PRESENTED BY
THE DOMESDAY BOOK OF DOGS
Wallis Sheepdog.
A black and gold breed from the Swiss canton of Valais (German Wallis), this Molosser-sized flock guardian became extinct at the beginning of the twentieth century. Because of their sure-footedness and seeming ability to predict landslides a few Wallis Sheepdogs were amongst the diverse and varied collection of breeds from which eventually sprang the working Saint Bernard as we now know it; although, rather surprisingly, a straight outcross to the shaggy-coated Wallis was found to produce a coat unsuitable for work in snow.In the mid-nineteenth century a certain amount of Wallis Sheepdog blood (along with that of several other large breeds) was also used by Herr Essig of Leonberg in the production of the Leonberger.
Working Dogs Of The World by Clifford L. B. Hubbard
SIDGWICK AND JACKSON LIMITED, LONDON. 1947
http://www.workingaussiesource.com/stockdoglibrary/wildhagen_history_article.htm
