Great Swiss Mountain Dog

The breed is large and heavy-boned with great physical strength, but is still agile enough to perform the all-purpose farm duties it was originally used for. Its breed standard calls for a black, white, and rust colored coat. The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is sociable, active, calm, and dignified, and loves being part of the family. It is relatively healthy for its size and tends to have far fewer problems than more popular breeds in its size range. Among the four Sennenhunde, or Swiss mountain dogs, this breed is considered the oldest, and is also the largest.
Source: Wikipedia

• GSMDCA: Illustrated Standard (PDF)
• GSMDCA: AKC Judges BREED STUDY The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
• The breed was extensively described in the Grosse-extrassa 1/2013 (PDF) (Finnish)

grand bouvier suisse,
gran sennenhund
isosveitsinpaimenkoira
Grande Bovaro Svizzero
Grote Zwitserse Sennenhond
"Swissy"

Switzerland: Klub für Grosse Schweizer Sennenhunde

There are numerous breed standards. The basis of breed/conformation shows is the judging of pedigree dogs against the 'Breed Standard', which is a picture in words that describes the range of features that are deemed appropriate for the breed. Three of the major international standards are:

The American Kennel Club

The Kennel Club, UK

FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale)

1. Swedish Insurance Data Breed-specific information on rates of disease and death from Agria Pet Insurance (Agria Djurförsäkring) is available for many breeds.

This breed has information on Veterinary Care Insurance (v. 2011-2016). Click here to view downloads.

2.  OFA: Breed Summary report (PDF)
3. Finland
4. Grosse Schweizer Sennenhunde World Wide Database
An independent site which serves as a source for facts about the GSSH/GSMD dogs bred and registered under the rules and orders of the AKC and the FCI (and respective National Clubs).

Health/Breeding Strategy Documents and Links:

The Kennel Club, UK: Breed Watch

Sweden: Breed-specific Breeding Strategies: (in Swedish) and/ or English summary

US: OFA: CHIC

       GSMDCA: Health concerns

We are listing sites for breed clubs with health or other information that might be helpful. Follow links below.

Switzerland: Klub für Grosse Schweizer Sennenhunde
Sweden: Svenska Sennenhundklubben-SShk
US: Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club of America
Finland: Suomen Sveitsinpaimenkoirat ry
UK: Great Swiss Mountain Dog Club
France: SCC
             Association Francaise des Bouviers Suisses
Austria: Verein für Schweizer Sennenhunde in Österreich
Germany: Schweizer Sennenhund-Verein für Deutschland e.V.
                  VDH
Norway: Klubben for Gårds- og Fjellhunder: Facebook
Netherlands: Raad van Beheer
                        Nederlandse Vereniging van Appenzeller, Entlebucher & Grote Zwitserse Sennenhonden