White-coloured German Shepherds were once banned from registration in their native Germany, but in the United States and Canada the colouration gained a following and a breed club was formed specifically for white coloured German Shepherds, calling their variety the White Shepherd. The first stud dog of what became the White Swiss Shepherd Dog was an American dog born in 1966 that was imported to Switzerland. The variety was provisionally accepted as a breed by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 2002, and received full acceptance in 2011. The Kennel Club of the United Kingdom officially recognized it in 2017.Its herding abilities are similar to those of the German Shepherd.