EISHUND

More About My Journey into the Breed

 

I have been around German Shepherd Dogs all my life, a love passed on through my father & step mother, both of them involved in the German Shepherd Dog community when I was younger.

 

I can’t remember a time in my life without a German Shepherd Dog, and I don’t think there ever will be. I get my daily 'black & tan' fix from "Poppy", Aust Ch Andacht Velma, given to me by her breeder & my great friend, Laurelle Reilly of Andacht GSD's. Poppy is a real character, an expressive face, an extreme foot fetish & is an absolute joy to show!

 

I’ve been blessed to share my life with many Shepherds’ over the years. I have, however, always been fascinated by whites. And so began my search… I took the task quite seriously, I knew exactly what I wanted, spending hours doing research, learning about the controversy surrounding the colour & the status of the breed around the world.

 

In November 2002, the White Shepherd Dog officially became a separate & independent breed with the FCI. As the Swiss Kennel Club was the first to officially recognise them, the word “Swiss” was added to the breed name (not the other way around as many tend to believe) and the WHITE SWISS SHEPHERD DOG breed was born.

 

The White Swiss Shepherd Dog would not become a recognised breed in Australia for 6 more years, with the 1st dog being exhibited on Australia Day 2009. The circular issued by the ANKC, stated that unlike other countries, Australia would not assess & accept dogs already in the country, and strict pedigree restrictions were put in place by the ANKC. Thankfully, as of 2010, the restrictions have been eased slightly, which is great news when I import again, but still, as of October 2012, excludes Australian whites.

 

Before the breed was recognised, I welcomed home my first white shepherd dog, ‘Ice’. And it is him that I honour in my kennel name of EISHUND, which is German for “Ice Dog.” Without my boy Ice, I would never have become so passionate & involved with this breed. I still have my beloved Iceman, and he accompanies me to work several days a month to do Pet Therapy at local nursing homes as a part of the Guardian Funerals Rockdale Community Support Program.

 

An independent breed club was set up in Australia in 2000 to develop the Australian Bred lines. In 2002, with breed recognition sweeping the world, this club’s key goal became that of attempting to gain independent recognition as a White Swiss Shepherd Dog with the ANKC. I established myself as a well-known & successful breeder under the prefix “Alpinarc.” I succeeded at the highest levels with my breeding program, setting myself higher goals & achieving them each & every time. I have consistently produced top quality dogs, bred multiple BEST IN SHOW winners and the ultimate of having my lines recognised & re-registered as FCI White Swiss Shepherd Dogs overseas in countries that still have an open stud book. 

 

As the years passed by, and as a new committee took hold in 2006, I watched this organisation failing to seriously pursue its goal of ANKC recognition of our ‘locally bred’ Australian dogs, with a vote passed to ‘put recognition on the backburner.’ It was this inaction that led me to become disheartened as I only established a breeding program under the belief that we as an entire community were working towards recognition.

 

It was then that I had to make the ultimate sacrifice. Do I continue breeding my dogs when recognition was not being aimed for in Australia with our local blood lines? Or do I sacrifice all that hard work, and start from scratch again to develop the FCI White Swiss Shepherd Dog in Australia under ANKC regulations? After many sleepless nights agonising over it, chose the latter. It was a sad day farewelling my final Alpinarc litter. I do hope that the several pups flying the flag overseas, will contribute to the breed in a positive way as registered White Swiss Shepherd Dogs, ensuring my lines are not lost forever.

 

Some may say that I 'gave up & let my lines die out', but in all honesty, over the years, I have seen the heavy influence that Alpinarc bred dogs have had on Australian White Shepherds throughout the generations. Many breeders founded on an Alpinarc dog, or used an Alpinarc stud, and so many more have an Alpinarc ancestor.  And as recently as 2012-2013, direct Alpinarc lines have been bred on overseas & also in Australian White Shepherd (non ANKC) breeding programs. So, I know, that "If" the day comes that Aussie dogs receive recognition, my lines are so infused into the breed, I could easily get them back & continue from where I left off. 

 

But, to the future; here I am, brimmed with enthusiasm, ready to again work towards becoming the best! This time, with ANKC registered White Swiss Shepherd Dogs that 100% fulfil the pedigree & registration requirements.

 

In 2006 I became a DNA certified breeder with Genetics Technologies. I believe in DNA profiling all breeding dogs thus maintaining the integrity of my breeding program, and at any time during a puppy’s life, a puppy I have bred can be DNA profiled by it’s owner & not only can it’s parentage be confirmed, but the puppy can be cleared by parentage for any disease testing I have done on my dogs like MDR1 etc. I am also an Authorised Collector for Genetics Technologies, already collecting samples from nearly 50 dogs with 100% success (i.e no contaminated samples). My official collector’s number is: A2179S. I have my kit at most shows & happy to collect!

 

Over the years, my knowledge of the local Australian WS & International WSS lines has expanded greatly & I’ve been known to rattle off  pedigrees without a second thought, I’m sure I have the bloodlines memorised! I can look at a pedigree & tell you which dogs are registered under which breed name, as the White Swiss Shepherd, still considered as being in development, continue to have registered GSD’s colour white in their pedigrees.

 

I make mental notes of hip/elbow results & health issues in the lines, and have spent countless hours compiling a database of MDR1 (Multi-Drug Resistance) results in the White Swiss Shepherd Dog breed world-wide. MDR1 is a relatively new identified issues and as such, potential buyers should ONLY purchase puppies in Australia from breeders who test for this gene mutation to avoid breeding affected puppies, even though it is manageable & not a disease, careful management can assist in lowering the incidence of the gene popping up. DM is also another newly generated test (Degenerative Myalopathy) & becoming another 'must have' test for the breed, Eisund now test our dogs for this. 

 

2009 saw the arrival of our long awaited imports, Inga & Thor, from Eva-Liz Malmgren of Kennel Vallgardens Sweden. We are absolutely thrilled with the babies Eva-Liz sent us & can't thank her enough! Thor has already stamped himself into the history books, after winning "Baby Puppy in Show" at his 3rd show. This was the FIRST TIME EVER in Australia that the White Swiss Shepherd Dog breed has won a 'class in show.' His sister has followed in his pawprints, with a "Minor Puppy In Show", becoming the 2nd for the breed & FIRST BITCH WSS to win a class in show! Inga & Thor earned the final challenge points towards their Australian Champion title at the tender age of 12 months & 9 days old. Both multi class in show &  group winners, and Thor has smashed the record books in Australia, as a multi Best in Show winner.

 

Both Inga & Thor live in Sydney, but are in co-ownership with my friends Michelle & Scott Nimmo in Melbourne. We make a great team with our different areas of expertise, knowledge & experience, so we definitely have a promising future ahead together. We believe breeders should work together to ensure this breed & the gene pool flourishes in Australia. Unfortunately this isn't always the case though, but regardless, we still foster a positive attitude for the benefit of the breed in our country. 

 

We also must make special thanks to Jill Adolffson of Kennel CiwiSecret in Sweden. Jill assisted greatly with helping us work out which dogs/bloodlines would fulfil the strict ANKC rules for re-registration, and so much more! We couldn't have done it without her! Don't rest now though Jill, as I do plan to introduce another girl! hehehe. 

 

I own the kennel prefix EISHUND with the ANKC, and together with Scott & Michelle Nimmo of FANUILOS, we have registered the joint prefix of ANDESYN with the ANKC & will use this for breeding of our dogs that are in partnership. Andesyn is Swedish for a spirit encounter or apparition, and we thought it was a very apt name for a WSS kennel! Our first litter under this kennel in 2011 produced some lovely puppies that we are very proud of & Andesyn Little Bit Jealous owned by Shepherdhill Kennels in SA gave us our 1st Australian Champion, thank you to her for campaining her girl to her title! Anita from Shepherdhill also gave me my first "Eishund" Australian Champion with her girl Aust Ch Eishund Seize The Dream. To date, I am the proud breeder SIX Australian Champions. I thank all of my dedicated owners for achieving their dogs titles.

 

In 2012, my first "EISHUND" litter was born, and they have already exceeded my expectations, winning multiple classes in group & my the male puppy I kept, "Zeus", Eishund Seize The Day, is maturing into a fine dog!

 

I have extensive breed knowledge & experience, and I am always available to answer any questions about the breed, and willing to assist wherever I can. I like to see others in the community helping each other, so hopefully this phenomenon spreads far & wide!

 

My aim is to breed to the standard, only from hip & elbow x-rayed, MDR1 & DM tested, sound/healthy dogs & find loving homes for quality ANKC registered White Swiss Shepherd pups. Support pet owners, and also those willing to become involved in showing the White Swiss.

 

I am dedicated to the development & improvement of the White Swiss Shepherd Dog breed in Australia through selective breeding practices & positive promotion.

 

I absolutely look forward to the future, I shall not forget my past though, and will always remember where I came from... To appreciate the future, you must first appreciate the past. To the dogs of my past, you guys rocked, thanks for teaching me so much and setting me on a wonderful path for the future.