terms; this row records what the sources say.

Field trial standard

FCI: Group 2, Section 3 Swiss Mountain and Cattle Dogs, without working trial. AKC page: they excel in agility, obedience, herding and search and rescue. AKC herding titles and Swiss working tests were not read.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 46, 2003

Cold water

3 of 5 · FCI: thick double coat with thick undercoat. Wikipedia (German): weather-hardy. No source describes water work.

DerivedFCI Standard No. 46, 2003

Derived from the coat plus a mountain working background; no water work is described by any source, so a middle value.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 5; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 1; Good With Other Dogs 5; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 3; Drooling Level 3; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 5.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 4 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Appenzell Cattle Dog, Appenzeller, Appenzeller Mountain Dog

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