At Ivory Arch, we strive to produce happy, healthy, FCI standard dogs for your home. Our mission is to help educate on the importance of ethical breeding, the history and general information of this breed, and what our program entails. We strive to raise even temperaments in dogs that are versatile in conformation, service and therapy work, and working environments.
Our Mission
he History of the White Swiss Shepherd
The White Swiss Shepherd originated in Germany's Thuringian region as a precursor to the well-known German Shepherd. Its body type was instrumental in the creation of the German Shepherd breed. However, for almost a century, there was no differentiation between the two breeds until the 1930s, when the white-colored dog was excluded from shepherd breeding, nearly leading to its extinction.
Nonetheless, by the 1960s, the White Shepherd made a resurgence, and it was distinguished as a separate breed in the U.S. and Canada. In the early 1970s, some of these dogs were sent to Switzerland, where they flourished and multiplied. The Swiss Stud Book officially recognized the new White Swiss Shepherd breed in 1991, and in 1999, the UKC also acknowledged the breed.
For a more detailed explanation of the history of the White Swiss Shepherd, please click on the link below.
White Swiss Shepherds are an extremely sensitive breed. They can become noisy, destructive, and hyperactive if they are under-exercised or bored, and they can also become fearful, reactive and aggressive if they have not been properly socialized or have had a bad experience with an aggressive/reactive dog. Therefore, owners must provide plenty of exercise, stimulation, training, and socialization to maintain both their own and their dog's sanity. The breed's thick white coat requires regular grooming and sheds heavily, leaving a trail of hair around the home. You won’t be wearing leggings or black clothes without their hair sticking out like a sore thumb!
Now that you’ve heard the bad and the ugly of this breed, here is the good: White Swiss Shepherds are extremely smart and easy to train. When properly socialized, they get along well with other people, children, and animals. These dogs are exceptionally versatile and loyal. They are known for having a more mellow personality in contrast to the German Shepherd Dog although with every conformation and family focused breeder, there will always be a working focused breeder. The difference is the drives of the parent dogs. So when choosing your puppy, make sure you are researching your own personal needs whether that is a low-drive family pet, or a high-drive working companion!
There will always be pros and cons when choosing a dog breed to be your lifetime companion, working service or therapy animal, or protection and sport prospect. I encourage everyone that asks me about this breed to do their research and make sure that this is the dog that you want. At Ivory Arch, we focus on even temperaments and conformation. The benefit of this is that we can produce family pets, conformation companions, or therapy and service dogs. As we gain more information about our dogs and their personalities, we can then decipher what jobs our puppies would then be able to do and what homes they would work best in.
If you are looking for a higher drive White Swiss Shepherd, I would be happy to recommend you to other breeders who focus on sports, biting, protection, and agility!
Photo accredited to CecyRosePhotoVideoGraphics and Cecilia R Rose-Rosas
What’s a Breed Standard, Anyway?
A breed standard is the blueprint that describes the ideal version of what the dog in that breed should look and behave like. Think of it as a guide to what all breeders should try to attain and produce in their programs.
FCI N° 347
The Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) standard describes the White Swiss Shepherd as balanced, lively, attentive, friendly, and much more. But if I could describe them in a few words, it would be loyal, confident, and headstrong.
Size
According to and quoting the standard written by the FCI:
Males are between 58—66 centimeters (22.8—25.9 inches) tall at the withers and between 30—40 kilograms (66—88 pounds) in weight.
Females are between 53—61 centimeters (20.8—24 inches) tall at the withers and between 25—35 kilograms (55—77 pounds) in weight.
Coat Length & Maintenance
According to the breed standard written by the FCI, there are two lengths accepted by the FCI: Long and Medium. However, White Swiss Shepherds can come in what’s called a “stock coat” or better known as the short coat.
White Swiss Shepherds require frequent brushing to maintain their double coat, prevent matting behind the ears and underneath the armpits, and to keep your sanity intact with the amount of hair you will have in your home due to their year-round shedding. These dogs tend to shed heavily in seasonal changes, such as winter into spring and fall into winter.
The Gist
What is a White Swiss Shepherd like? In my experience, I have met both sides of the spectrum. You can have a high-drive, biddable, working companion suitable for sports, protection, and agility BUT you can also have a docile, goofy, family companion or service/therapy dog. That is the wonderful thing about the White Swiss Shepherd—they are known for being versatile.
At Ivory Arch, we do not consider a dog for breeding until all health testing is done and the dog has passed with flying colors. Whether or not the dog has an exceptional personality or excels in sporting and showing, if he/she has any failed health testing results, they will not breed to prevent passing those to future puppies.
Our commitment to the health and preservation of this breed outweighs any risks associated with breeding dogs who have/are:
— Failed Hips
— Failed Elbows
— LTV2, LTV3, and LTV4 ratings
— Failed Eye, Thyroid, and Heart evaluations
— Known heart disease within the pedigree
— Affected by MDR1 and DM
— Failed Dentition (missing teeth)
— Breeding before the age of 24 months
We cannot guarantee to produce perfectly healthy dogs, but we can do your best to prevent unhealthy puppies by not breeding with dogs who are below the age of 2 years old or are affected by the above.
In our breeding program, we go above and beyond our breed’s OFA CHIC guidelines for health testing. We are committed to transparency and health and we stand by that. We are also aware of the lack of genetic diversity in the States and have done countless hours of research on pedigrees to help combat the rising inbreeding coefficient.
There is nothing more important to us than the health and preservation of this beautiful breed. For more information on what those diseases are and how they can affect the dog, please enjoy the links I have provided below.
Every ethical breeder has goals in mind when creating their program. At Ivory Arch, we focus heavily on even temperaments, conformation, and service/therapy work. While all those things are our focus, we prioritize good temperaments overall.
Pictured here is Margaux, my service dog in training and the future dam to our first litter (pending). We have not entered her in any shows because we wanted to ensure that she had the correct personality, socialization, and training before we began her conformation journey. Luckily, Margaux entered her first show in March 2025 and gained her International Championship through IABCA!
All of our dogs will accomplish a championship title and more as soon as we can make it happen.
