Notably, the new White Shepherd breed has been readily adopted in many countries around the world. White German Shepherd Dogs and White Shepherd Dogs have become increasingly popular throughout Europe and other parts of the world.
Many European breeders have imported North American White Shepherd dogs, some originally registered as AKC or CKC White German Shepherd Dogs, to build their own separate pure White Shepherd breeding programs. Today, European populations of the white dog, along both the White German Shepherd Dog and “separate” White Shepherd breed lines (but increasingly along the “separate” White Shepherd breed line over successive breeding generations) have grown quite large.
It must be noted too that a few small lines of white German Shepherd Dogs (still recognized by that name by the breeders and owners) remain in Germany and Holland that trace their heritage directly to the white German Shepherd Dogs of the early 1900s, even though they have not enjoyed registration by the SV since 1933.
Since June 1991, White Shepherd dogs have been registered as a separate breed with the Swiss Stud Book. Lobo White Burch, born in May 1966 and registered with the American Kennel Club, is considered the progenitor of the White Shepherd breed in Switzerland. Ms. Agathe Burch brought Lobo at the age of four years and imported him to Switzerland from America in 1970. In 1973 Lobo was bred to English registered white German Shepherd Dog, White Lilac Blinkbonny, who had been imported to Switzerland from England.
Their offspring were registered with the Swiss Kennel Club (SKC) under Ms. Burch’s Shangrila kennel prefix in 1973. The SKC officially recognized the White Shepherd as a separate breed name 1991 due to Ms. Burch’s pioneering efforts. Kurt Kron acquired Lobo and continued breeding White Shepherd when Ms. Burch returned to America.
Now, one or more White Shepherd dog breed clubs have organized in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Hungary, Czech Republic, the U.K, Slovenia, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Holland. As of January 2007, White Shepherd clubs in several countries including Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Germany, France, Czech Rep., Slovakia, and Denmark have associated with a parent club named Berger Blanc International. In the year 2002 Berger Blanc International petitioned the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) (English translation, World Canine Federation) to recognize the White Shepherd as a new and separate breed.
The FCI accepted the petition as of 01 January 2003 and now recognizes the White Shepherd breed as the “Berger Blanc Suisse” under as standard number 347. The FCI named the White Shepherd (Berger Blanc) breed ‘Suisse’ because the Swiss Kennel Club (SKC) was the first to register the breed separately from GSDs.
