The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is a truly magnificent animal. A capable and confident working dog, in the right circumstances, a Swissy can also make wonderful companion and family pet.
With their people, they are loyal, affectionate and fun. At home, they want to be on something soft, and usually, the closer to you the better! After sufficient exercise and stimulation, they make fantastic couch buddies for a movie, and are quite happy to warm your bed with you at night if it suits your lifestyle.
Swissys have a well deserved reputation for being good with children, and bond strongly with their family members and frequent, familiar visitors.
If you decide on this breed, please be fully prepared – the Swissy is not at all a Labrador in a colorful coat. This breed is NOT generally pro-social and universally accepting of strangers; nor is it aggressive towards them. Extensive socialization with the breeder and continuing intensively in their new homes between 8 – 12 or 16 weeks of age is a non-negotiable MUST for every Swissy.
In general, a well socialized Swissy will be calmly aloof until they become familiar with someone new, which generally takes little time given the right approach. With an innately sentry instinct, you can expect and enjoy the benefits of a dog that will often bark at strangers. A novel object or the unexpected arrival of something contrasting in their environment may also trigger this same protective response.
As a working dog, the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is incredibly versatile. On the farm, Swissys can pull carts, herd sheep (though they are more drovers than herders), and will alert you to changes in the environment. In competition, they can excel in agility, obedience, tracking, and other dog sports. And, in the mountains, they are fantastic hiking and camping companions, able to carry their own rations and water in a properly fitted pack. Outside of direct hot sun, the Greater Swiss can do it all!
Their drive, working ability, and sentry nature renders the Swissy an unsuitable breed for many families. Happy to invent their own work in the absence of being provided with an appropriate job, families who are largely absent or unable to include their Swissy in daily activities will quickly become unhappy with the resulting behavior this dog will exhibit.
Fortunately for some, providing appropriate exercise and stimulation for their Swissy is their reason for having one. For many families, the Swissy’s job can take the form of a vigorous daily hike (around the block a few times does not cut it), playing and training with you, and/or romping with an off leash, open space dog walking pack. Exercise for both body and brain is critical to the health and wellness of a Swissy, and to your sanity as their guardian!
While many Swissy owners are very active in ongoing training and sport for the lifetime of their dogs, a focused and intensive period of training beginning the day your Swissy comes home, with consistency through adolescence, will set the stage for a healthy and harmonious long term relationship. Positive reinforcement based training is the most effective and efficient approach to training and raising a Swissy.
There is a dog to suit every lifestyle and life stage. If the Swissy seems like it might be the right breed for you, please explore the origin, breed standard, and health sections of our site, give us a call, or visit your local club to learn more!