About
TEMPERAMENT
To us, the ideal White Swiss Shepherd Dog is a friendly dog with high intelligence, good athleticism, medium-high prey drive, and a solid off switch. Our goal is to produce the ideal "weekend warrior" dog - a dog which is easy to live with when life is busy and there is little time to devote to training and activity, but who truly loves hiking, training, and competing with their people. We also have a strong appreciation for versatility, and enjoy dogs which bond deeply with their owners and are willing and enthusiastic to join us in anything we do, whether it be sports, hiking, biking, or playing in the backyard.
We tend to believe in the saying, "put your money where your mouth is," and apply it often to our breeding program. We prove our dogs have the temperament we say they do via character tests, showing, and trialing in a variety of sports. To see our dedication to such things, please visit our Furrari's page. Many say their dogs are capable of a lot of things...we've proven it.
Despite being an overall pretty healthy breed, WSSDs are still prone to a few diseases, including hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, MDR1, DM, allergies, and sensitivities. Although it is impossible to fully eliminate health problems, we are committed to reducing the risk of health problems over time. Each of our dogs is extensively health tested, with the majority having their CHIC (Canine Health Information Center) numbers, which requires testing hips, elbows, cardiac, eyes, thyroid, MDR1, and DM. Additionally, we are one of the first and few American WSS kennels to test our breeding stock for lumbosacral transitional vertebra via FCI-Finland.
Furthermore, we are committed to reducing the genetic COI of our dogs (Coefficient of Inbreeding), which is one of the biggest predictors of health, even moreso than parental health testing results. In this regard, we have imported semen from truly diverse lines from Brazil, the UK, and New Zealand, to name a few. We have even imported semen from an F1 outcross male to add diversity to our program.
HEALTH
CONFORMATION
While we do appreciate good conformation, our view is that a good tempered and healthy dog is beautiful. This is not to say that we ignore conformation, but rather that we are willing to compromise on conformation in order to get the temperament and genetic diversity we are seeking.
As breeders, it is impossible to prioritize everything, so for us, temperament and health are considerations before conformation. In any case, many of our dogs have attained their Champion title (or higher), have placed in the herding group, some have earned Best in Show or Reserve Best in Show awards, and a few have been nationally ranked in UKC's Top Ten breed rankings.