All Dog Breeds >>Appearance of Greater Swiss Mountain
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is a draft and drover breed; it is a large, heavy-boned dog with incredible physical strength. Despite being heavy-boned and well-muscled, the dog is agile enough to perform the all-purpose farm duties of the mountainous regions of its origin. There is black on top of the dog's back, ears, tail and the majority of the legs.
There should be rust on the cheeks, a thumb print above the eyes, and also rust should appear on the legs between the white and black. There should be white on the muzzle, the feet, the tip of the tail, on the chest, and up from the muzzle to pass between the eyes. Symmetrical markings are preferred by breeders. The double coat has a dense outer coat of about 1.25 to 2 in (3.2 to 5.1 cm) long. Textures of the topcoat can range from short, straight and fine to longer, wavier and coarser.
The under coat is thick and ranges from the preferred dark gray to light gray to tawny, and must be on the neck, but can be all over the body – with such an thick coat, Sennenhund shed throughout the year and they have a major shedding once or twice a year. While the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Standard calls for a black, white and rust dog; they do come in other colors which include blue, white and tan tri-color; and rust and white bi-color.
On the blue tri-color dogs, blue replaces where black would be and tan replaces where the rust would normally be. On the rust bi-color dogs, the dog is solid rust and white markings with a total absence of black coloring.
Greater Swiss Mountain Training
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is moderately easy to train. He learns new commands at the average rate. He is neither difficult nor easy to train.
Greater Swiss Mountain Shedding
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog sheds a fair amount of hair. You'll find hair stuck to your couch, carpets, clothes and everything else in your home.
Greater Swiss Mountain Grooming
The medium-length coat of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog only requires an occasional brushing. But because he sheds you may find yourself brushing him once or twice a week to remove loose hair. (What you get out with a brush doesn't fall out in your home!)