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| Category : Greater Swiss Mountain Dog |
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| Description |
ABOUT THE BREED
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is a large and heavy boned dog with incredible physical strength. Historically, the Swissy was bred as a draft dog to pull heavy carts, as a herding dog to move dairy cattle, and as a watchdog and family companion. The Swiss farmer needed a strong, multi- purpose dog capable of contributing to daily life on the farm. The Swissy is a very alert, strong and athletic dog who can out power most breeds of dog. The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is confident in nature and should never be shy and though athletic and very physical, the Swissy is also known to be very gentle with young children.
APPEARANCE
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is a striking, tri-color breed with a short black coat with white and red markings. White markings should appear on all four paws and tip of tail, as well as on the muzzle, up between the eyes, on the chest and may or may not have white on or around the neck. Red markings appear on the legs between the black and white, over each eye, on each cheek and under the tail. They have a large, broad head with a soft, animated expression and dark brown eyes. They are heavy boned and rather large, with males ranging between 25 ½ and 28 ½ inches at the shoulder and females ranging between 23 ½ and 27 inches at the shoulder. Though there is no actual standard for weight in the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, males tend to range between 100 and 130 pounds with females ranging between 80 and 110 pounds. Occasionally some Swissys are smaller or larger than these ranges. While the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Standard calls for a black, white and red dog, Swissys do come in other colors which include blue, white, and tan tri-color and red and white bi-color. On the blue tri-color dogs, blue replaces where black would normally be and tan replaces where the red would normally be. On the red bi-color dogs, the dog is solid red with white markings with a total absence of black coloring. Only black tri-colored Swissys can be shown for Championship titles. Their flews should be only partially developed, and thus the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog should be dry mouthed. They should not drool.
TEMPERAMENT and PERSONALITY
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is a happy, jovial breed with an enthusiastic nature and strong affinity to people and children. They are strongly dependant on people and crave attention and physical contact. As youngsters, they can be quite boisterous and they do require steady and reliable training to develop manners and physical self-control. Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs should be very accepting of a non-threatening stranger. Whether that stranger is friendly or neutral, the Swissy should be happy and inviting on approach. The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog should be confident and comfortable in unfamiliar locations and be stable around strange noises and unfamiliar people. Swissys should be very accepting of other dogs and species.
Activity level in the Swissy is very variable. Swissys are capable of being quite athletic, but typically, that activity is seen in bursts. Most Swissys are active for short periods of time followed by napping. However, the Swissy adapts very easily to many different lifestyles. Swissys want to be with their owners and want to participate, and with that desire to be with their people, the activity level of the Swissy most often matches the activity level of the family.
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is an incredible watchdog. They tend to notice everything in their surroundings and are very quick to sound alarm. They will inform you of anything different in their environment, barking at anything that seems out of order. Faced with a threat, they will stand their ground and put on a show that will intimidate those unfamiliar with the dog. However, Swissys are not guard dogs. A Greater Swiss Mountain Dog should be very bite-inhibited. He should be reluctant to bite, doing so only under the direst of circumstances.
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is a very dependant dog and one that needs a good leader to follow. A Greater Swiss Mountain Dog should welcome an authority figure. Given a qualified leader figure, the Swissy has a fairly submissive nature and is a willing worker happy to follow through with the tasks at hand. The Swissy does not do well in a home environment without a leader.
TRAINING
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is capable of pulling carts loaded with 3000 pounds or more, and with this strength, they require training from an early age to respect a leash and must be taught not to pull. They can be quite physical and boisterous and must be taught to have physical self control so as not to inadvertently injure a person.
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog should be very trainable. He should be willing and able to learn repeated behaviors. The Swissy responds very well to encouragement and positive training, yet should also be able to handle a reasonable correction. The Swissy is a breed that must learn proper manners, and learns best when instructed what to do, as well as what not to do. While Swissys require socialization to the environment around them, they should not require extensive amounts of socialization to be confident in unfamiliar environments or with unfamiliar people. They should be naturally confident, willing to try and do new things and meet new people without hesitation.
Swissys have various degrees of herding instinct, some with very strong drive and others with moderate drive. Strong herding drive pairs closely with strong prey drive, leading to a desire to chase small animals. Swissys should be taught from an early age to not chase small animals such as cats, squirrels and small dogs. Strong herding drive can also lead to games of chase and tackle with small children if not directed and trained properly.
EXERCISE
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is a breed that requires a moderate level of exercise. As a young puppy, extreme exercise should be avoided. Too much exercise interferes with proper growth of bones and joints, however all puppies need some form of exercise and the lack of exercise can be just as detrimental as too much exercise. The best rule of thumb is to simply watch the puppy. The puppy that is up and active needs the exercise and the puppy that just wants to lay down should be allowed to do so. Care must be taken to avoid over stimulation as Swissys are natural "joiners" who want to be in the thick of attention. As an adolescent, exercise requirements will increase and increasing the walking schedule will help keep the young, active Swissy under control. At maturity, they do well with as little as a walk once or twice a day, but can also manage a much more rigorous exercise schedule. Walking, hiking, back packing, swimming and carting are all good opportunities for exercise to keep a Swissy in good physical condition. Not all Swissys are fond of water, so take care to introduce water at a young age in a very positive manner.
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