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The White Shepherds history and how the breed developed in Sweden

White Shepherds share the same history as the German shepherd all the way until 1933 when the color white was forbidden in Germany.
Consolidation of the breed was started the last decades of 1880 and at exhibitions these dogs were showed: Greif 1882 and 1887, Greifa 188 and Greif II 1889, all white.
These dogs are found in the pedigree of the legendary Hektor Linksrhein (Greif was his grand dad), born 1st of January 1895 and he was the result of many generations of shepherds taken from several parts of Germany.
In 1899 these shepherd dogs were united under the official breed name Deutscher Schäferhund (Schäfer = shepherd) at this time the “Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde” was started and so the breed book.

It was Max von Stephanitz (1864-1936) purchase of the above mentioned Hektor that started the success of the shepherd as a breed. In literature Hektor appears under his new name given by his new owner: Horand von Grafrath. Horand was the first dog to start up the breeding register of Shepherds (SZ 1) and he is the modern history first in the white lines. Max von Stephanitz plans with creating a breed of herding dogs was hard to realise since there was not that high demand of herding dogs. He did then focus on making this the ultimate/perfect working dog.
The standard/description that Stephanitz did create is almost the same today.

Of the 30 dogs that were the base for this breed of today, 18 of them were white or had white parents or had the white gene and did give white offspring. That the color white was among the dogs that became to be the base of the German shepherds is without any doubt.
Out of Horands offspring is for instance Berno von der Seeweise, born 1913, his photo was found on the first edition of Stephanitz book “Der Deutsche Schäferhund in Wort und Bild” 1921. Berno was among the first to be in the breed book.
Another dog that has to be mentioned because of his significance for the breed is Horands full brother Luchs, a known carrier of white coat. One important breeding bitch was the white Blanka von Riedekenburg, whos mother born in 1911 was a black and tan but did carry white genes. Her son Erich von Grafenwerth, born 1918, is to be found in many shepherds of today’s pedigree.

The ban of the white color came in 1933. What discussions that did lead up to this decsision has never been brought out in the light and might never be fully known more than as speculations. The decision did have both political and social background and this is recognised by people active within this breed today in Germany.

The decision made by FCI in 2003 to open up a new separate breed for white shepherds does show that this is a hard to handle subject still today 70 years after the ban.
From the beginning Max von Stephanitz had nothing against the color white. His motive was not to create a color but more a high quality working dog. He once said that no good dog is of a bad color. Even though he did not himself want dogs that were white or black he did think that this was much up to the taste and decision of the individual breeder.

With the time he did change his mind, under the active influence of other breeders and he did make a addition to the original breed standard together with Arthur Meyer where they described that the color white should only be for “zottharigen” dogs. With zotthaarigen dogs he meant only for dogs with a plush long coat since he considered white short flat coat to be not that attractive. What happened in the early 1900's was that the German shepherd lost in popularity and not only this but also the inherited defects that did happen was told to be because of the color white and the white dogs where now seen as degenerated albinos. Even Max von Stephanitz did during the later parts of his life take part in the opinion against the color white. At this time dogs with the color white got disqualified during shows. Von Stephanitz did lead ”Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde” until his death in 1935. After the color white was forbidden there was almost no white dogs in Germany or even larger parts of Europe at this time. The only exclusion was England where you still could see white German shepherds or alsatians as they were called there.

The breed of white shepherds: Berger Blanc de Suisse, would probably not have existed at all if it wasn’t for the fact that many Canadian and American breeders did ignore the German change in the breed description and kept on breeding white shepherds.
As early as 1913 the Americans had started the German shepherd dog club of America and the white born dogs where just registered as German shepherds of the color white.
In the 1970’s the white shepherd came back to the continent of its origin.

A dog named Lobo White Burch, was brought to Switzerland and it took some more years until the breeding of white shepherds came back to Germany. To avoid conflicts with the German mother breed club the white shepherds were now mentioned as Amerikanisch-Canadisch Weisser Schäferhund. It was a big misconception that was to be easy to let these dogs join up as a new breed under FCI.

It would take 20 years until the white ones would be recognised, as a breed of it’s own and then under the name White Swiss Shepherd, Berger Blanc Suisse.

In Sweden there has been a small population of white ones bred by the accountant named Erik Jeppson in the city of Olofström during the 1950’s. Almost all Swedish white shepherds come from Jeppsons breeding. It was a large amount of dogs and this was booth out of good and out of bad. Jeppson mixed both white and black and tan dogs since the Swedish kennel club allowed white as a color during the 50’s. Some of Jeppsons dogs and dogs with his lines are S30375/80 Sinky, S05216/67 Argo, S39219/78 Loackshepherd.
Even though the fact that his breeding can be questioned the Swedish population of white shepherds has a lot to thank Jeppson for his active breeding to keep the white lines.

Even though the color white was forbidden in Germany as early as 1933 you could still register a german shepherd born white in Sweden until 1981. After 1981 white dogs in Sweden became not allowed to be registered with the kennel club even though it had registered parents.

1989 the club of white German shepherd was built in Sweden and, working together with the Swedish kennel club, until the separate breed was recognised.

During the 1990 there were several not cooperating clubs that did register white shepherds, all clubs that were free standing from the kennel club.
All these clubs had different view on this bred if it was to be a white German shepherd and be together with the black and tan German shepherd or a separate white German shepherd bred or a totally new bred under new name.

In 1999 one of the clubs, “Föreningen vit schäfer”, similar to the already existing breed name german schäfer applied to the Swedish kennel club to be recognised.

After the meeting with the Swedish kennel club the decision was taken that this breed in the Swedish language should not contain the word schäfer that was to similar to the German Schaefer.
The new breed name was to be “vit herdehund” white shepherd dog and was recognised as a separate breed in 2000 and a register was created for these dogs in a separate register that is to be joined in with all other recognised dog breeds in the Swedish kennel club.
These dogs have the letter AS in their registration number instead of S only.

From 2007 this separate register will not exist and they will have joined in under the main kennel club register.

This breed’s book is open until 2010 and after this a new decision will be taken about this breeds details.
That this breed’s book is open means that dogs that are not registered and do fit the breed description have the possibility to enrol after kennel club judge decision.
This book is open so there can be a wide base of this breed to get a high quality and not only narrow it down to the few dogs that still today are born white out of already registered parents.

To make this a bit complicated there are some people that still today refuse to call their dogs white shepherd and want to be under the old name white Schaefer.

Only white shepherd is under the Swedish kennel club but if you have a white dog registered under the white Schaefer club you still have the possibility to sign your dog in as a white shepherd and join the kennel club as long as the book is open.