The White Shepherd emerged from white-coat lines of the German Shepherd Dog in Canada and the United States. The White Shepherd breed was officially recognized by the United Kennel Club on April 14, 1999. It has the same origins as the White Swiss Shepherd Dog (Berger Blanc Suisse, Weisser Schweizer Schäferhund) which is recognized as a separate breed by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI). White Shepherds often have longer fur than the traditional German Shepherd Dog, and do not always have a double coat.
In popular culture
- In the 2008 Disney animated film Bolt, the design of the main character, Bolt (character) is heavily inspired by the White Shepherd Dog.
- In the survival horror video game Haunting Ground ("Demento" in Japan), one of the main characters is a White Shepherd named Hewie.
- In the 1993 motion picture "Amos and Andrew" featured a white shepherd named Rommell, played by Rambo.
- The 1987 motion picture The Lost Boys features a White Shepherd called Thorn, owned by the character Max.
- Samuel Fuller's acclaimed 1982 motion picture White Dog features a White Shepherd that has been trained to attack and kill people with black skin.
- Jack LaLanne, popular fitness "guru" had white shepherd dogs that appeared on his TV show.
- Fantasy author Neil Gaiman has two white German Shepherds, Cabal and Lola.
- Jennifer Aniston has a white shepherd called Dolly.
- Pop singer and actress Miley Cyrus has a white shepherd named Mate (note that she also appeared in Bolt as the owner of the title character).
- Carolyn Perry also has a White German Shepherd with the French name of Gigi
- Aaliyah had a White German Shepherd that is scheduled to star in Road To Hook Bill
- In the television series, Game of Thrones, a White German Shepherd is cast as the runt of a Direwolf litter
- In Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas series, Odd's companion for many books is a White German Shepherd named Boo.
- Ukrainian author Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky's impressionist novella Intermezzo includes characters of "Three White Shepherds" as metaphorical images of Nobility, Gendarmerie and Peasantry.
- In Jonathan Mayberry's Joe Ledger series Cpt Ledger's dog is a White German Shepard named Ghost.
