Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Breed Overview
- History of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Breed. Where Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs came from
- What the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Looks Like
- How Much is the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Puppy?
- Best Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Breeders
- Adopting or Rescuing the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
- How Long Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs Live
- Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Litter Size
- How Fast Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs Can Run
- Good Names for Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs
- How Popular are Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs with New Dog Owners?
- Health Problems in Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs and How to Prevent Them
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs
- Other Things to Know About Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs
Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Breed Overview
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is a giant-sized dog.
The adult Greater Swiss Mountain Dog stands 23 to 28 inches tall at the shoulder.
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog belongs to the Working Dogs group.
Dogs in the Working Dogs group, like the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, were developed to assist humans in some capacity – including pulling sleds and carts, guarding flocks, guarding homes, and protecting their families.
Breeds in the Working Group are known for their imposing stature, strength, intelligence, and fearless.
Because of their size and strength, working dogs require a structured home life and firm, fair, consistent training by someone who can provide leadership without resorting to anger or physical force.
The fact that Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs belong to the Working Dogs group is one of the reasons why Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is generally described as:
- Alert
- Devoted
- Fearless
- Good-natured
- Protective
- Self-confidence
History of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Breed. Where Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs came from
These magnificent canines are thought to be one of Switzerland`s oldest dog breeds, having been discovered around 2000 years ago.
Although the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog`s history is unknown and there are numerous theories as to how they came to be, the most popular is that they descended from large dogs similar to the Mastiff.
It is assumed that these dogs were brought to the Alps by Roman Legions.
Like their forefathers, these dogs were used for herding, guarding, and as draft dogs.
They were once one of the most popular farm dog breeds in Switzerland, but their numbers began to decline in the 1900s as others replaced their jobs.
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What the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Looks Like
These dogs` outer coats are about one or two inches thick and very dense, and their undercoats are also thick.
The fur is short and tricolored, with a black base and rust markings on the chest, cheeks, and over the eyes, and white markings on the chest, muzzle, and possibly the neck.
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog has a strong, muscular build and a broad, flat skull with a slight stop.
Their muzzle is about as long as their back skull.
With a black nose and lips, their teeth meet in a scissor bite.
The eyes range in color from chestnut to hazel, but they are always almond shaped and medium in size.
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How Much is the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Puppy?
The average price of a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy is $2650. The price of a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy ranges from $2272 to $3500.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. These factors include what health records the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy has, the lineage of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Greater Swiss Mountain Dog based on the many factors that determine the price of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Best Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Breeders
We have researched reputable Greater Swiss Mountain Dog breeders that you can buy a puppy.
Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Greater Swiss Mountain Dog breeders in various states in the United States.
On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.
A few of these breeders are listed below.
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Moondog Swissies
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
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Sheryl Sabino
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
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Monarch Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
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Donough Haven GSMD
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
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Lone Palm
Puppy Price: Check with breeder
Adopting or Rescuing the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.
These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.
In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.
Below is an adorable Male Greater Swiss Mountain Dog named Tarzan that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs like Tarzan on pefinder.com.
You can find more Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs that are available for adoption on petfinder.
How Long Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs Live
The lifespan of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is typically from 7 to 9 years.
Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs live long if they eat well, drink well, exercise well, and visit the veterinarian regularly.
Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 1 different Greater Swiss Mountain Dog birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs can have is 9 puppies. Also, the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog can have as few as 9 puppies per litter and as many as 9 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog will have depends on factors such as the age of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Greater Swiss Mountain Dog will have and how the litter size of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 58 different Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, the average speed of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is 19.4 mph (31.2 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog ran in a race is 25.46 mph (41.0 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is 10.93 mph (17.6 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Good Names for Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog ranked by popularity:
- Charlie
- Bastion
- Marley
- Pinto
- Tarzan
- Xander
- Jeopardy
How Popular are Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs with New Dog Owners?
Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.
The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog.
The popularity of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog averaged over the years is Number 76 out of about 200 dog breeds.
Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.
Health Problems in Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Greater Swiss Mountain Dog breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs for:
- Elbow Dysplasia
- Eye Examination (Effective 7/1/15 the minimum eye exam age to qualify for CHIC is 18 months)
- Hip Dysplasia
- Shoulders
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs here.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog:
- Bracco Italiano (75 percent match with Greater Swiss Mountain Dog). Learn more about the Bracco Italiano here.
- Entlebucher Mountain Dog (78 percent match with Greater Swiss Mountain Dog). Learn more about the Entlebucher Mountain Dog here.
Other Things to Know About Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog that you need to know about the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog breed:
