Berger Blanc Suisse

The Berger Blanc Suisse is a fairly new breed of dog, officially recognized only by the Federation Cynologique Internationale, but very closely related to the White Shepherd, an all-white breed that is also derived from the original German Shepherd breed and recognized by the United Kennel Club. Both breeds are descended from the German Shepherd breed, a breed that inherited a recessive white gene from a dog named Greif. Initially, German Shepherds with white coats were preferred as they were easier to distinguish from wolves during the night but fell out of favor at some point in the 1930s, and white dogs were excluded from being shown or from breeding by the kennel clubs. Some people still preferred the white coats on the Shepherds, however, and they continued being bred in an attempt to distinguish them as a separate breed. In the 1970s White German Shepherd clubs devoted to breeding specifically for the white-coated German Shepherd were formed in the United States and in Canada. While not yet recognized as a separate breed by the American Kennel Club, the White Shepherd went on to be recognized by the United Kennel Club in 1999. Prior to the formation of these clubs, in 1967, Miss Agatha Burch brought a White German Shepherd by the name of Lobo White Burch with her to Switzerland. Ms. Burch then imported a female white German Shepherd by the name of White Lilac of Blinkbonny from the UK. These two dogs are considered to be the foundation dogs for the Berger Blanc Suisse, along with several other dogs imported from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. By 1991, the breed was distinct enough to have members registered as a new breed in the Swiss studbook and it was accepted on a provisional basis by the FCI in 2002, but it took almost nine more years before the breed was officially recognized, on July 5, 2011.