Dufenhof Swissies

The ancestors of the breed we now know as the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog were found throughout the mountainous regions of Europe. These sturdy, powerful dogs were commonly called “butcher’s dogs”, or “metzgerhund” in German. Some of these dogs were tricolor and looked quite similar to the Swissies we see today, while others were black & red, like the modern Rottweiler (Rottweiler Metzgerhund),  among other variations of color and coat. The butchers and farmers of the day eventually began purposefully breeding these dogs for use as draft and drover dogs to help them protect their farms & cattle and get their wares to market.

In 1908 the Swiss Kennel Club (Schweizerische Kynologische Gesellschaft or SKG)
held their 25th anniversary Jubilee show where two "short-haired Bernese Mountain Dogs", were exhibited.  Thankfully for all of us, Professor Albert Heim, a well known expert when it came to the Swiss breeds, recognized that these dogs were not merely Berners with poor coats, but rather they represented a separate but vanishing breed, the Large Swiss Mountain dog. The following year the SKG officially recognized the Grosser Schweizer Sennenhund and entered the dogs into the official club records.

Under the guidance of the SKG and Albert Heim, more dogs of this breed were located and entered into the record books. In 1912 the first official “Club for Grosse Schweizer Sennenhunde" was founded and continued Heim’s efforts to help promote & protect this unique and almost forgotten breed.

For unknown reasons it was harder to locate female Swissies which meant the efforts to increase the breed’s population proceeded at a slow pace. However, steady progress was made, and thanks in large part to their use by the Swiss Army as draft and pack dogs, the breed gained notice throughout Switzerland as faithful, reliable workers. This helped boost their population and in the mid-1940s the breed reached a population of more than 300 dogs. Soon the breed’s reputation grew and following the end of World War II the dogs could be found beyond the borders of Switzerland and the Alpine regions of central Europe.

The population has steadily increased since that time and the breed is now found throughout Europe and North America.  While not common in any country, and still often mistaken for “short-haired Bernese” by the uninitiated, they are no longer at risk of fading into the pages of history and we all owe Professor Heim and the other early enthusiasts our heartfelt thanks for that.

.An Early Gathering of Swissy Enthusiasts

Images from the Past

Dog cart on the coast road of Newfoundland

From 'Hutchinson's Popular &Illustrated Dog Encyclopedia'

Arno v Fryburg

A most influential stud dog and excellent example of the breed. Born 1927

 A Flemish Milk Seller on Her Rounds

Illustration by Pietro Cozzaglio

from 'The Great Book of Dogs' by Gino Pugnetti