Appenzell Cattle Dog (Appenzeller Sennenhund) - Dog Breed

The Appenzell Cattle Dog was invented in the two Swiss cantons, which is also referred as Appenzellerland and was one of dozens of separate varieties of Sennenhunds. However canines from that area were much more like Spitz in appearance than like Sennenhund. Actually it’s commonly thought that the breed was created by crossing various Sennenhunds with Celtic or Germanic Spitzen. It’s also considered among the first dogs of this type that received the status of a unique canine variety. Its official appearance in the historical records dates back to 1853 when it was minutely described in a text called “Tierleben der Alpenwelt” (Animal Life in the Alps). For numerous centuries the Appenzell Sennenhund performed various task for dairy farmers across Appenzellerland. In fact the breed’s name roughly means «Dairy Farmer’s Dog». The dog was obliged to drive herds of cattle from the outlying rural regions to more densely-populated centres where animals were sold or slaughtered. Since horses didn’t do well in the cliffy alpine terrain the breeds’ members also accepted a duty of transportation goods across the farm and back and forth to the market. The distant country areas in which this dog was bred were teemed with perilous wild animals and human criminals so rural farmers had to trust their pets with guarding of their homes from such kind of threats. Consequently the Appenzell