GREATER SWISS MOUNTAIN DOG

COUNTRY: Switzerland WEIGHT; Around 130 pounds HEIGHT: 231/2-281/2 inches COAT: Short, dense COLOR: Black and tan, with white at toes, tail tip, chest, and blaze. The tan always lies between the black and the white. Red tricolors do occur but are not acceptable. OTHER NAMES: Grosser Schweizer Sennenhund REGISTRY: FCI, ARC GROUP: Mastiff

The "Swissy" is the largest—and probably the oldest —of the four Swiss varieties, bred from the mastiff types left behind by the Roman armies. It was used for centuries in rural cantons, with no formal breeding program, as a butcher's dog and as a draft dog pulling produce to market. Farmers loved them. The dogs worked as hard as horses but didn't eat as much, and litters were large—up to 18 pups!

At that time, he was referred to as "Old Blaze." He started to disappear as the popularity of the red/white St. Bernard soared in the mid-1800s. There were many crossbreedings, and anything with the dominant red and white was called St. Bernard. Likely, many Swissies became Saints in one generation!

Right after the turn of the century, only a few remained on isolated farms. Franz Schertenleib found one and bought it as a "white elephant." Eager to hear what the knowledgeable judge, Dr. Albert Heim, had to say about this find, he exhibited the dog at a 1908 show, entered in the Bernese class. Heim knew the history of the Swissy and—having thought the breed extinct— praised the dog and admonished Swiss dog lovers to scout the farms and find enough animals to revitalize the breed.