sturdy appearance. It is a heavy-boned and well-muscled dog which, in spite of its size and weight, is agile enough to perform the all-purpose farm duties of the mountainous regions of its ori- gin.” This general description should give an overall impression of the dog. As described above, Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs originated as a work- ing farm dog. You will quickly realize that there are a very wide range of looks or styles that adequately fit that description. When judging the GSMD, judges are asked to look for the large, powerful, confident dog which is most suited to its draft and drover duties. Size alone is not an attribute. Proper evaluation of the GSMD will put great emphasis on the
well-conditioned athlete and penalize the overweight and out-of-shape dog. A fat dog could never perform its his- toric task as an all purpose farm dog. Such a dog is not a good specimen of the breed. Markings are of lesser impor- tance and in most cases should be used as a tie-breaker. This is not a “head” breed although, like all breeds, correct head type and expression are an important part of breed type. There is great variation in head type. The ideal GSMD head is a comparatively long head with a flat back skull and slight stop. From the beginning, a dog was wanted with a “cow-dog” type of skull, with a flat forehead, in distinct contrast to the St. Bernard. The muzzle should be
“...LOOK FOR THE LARGE, POWERFUL, CONFIDENT DOG...”
S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , J ANUARY 2017 • 179
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