Working group · Switzerland
Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
Also called Swissy, GSMD, Grosser Schweizer Sennenhund.
Giant dog, moderate energy, quick to learn.
- Faithful
- Dependable
- Good-natured
- Alert
- Bold
- Size
- Giant
- Weight
- 39 to 64 kg85 to 140 lb
- Lives
- 8 to 11 years
- Energy
- Moderate
- Trains
- High
- Barks
- Low
Training
Training a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
Working breeds. Calm structure beats force every time. These dogs shut down under pressure and thrive on predictability.
Surprisingly Trainable
Start here
More eager to please than many Swiss breeds. Responds well to positive reinforcement training.
Slow to Mature
Mentally and physically slow to mature. May act like a puppy until 2-3 years old despite large size.
Draft Dog Heritage
Love pulling activities. Cart work, weight pulling, and hiking with a pack are excellent outlets.
The app turns this into five to fifteen minutes a day.
Add your Greater Swiss Mountain Dog and it builds the plan around their age, where they came from and what they already know, on video with Atlas and Shango.
Coming to iPhone first. The list hears the day it opens.
At home
Living with one
Bred to guard, pull and rescue. Big, strong, and serious about their people and their patch.
Gets on with
- ChildrenHigh
- Other dogsHigh
- StrangersModerate
- CatsModerate
Breed averages. Early socialisation and the individual dog matter more.
- Exercise
- 1 hour daily. Moderate exercise needs. Enjoys cart pulling and hiking.
- Grooming
- Moderate. Weekly brushing. Heavier shedding seasonally.
- Drool
- Moderate
- Coat
- Double coat, Dense, Short to MediumTricolour (Black, Red, White)
- In a flat
- Needs more space than a flat gives.
Health
Things to ask a breeder or vet about
Hip Dysplasia
Moderate
Common in large breeds; screening essential
Bloat (GDV)
Severe
Deep-chested breed at high risk; preventive gastropexy recommended
Splenic Torsion
Severe
Twisting of the spleen; unusually common in this breed
Where they come from
History
Oldest and largest of the four Swiss Sennenhund breeds. Used for centuries as draft dogs pulling carts, as drover dogs moving cattle to market, and as farm guardians in the Swiss Alps.
