Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs: June 2009

Why A Swissy?

Most people have never heard of a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, and neither had we until a number of years back.

Our journey to Swissies started with us wanting a dog. After lots of research, I was interested in a Bernese Mountain Dog. And that led me to its lesser known cousin the Swissy. And that's where the search ended. We were convinced that this was THE dog for us, and after finding our sweet girl Penny, we've never regretted taking on a Swissy.

Why?

*Swissies are 'people dogs'. They want to be with people.

*Swissies are wonderful with kids. They put up with them poking their eyes and hanging off their backs, they love to play with them, and view them as part of the family.

*Swissies have a great desire to please their people.

*Swissies have a sense of 'domain' that keeps them close to home and gives them a desire to watch over it. But they are not inclined to attack, and so make much better watch dogs than guard dogs.

*Swissies have been bred carefully since coming to America and have fairly few joint problems for a large breed dog.

*Swissies are beautiful. Their rust, black and white coloring is striking. Their coats are short, and this keeps them cooler in summer and makes them much lower maintenance.

*Swissies don't bark unless something is unsettling or threatening to them---they don't bark 'just because'.

*Swissies are not couch potatoes. They love to be active and play, and, yes, even work if you train them to.

*Swissies are incredibly intelligent.

These characteristics are just the tip of the iceburg when it comes to why we love Swissies. All these qualities sound great, but seeing them displayed in a dog with its own unique personality is amazing and honestly, just fun.

We encourage you, if you aren't too familiar with Swissies, to find out more about them. It's an incredible breed that too few people know about and has consequently been overlooked by many dog lovers. But I warn you, if you start down this path, you just might end up with a few Swissies of your own!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Pictures of the Boys

We were doing 'boy shots' today and got some good pics we wanted to share. The puppies are changing so fast they hardly look like their pictures from a few weeks ago!