FCI standard 347

White Swiss Shepherd Dog.

FCI 347 utilization: companion and family dog; Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs (except Swiss Cattle Dogs), Section 1 Sheepdogs, 'Without working trial'. FCI temperament: a joyful and easy-to-teach working and sporting dog with capability for all-round education, friendly and discreet, never afraid or aggressive without provocation. RKC standard characteristics: versatile working, companion dog; attentive, alert, resilient. FCI history: white shepherd dogs were accepted as a distinct breed in the USA and Canada; the first were imported to Switzerland in the early 1970s, the American male Lobo (born March 5, 1966) is the progenitor of the breed in Switzerland, and the breed was entered in the appendix of the Swiss Stud Book in June 1991. RKC: generally accepted to have been developed from a white strain of the German Shepherd Dog; the colour was long frowned upon and a disqualifying fault in the German standard; the white strain was first registered by the AKC in 1917; recognized by the Kennel Club in October 2017 and by the Swiss Kennel Club in 1991.

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.

55–88LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 66 to 88.2 lb; breed bitches 55 to 77.2 lb.

2.5+ HRSExercise, every dayMore than 2 hours per day (RKC). The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

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

Height at the shoulder

dogs 22.8 to 26 in · bitches 20.8 to 24 in

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2011

FCI and RKC print the same centimetre range; low takes the RKC rounded 20 3/4 in. No ideal printed, so center blank.

Weight

dogs 66 to 88.2 lb · bitches 55 to 77.2 lb

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2011

FCI prints 'ca.'. No ideal, so center blank.

Coat

FCI 347: medium length coat (dense, close-lying double coat, hard straight protection hair, shorter on face, ears and front of legs, slightly longer at neck and back of legs; slightly wavy hard hair permitted) or long coat (mane at the neck, trousers, bushy tail); colour white. Slight fawn overlay on ear tips, back and upper tail is a fault, distinct fawn a severe fault; soft silky, woolly, curly or open coat severe faults. RKC: two coat varieties, medium and long; colour white; dark skin desirable; fawn on ear tips, back and upper tail undesirable

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2011

Shedding

Sheds (RKC 'Sheds: yes'); dense double coat with abundant undercoat (FCI, RKC)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · FCI 347: dense, close-lying double coat with abundant undercoat covered with hard straight protection hair, in a medium-length and a long coat variety; RKC: dense double coats with thick abundant undercoat

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2011

Derived from the coat description (3 = medium double). The long coat sits toward the warmer end.

The dog at home

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

Exercise need

More than 2 hours per day (RKC)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: more than 2 hours = 150.

Exercise need

RKC: more than 2 hours per day; large house, large garden, town or country. FCI 347 temperament: lively and balanced, enjoys action, a joyful and easy-to-teach working and sporting dog with capability for all-round education; gait enduring and ground covering

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Grooming load

3 of 5 · More than once a week (RKC grooming band); coat length medium and long

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: more than once a week = 3.

Grooming

RKC: more than once a week; medium and long coat types. FCI 347: the long coat forms a mane at the neck, trousers on the back of the legs and a bushy tail; coat length should never be exaggerated

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The work

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

Role

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2011

Registry utilization is companion and family dog; the sources describe a German Shepherd-derived white strain, not a stock worker. The UKC/North American White Shepherd is a separate entry.

Field trial standard

FCI 347 classification: Group 1, Section 1 Sheepdogs, 'Without working trial' (no working trial required). No working test rules were read

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2011

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

12.7% · 12.7% dysplastic of 324 OFA hip evaluations on record (current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026); 85.2% normal; mild 9.6%, moderate 2.5%, severe 0.6%; breed rank 102 in the OFA table. French radiographic screening 1997-2017 (PMC7347163, peer-reviewed): 2,924 White Swiss Shepherds screened, dysplastic (grades C, D, E) fell from 34.6% in 1997-2003 to 24.5% in 2004-2010 and 20.3% in 2011-2017, a significant decrease credited to long-term radiographic selection

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Voluntary registry: affected dogs are under-reported and evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so true prevalence is higher. OFA's row 'WHITE SWISS SHEPHERD' is this breed only. The French figures use a different grading scale (A and B normal) and are shown beside, not blended.

Elbow dysplasia

18.9% · 18.9% abnormal of 323 OFA elbow evaluations on record (current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026); 81.1% normal; grade 1 14.2%, grade 2 4.3%, grade 3 0.3%; breed rank 24 in the OFA table

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Voluntary registry: affected dogs are under-reported and evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock, so true prevalence is higher.

Most common disorders

AKC editorial: the pituitary dwarfism genetic mutation seen in the German Shepherd Dog may also be seen in the White Swiss Shepherd Dog (and the Lapponian Herder among others). RKC: breed watch category 1, no points of concern specific to the breed; hip and elbow scoring strongly recommended before breeding. Hip dysplasia: see the hip row (OFA, French screening)

EditorialAKC, 2024

The AKC statement is general editorial; no breed carrier frequency was read for the White Swiss. The RKC health text listed only hip and elbow schemes on the fetched page.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

UKElbow testing (BVA/KC Elbow Dysplasia Scheme)BVA/KC · The Royal Kennel Club, White Swiss Shepherd Dog (Imp) breed page: breed characteristics, history, health schemes
UKHip testing (BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme)BVA/KC · The Royal Kennel Club, White Swiss Shepherd Dog (Imp) breed page: breed characteristics, history, health schemes

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: Berger Blanc Suisse, BBS, Weisser Schweizer Schäferhund, Swiss White Shepherd

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