I am located in Leppington, NSW, on an undulating 10 acre property. 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 GSD 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. Thankfully this love is shared with my partner Dale, and it was our love of dogs that brought us together, formally meeting each other at ‘Spring Fair’ in 2008 when the ‘specialty’ GSD crew & the ‘all-breeds’ crew happened to be at the same watering hole. Soon after, Dale, and his big puppy of a GSD, Aust Ch Allendell Incite A Riot moved in & joined the ‘white’ family. I’ve been blessed to share my life with many Shepherds’ over the years. I have, however, always been fascinated by whites. 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 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. 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 is not going to happen 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? I of course, after many sleepless nights agonising over it, chose the latter. It was a sad day farewelling my final Alpinarc litter. My hope is that the several pups flying the flag overseas, contribute positively to the breed as registered White Swiss Shepherd Dogs, ensuring my lines are not lost forever. 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, yet big issue in the breed, and as such, potential buyers should ONLY purchase puppies in Australia from breeders who test for this gene mutation. Both Inga & Thor live in Sydney with me, 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. My aim is to breed to the standard, only from hip & elbow x-rayed, MDR1 tested, sound/healthy dogs & find loving homes for quality ANKC (Dogs NSW) registered White Swiss Shepherd pups. 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, and can’t wait to see the 1st crop of EISHUND and ANDESYN White Swiss Shepherd Dog puppies, hopefully kicking butt in the Australian show rings! |  My love of shepherds started at a young age. Me with Alamosa Bamaga 'Khan', sitting in Dad's lap.  I'm still involved in showing/handling GSD's for other people.  And handle in the 'specialty' ring too  Me with Alpinarc Demands Attention after her Runner Up in Show 2007.  Tia & I in the ring when she won Runner Up In Show. 2008 Nationals.  Ice & I, New Years Day 2006  Ice as a baby. How could I  Ice swimming in the dam |
