Looking for White German Shepherd Puppies? Learn more about the American-Canadian White German Shepherds…
The German Shepherd dog has been bred in different varieties over the years. One such variety is the white German chocolate puppy which is also known as the American or Canadian White Shepherd. It was basically produced as a companion and show dog. It is sometimes referred to as the Swiss Shepherd dog or the Berger Blanc Suisse.
Shepherd dogs are basically wolf-dog hybrids and are known for their intelligence and grace. Records dating back to 1882 show the presence of white German Shepherds. In fact the first white Shepherd was registered as far back as 1917 and belonged to the kennels of Ann Tracy. Most of them were imported into the United States by Minnesota-based H. N. Hanchett during the1920′s. It is interesting to note that when the German Shepherd dog was being bred, the first 15 years of pedigrees saw the largest numbers of white puppies.
Origins of The White German Shepherd
Even though the color is not very uncommon in the original German Shepherd, it is still considered a different line. The developer of the original German Shepherd dog was Max Von Stephanitz and he also owned a number of white German Shepherd puppies and dogs. This line has often been mixed with the European varieties of the older style German Shepherd dogs and this resulted in the creation of the Shiloh Shepherd because of the purity of the gene pool.
Ban on White German Shepherd in 1930’s
The white color was actually disqualified in the United States in 1933 under the GSD Breed Standard and the breed was also banned as a show dog in 1968. In Germany around the same time a campaign was initiated to ban the white German Shepherd and this resulted in its annihilation in Europe. The main reason for this change was that the white color was mistakenly considered a condition of albinism which resulted as genetic health defects as well as paling of the breed color. However, with genetic research today it has come to notice that the actual code for white coats is found in the MC1R gene locus. This gene is responsible for the overall color conformation and has nothing to do with albinism.
A club supporting the white German Shepherd was established in 1969 and the international wing was set up in 1977. They started reappearing shortly afterwards in Germany and the rest of Europe. In Denmark, Netherlands and Switzerland it was actually recognized as a separate breed.
Appearance of the White German Shepherd
One should not consider the white dog an albino. It does not have discolored eyes, eyelids and nose as well as pads which is a common trait in dogs suffering from albinism. It should ideally have a snow white coat but others with broken color are also accepted. The medium length coat has slightly longer hair around the neck.
The nose of the white German Shepherd should be black. The snow nose tends to fade in the winters and this is an acceptable trait only if the nose becomes darker in warm weather and does not remain pink. The White German Shepherd puppies are very obedient and responsive to training therefore making excellent house pets for children and families.
