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General Characteristics The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, also known as Grosser Schweizer Sunnenhund is the largest and oldest of the four Sennenhund breeds developed in Switzerland. They were traditionally used for general farm work as a livestock drover, watchdog and draft dog. There dogs are therefore large, heavy-boned and well muscled. In spite of it’s size and weight, they are still agile enough to perform their duties in mountainous Switzerland. The GSMD makes a wonderful companion and tend to be gentle with young children. The Swissy is a large, tri-colored, double coated breed. Males are larger than females standing 25-28 inches and 24-27 inches at the shoulder, respectively. Althought there is no weight guidelines in the breed standard, males tend to weigh 105-140 lbs and females are 80-110 lbs.
Although your typical GSMD is black, white and tan tri-colored, they do come in other colors including blue, white and tan tri-color and red and white bi-color. Only black, white and tan tri-color can be shown for Championship titles. The GSMD is built to perform farm duties and is equipped with heavy bone and strong hind legs. Consequently, the Swissy is better suited for slow and steady activity. Although the Swissy is quite athletic, they are built for strength and endurance rather than quick bursts of energy.
One distinguishable and desirable trait of the GSMD is the dry-mouth. They do not typically drool! Temperament & Personality The GSMD can be described as strong yet gentle, versatile, loyal, loving and eager to please. They are natural working dogs but easily adapt to a home life. Swissies are accepting of non-threatening strangers and other animals but do make an incredible watchdog. They will sound the alarm if a change in the environment warrants it. Faced with a threat, the Swissy will stand it’s ground in a protective, non-aggressive manner. Activity level in the Swissy is quite variable and they will adapt to different lifestyles. They like to be with their people and the activity level of the dog often matches that of the family. Most Swissies are active for short periods of time followed by a nap. The Swissy is known as a gentle giant and makes a fantastic family dog. They are incredibly gentle and patient with children. Even though they are large dogs, they seem to recognize the size difference and act accordingly. It needs to be noted that they can make clumsy mistakes such as leaning to hard resulting in knocking a kid over. Due to the size difference between the Swissy and children, they should be supervised whenever they are together. Trainability The GSMD are quick learners and eager to please. They best respond to positive-reinforcement based training. Harsher methods will diminish the spirit of the dog and take the fun out of training. Due to their size and strength, the GSMD requires early training to develop good manners. It is usually quite easy to find puppy classes which are intended to begin socialization and teach basic manners. Please note that not all classes are the same. Visit the class before you sign up to ensure you are in line with their philosophies. As your dog reaches adolescence, they will need further training. Basic obedience classes are a great way to strengthen the bond between you and your dog. Without training, they can quickly develop undesirable habits. A properly trained Swissy will be a greater pleasure to live with. The GSMD is often slow to housetrain and should begin as soon as your puppy arrives home. Crate training is highly recommended. Housetraining requires patience, consistency and a small set of rules. Do not allow your puppy to play unsupervised, maintain a schedule, use a crate and be diligent. Although it takes time, your puppy will become housetrained. Links CKC Breed Standard
Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club of America |
