The Swiss Newfie is a deliberate crossbreed known as a
designer dog, in this case, a cross between two extremely large but good-natured
canines, the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, a guardian of sheep that also
specialized in drafting and carting, and the Newfoundland, a massive water dog
with a mysterious past. The Greater Swiss Mountain dog is the oldest and largest
of the breeds founded in mountains of Switzerland. These dogs, known as Sennenhund
dogs, were the descendants of dogs that travelled through Switzerland with ancient conquerors
such as the Romans and the Phoenicians. These dogs developed into four distinct
breeds of guarding, herding, and carting dogs including the Appenzeller, the Entlebucher,
the Bernese, and, of course, the Greater Swiss, although all four have sport similar
black and tan coloration, usually with a white face and chest, and white feet.
The Greater Swiss, in particular, became a favorite of butchers in the area,
becoming particularly valued for their ability to safely transport carts of
fresh produce and fresh milk to their destinations. Newfoundland dogs were
developed in the coastal towns of northern Canada, most notably in the fishing
village of St. John's, where they were known as Greater St John’s dogs. While
most theories indicate that the Newfoundland dogs are a descendant of the Tibetan Mastiff, there are no records of Tibetan
Mastiffs in the area, and no known native dogs in the area. Whatever this breed’s ancestry may have been,
it became a very large dog that was perfectly designed to lend a helping hand
to fishermen in the cold, harsh environment of the Newfoundland area, and by the end of the 1700s, the Newfoundland breed
had become commonplace along those shores.
