# Austrian Shepherd



## unloader

Yes, _*Austrian*_, not Australian. 

I had Remy, my white shepherd at a local festival today, and a guy yells out to me over the music, "is that an Austrian Shepherds?!?", I wasn't sure if he said Australian or Austrian, so I walk closer and made him repeat it. Yup, I heard right, Austrian Shepherd. I told him, no he is a German Shepherd puppy. 

He then "corrected" me, and said, "no, that's an Austrian Shepherd". I told him that I was pretty sure Remy was a German shepherd. Then he said, "Well, he may be originally from Germany, but he is an Austrian shepherd." So at this point, I'm thinking, maybe this guy is for real since I have heard of white shepherds being called Swiss Shepherds, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. 

That was until he began to explain to me that Austrian Shepherds are white, Belgian Shepherds are black, and German shepherds were "the normal". Ha! 

I then told him that I own a Belgian Shepherd (really she is my parents dog), more specifically a Malinois. He said, "and she is black, right?" sounding very sure of himself. I told him, no, she is actually fawn/red with a black mask. He seemed very stumped, and said it was nice meeting me and we went along our merry way. 

I decided not to tell him that there were 4 types of Belgian shepherds, and there was more than just the "normal" colored German Shepherd. I'm guessing by normal, he meant Black and Tan. I t hink his head might have exploded if he new the truth.

It was just so funny how he was telling me what MY dog was, and how sure he was of himself. He told me to look Austrian Shepherd up on the internet, so I just typed it in, and there is no reference to that breed. 

It's always interesting taking a dog in a crowd of people, it was very entertaining today. Oh, and this was Remy's first large crowd (sidewalks were packed with all sorts of sounds, sights, and smells), and he was a hit with all the children. I was so proud of him!


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## Furricane

I get that a lot from people whenever I walk my guy. I've had people say he's a lab, husky, malamute, and wolf mix. I just smile politely and try to tell them he is a GSD. Often they are surprised but do believe me. I've only had a few occasions when someone has continued to argue their case on why he could never be a GSD. I tend to just shrug it off and we move on. Lots of people just aren't familiar with a GSD being any color other than the black and tan. It's just like the people who aren't familiar with GSD's who are long coated.

On another note though, congrats on your guy doing awesome at the festival! I love it when I hear of GSD owners taking their well behaved dogs to public events. It's good exposure for the breed.


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## Daffyd

That's interesting... we are caring for two puppies, and when I said they were German Shepherds I was corrected, that they were, in fact Belgian Shepherds. They are a dark, brownish colour. We had another from the same litter whom we have placed and she was pure black with a white line down her chest. What is the difference between an Austrian, German, and Belgian?


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## PixelGalileo

I have been told by quite a few people that there is no such thing as a White german shepherd.
Despite having been owned by two of them.
You'd think that the general public would get it that the owner of the dog
might just know a little about the dog they own. Especially something as important as the BREED !!!


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## arycrest

Over the years I've had a few encounters like that ... not sure how a "know-it-all" gets his misconceptions about GSDs, dogs in general, but have discovered it's usually like talking to a brick wall when trying to educate them. A few listen, most don't ... I've learned to save my breath when I have an encounter with someone who doesn't know his butt from a hole in the ground ... I get too frustrated. To paraphrase Judge Judy, " ... dumb is forever!!!"


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## Rinegunner

Furricane said:


> I get that a lot from people whenever I walk my guy. I've had people say he's a lab, husky, malamute, and wolf mix. I just smile politely and try to tell them he is a GSD. Often they are surprised but do believe me. I've only had a few occasions when someone has continued to argue their case on why he could never be a GSD. I tend to just shrug it off and we move on. Lots of people just aren't familiar with a GSD being any color other than the black and tan. It's just like the people who aren't familiar with GSD's who are long coated.
> 
> On another note though, congrats on your guy doing awesome at the festival! I love it when I hear of GSD owners taking their well behaved dogs to public events. It's good exposure for the breed.


Had a know it all like that yesterday. My dog just couldnt be pure gsd because of his coat. Finally I gave in and said ya I think hes part alsatian too. Shes like ya I thought so. Whatever.


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## Wetdog

The guy was probably talking about an FCI recognized breed---the Burger Blanc Suisse.( French name, Swiss White Mountain (dog).

White Shepherd - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Berger Blanc Suisse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Berger Blanc Suisse was recognized as a breed in 2011 and is eligible for CACIB.

The Alps are one continuous mountain range across France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria..............and the Tyrol region of Austria is often considered as extending into Switzerland as well. It has to do more with natural boundaries than political boundaries.

So I have a hunch the guy that talked to you was referring to Swiss Mountain Shepherds---but may have been just a little off on the actual FCI breed name. 

When provisional status was granted(around 2000) white German Shepherds were allowed to be granted papers on the basis of their GSD registrations.

Anyway, it is a little confusing.


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