Appenzeller Sennenhund Information & Dog Breed Facts

The earliest origins of the Appenzeller Sennenhund are largely unknown as it was developed before written records were kept of dog breeding. According to a theory, Sennenhunds are descended from the ancient Molossus breed brought to the region by the Romans. The Appenzeller Sennenhund is native to the Alpine region of Appenzell, located in the far northeast of Switzerland. The breed is one of four closely related breeds of Sennenhund, also known as Swiss Mountain Dogs or Swiss Cattle Dogs. The other three are the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, the Bernese Mountain Dog, and the Entlebucher Mountain Dog. There is substantial debate as to how the Sennenhunds should be classified, with many sources placing them with the Mastiff/Molosser/Alaunt family and just as many placing them with the Pinscher/Schnauzer family.

Despite the uncertainty of the breed’s start, it’s well established that the Appenzeller was part of daily life in the Alps by the 1800s. In fact, the earliest published description of the breed is dated from 1853 in a text entitled ‘Tierieben der Alpenwelt’ (Animal Life in the Alps), describes the breed as “a clearly barking, short-haired, medium size, multicolor cattle dog of a quite even Spitz-type which can be found in certain regions and is used the party to guard the homestead, partly to herd cattle”. Moreover, these dogs were kept mostly by dairy farmers across Switzerland, earning the name Sennenhund, which loosely translates to ‘Dairy Farmer Dog’. Their primary task, as mentioned in the quotation, was to drive cattle from the remote countryside to population centers where they could be sold and butchered, although they also served the same purpose on the farms. The remote Swiss valleys in which these dogs lived have long been home to dangerous creatures such as wolves and human thieves. Farmers greatly preferred these dogs, as they were willing and able to protect their families from such dangers, or at least warn them. As a result, the breed became a highly protective and very skilled guard dog. For many centuries, and possibly millennia, the Appenzeller Sennenhun and its relatives faithfully served the farmers of Switzerland. They were being actively used considerably longer than similar breeds found in other countries, as modern technology came to the Alps later than almost anywhere else in Western Europe. However, change eventually came by the end of the 19^th century, and Sennenhunds were being replaced. New methods of transportation such as the train and automobile began to render the Sennenhunds obsolete. Many different varieties disappeared altogether, and eventually, only four remained. The Appenzeller Sennenhound began to decline as well, but it never reached quite the desperate state of the other three breeds.

Moreover, in the late 1800s, a forester from the Appenzeller region named Max Siber recognized the need for a breeding program and standard to preserve these special dogs. In 1896, he formally requested the aid of the Swizz Kennel Club to save the breed, and eventually, public funding was given for the breeding and raising of Appenzeller Sennenhunds. The Swiss Kennel Club formed a special commission at a fair in which 9 male and 7 female breed members were exhibited. The club decided on essential breed characteristics and began including Appenzeller Sennenhunds at its shows in the new class specifically created for cattle dogs. At around the same time that Max Siber was trying to save the breed, the internationally recognized scientist Doctor Albert Heim was doing the same for the other surviving Sennenhunds. Heim and his supporters collected the last examples of the Bernese Mountain Dog and the Entlebucher Mountain Dog and began to breed them. Shortly after, the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog was rediscovered after it was believed to have gone extinct, and this breed was added to Heim’s efforts as well. From a very early date, Heim was also interested in preserving the Appenzeller and greatly aided the breed’s recovery efforts. In 1906, Heim organized the Appenzeller Sennenhund Club to promote and protect the breed in its natural state. Studbooks were kept for the first time in the breed’s history and in 1914 Heim wrote the first written standard for the Appenzeller Sennenhund. The breed quickly spread throughout Switzerland where they found many fanciers interested in preserving the native breed. For a period between the late 19^th century and the beginning of the 20^th century, the Appenzeller was the most popular of all Sennenhunds. However, this situation has changed dramatically, and the other three breeds gradually became more popular, especially the Bernese Mountain Dog.

In recent years, the Appenzeller Sennenhun’s numbers have been increasing outside of Switzerland, but only slowly and the breed is still considered to be quite rare. In 1993, the United Kennel Club granted formal recognition to the breed as a member of the Guardian Dog Group, under the name Appenzeller. A small number of Appenzeller fanciers and breeders in the United States and Canada got together to form the Appenzeller Mountain Dog Club of America. Their eventual goal was to earn full recognition with the American Kennel Club, a status that has already been achieved by the other three Sennenhund breeds. By 2007, the breed had been entered in the AKC’s Foundation Stock Service Program, which means that the organization supports the breed’s development efforts but it’s not yet registered with the AKC.