Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Forum:
Is a Swissy the right dog for me?

Hello,

I live in No Cal, and I have been researching several different breeds to learn about the best dog for me. I started with some smaller breeds and have now moved on to a

GSMD. Animal Planet has a show called "Breed All About It"

After the one on the Swissy I was hooked. I have been to numerous websites and read all info I could find. I have read about Bloat,eyes,hips,legs,coats and dispositions etc. I have a house with a fenced front and rear yard. I am home a lot. When I do go out on inspections I can take my dog with me. Our dog would be raised by 2 women. We do have a 9yr old cat. We have the time and love to give to a GSMD. I know there are pros and cons to any breed. I have looked at so many and so few have actually given me the "Thats the dog I want feeling" as the Swissy does.

Thanks for your reply. Any info would be appreciated.

I saw the same show and had the same reaction. Now I am sifting the web for more information on this breed. My next step is to find someone local, Northern VA, who has a swissy so I can evaluate one up close. Jeff

Our family just recently obtained a Swissy pup, and would highly recommend greaterswiss.com and the

Swissy-L at apple.ease.lsoft.com. You can get a lot of information on the breed and ask questions of

various breeders. It seems that the vast majority of Swissy breeders are NOT listed, so it does take some

research. It may take awhile to get a pup, but not necessarily. We received our pup within 3 months

of beginning calls to breeders. Timing is everything. (Not to mention finding a breeder you hit it off with!)

Since you are in No Cal, you might want to plan a trip to Reno in early June. This is where the 2000 Swissy National Specialty will take place and there are sure to be tons of Swissies there for you to meet and lots of Swissy owners to meet.

For details about this and other activities in the region, contact Charles Houston of the Pacific Crest Swissy club at paloboy@aol.com Or Karen Becker, the Coresponding Secretary of the national club at info@gsmdca.org .

Good luck!

Hi Jeff,

I think its great that you are trying to meet some Swissies before deciding if you want to have one in your family. The Animal Planet show was enjoyable, but its only a 1/2 hour show so there are a lot of things they left out, and of course nothing compares to actually spending time with the dogs themselves.

You are very fortunate that there are a lot of Swissies in Northern Virginia and the surrounding areas. There is a regional club for the area as well, contact Bette Greenspan "bettegreen@aol.com" or me for more information about upcoming events where you can meet Swissies.

One really good chance to meet lots of Swissies and lots of Swissy owners/breeders is at the Old Dominion Dog Show on April 22 in Leesburg at the Morven Horse Park and there will be many Swissies being shown and many more just "tagging along" for fun. After the judging there will be a casual picnic for Swissy owners and friends, so there will be plenty of time to chat and meet the do