of the Schweizerische Kynologische Gesellschaft (Swiss Kennel Club) began sorting out the dogs by what they judged to be representative breed types and naming the four breeds. Similar breeds The St. Bernard was one of the first dog breeds to be documented and differentiated from other large farm dogs of the area. Except for color and historical documentation, the St. Bernard is very similar to the two larger Sennenhunds. Official documents from the hospice in St. Bernard Pass concerning the dogs date back to 1707, with paintings and drawings of the dog dating even earlier. The breed was the very first breed entered into the Swiss Stud Book in 1884 and the breed standard was finally approved in 1887. The Rottweiler shares similarities in its location of origin, use and history. Tri-color coat A tri-color coat is a pattern of some shade of black or brown, few shades of red that is often called tan, and some white. Some have tan markings above the eyes. Eumelanin and phaeomelanin pigmentation occurs on the same dog; "the back is black from eumelanin pigment being made and the belly is tan or red from phaeomelanin pigment being made". Breed examples Examples of the four Sennenhunds, showing the similarity of the breeds and the characteristic tri-color coat. See also Dogs portal List of dog breeds Transhumance in the Alps Pastoralism References External links Swiss dog breeds from the Berne National History Museum More information about geologist and indigenous Swiss dog breeds advocate Albert Heim (1849-1937), including a photo with Swiss Mountain Dogs in 1929 (in German) Genetics of tricolour coats, KG The Senn (in German) DMOZ links to more information about Sennenhund breeds Dog types Dog breeds originating in Switzerland