The registration of white colored descendants of the German Shepherd Dog is more than complicated in the USA. We'll start with the history of the breed in order to help this all make sense.

 

When the white color fell into disfavor in German Shepherds, many breeders around the world began breeding away from the white color, and some even culled white puppies. Before the genetics were understood, it was believed that the white color was linked to health issues. However, in America and Canada, we continued to breed white colored German Shepherds even after most of the world had stopped. While AKC and the SV made white a disqualification in German Shepherds, UKC still permits white colored German Shepherds to this day. Eventually, in April 1999, UKC recognized a white descendant of the German Shepherd, which it then named the "White Shepherd." Keep in mind, when referring to a White Shepherd, I am referring to this UKC breed, and NOT the German Shepherd Dog - color white.

 

During the same time, breeders in Europe began importing this American stock. They developed another breed standard, similar to the one written by UKC. Originally, the breed was to be called the "American/Canadian White Shepherd," but the name was rejected and the Swiss decided to dub it the "Berger Blanc Suisse" or "White Swiss Shepherd." This breed was recognized by the Swiss national kennel club in 1991, but did not gain FCI provisional recognition until 2003 and full recognition was given in 2011.

 

Scouring the many pedigrees available on Pedigree Database, you will find that the vast majority of today's FCI registered White Swiss Shepherds can be traced directly some of the first UKC registered White Shepherds. It is also true that several of today's UKC White Shepherds can be traced directly back to FCI registered White Swiss Shepherds. To put it plainly, the UKC White Shepherd and FCI White Swiss Shepherd are the same breed. Now, I must add a disclaimer to this statement because it is possible to get AKC German Shepherd Dogs - colored white into the UKC White Shepherd studbooks through a loophole presented by AWSA. For this reason, it is important to check the registrations of parent dogs.

 

UKC registration as a White Shepherd does not and will never affect the standings of an FCI White Swiss Shepherd because FCI does not acknowledge or partner with UKC in any way. As far as FCI is concerned, UKC may as well not even exist. However, registering an FCI White Swiss Shepherd with AKC as a German Shepherd - colored white is not a type of dual registration. Instead, it is a change of breed because of the letter of understanding between the AKC and the FCI, which allows pedigrees to transfer from one organization to the other. FCI reserves the right to have papers pulled from FCI White Swiss Shepherds registered as AKC German Shepherds via foreign registration (this does not apply to PAL or the Canine Partners Program because then the dog has not been entered into the German Shepherd Dog studbooks), because it is against the rules of the Circular 77/2007.

 

Writing off the UKC White Shepherd as separate from the FCI White Swiss Shepherd is harmful to the future health of the breed. Our breed has the luxury of having a set of dogs which didn't make it into the studbooks when they should have, but can now be used for genetic diversity. Unfortunately, while UKC accepts FCI, FCI does not accept UKC. For this reason, it is up to use breeders and owners to do everything we can to get UKC dogs into FCI for the health of the breed.

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Ultimately, the White Swiss Shepherd and German Shepherd colored white share the same genetic history (although this is starting to change as we get more and more generations away from the German Shepherd), and the best way to determine if a dog is a White Swiss Shepherd or German Shepherd is by it's paperwork. Think of UKC White Shepherds as a sort of middle ground, with their breed determined by whether they hold FCI WSS or AKC GSD papers in addition to their UKC WS paperwork. Here at Fireside Fernweh, all of our dogs hold FCI White Swiss Shepherd and UKC White Shepherd papers, which allows them to maintain FCI pedigrees and also compete in UKC competitions. We do not allow any of our dogs to be registered with AKC as German Shepherds.

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In terms of temperament, the White Swiss Shepherd is generally more sociable, more biddable, and a bit lower energy and drive as compared to the average German Shepherd. However, in both breeds, quality breeding is of utmost important. Just as there are fearful and skittish German Shepherds, there are fearful and skittish White Swiss Shepherds. Here at Fireside Fernweh, we pride ourselves on the temperaments we have selected and produced. Our dogs make excellent family companions due to their easy going, confident, and friendly nature that makes them easy to take places without worrying about their behavior. All of this while still also having great drive and intelligence making them fun sport dogs or hiking buddies.