Description

The Bernese Mountain Dog is one of the oldest, most beautiful breeds of working dog recognized by the kennel clubs of the world--yet also one of the most fragile in certain ways. In its short life, however, the dog provides its owners with a sense of beauty and loyalty not often equalled by other breeds. Berense Mountain Dogs are gentle, loyal dogs above all.

The fragility of the breed isn't readily apparent from its appearance: a distinctive tri-color coat, a stocky, muscular form, and a blazing white cross of fur on their breast. But years of isolated environments and inbreeding have conspired to keep the Bernese Mountain Dog's genetic line pure--but have also given it its share of problems, shortening the breed's average lifespan considerably in recent years.

Perhaps it's a necessary trade-off, however. One can't have everything, as they say--and the Bernese Mountain Dog's excessive degree of loyalty and beauty, the product of dedicated breeding and preservation for centuries in the Swiss Alps, may have been paid for, tragically, by its too-short life.

Coat Description

The Bernese Mountain Dog's coat is thick, moderately long, and shiny. According to breed standards, this coat should be trimmed as little as possible. The dog's distinctive markings include a white tail and a white inverted cross on its chest (when the dog is viewed from the front.)

History

The Bernese Mountain Dog has had a long history in Switzerland, with images of the dog (incorporated into allegorical religious paintings) appearing as early as the mid-17th century. The dog began to appear in written descriptions of the area somewhere in the mid-19th century, described as a traditional farm and herding dog used throughout the Alps.

The dogs became increasingly popular as the popularity of professional dog breeding and showing rose throughout the start of the twentieth century, and the Bernese Mountain Dogs were one of the earlier breeds recognized by many kennel clubs around the world--thanks to the efforts of a number of Swiss "Sennenhund" enthusiasts, of course. Yet the longevity, purity, and early popularity of the dogs for professional breeders (with the exception of the AKC) has led to dramatic problems for the Bernese Mountain Dog in recent years--problems related to heredity and inbreeding, including a genetically induced propensity for cancer, have conspired to shorten the lifespan of this once-hardy breed.

Grooming

First, there's the bad news: Bernese Mountain Dogs shed year-round, and shed heavily. Because of this, you'll need to take care to brush and shampoo the dogs whenever they're shedding the most heavily in order to keep their fur healthy and in order to keep as much of it as possible under your control and off of your furniture, of course.

During periods of less heavy shedding, you can often get away with a normal session of brushing and combing once a week, or even once every two weeks. Depending on the activity level of your specific dog, you might want to increase this grooming cycle to incorporate some baths, shampooing, or even clipping in order to remove heavy mats, tangles, or mud streaks caused by too much vigorous outside play. The Bernese Mountain Dog as a rule isn't as energetic as some other mastiff/working breeds, but they do have the ability to cause havoc every now and then--and you should be ready to respond to this with heavier grooming whenever necessary.

Although you shouldn't be afraid to trim or clip some of your Bernese Mountain Dog's fur when it becomes a cleanliness problem, you'll want to avoid any excessive trimming or clipping on a regular basis. The Bernese Mountain Dog's chief attribute is often considered to be its shiny, shaggy coat, and excessive trimming can mar and dull the appearance of this coat in the short term--or even damage the overall health of your dog's coat, permanently dulling his or her beautiful colors. Although brushing and combing should be done on a regular basis, trimming and clipping should be reserved for only the most severely matted or tangled fur.

If you plan to show or breed your Bernese Mountain Dog, you'll need to do a bit of additional grooming work--most importantly, you'll need to trim or remove any dewclaws that your dog may have. Dewclaws--or split toes, resulting in extra claws and sometimes in thumb-like protrusions from the dog's paw--are considered flaws by many breed standards, and could exacerbate some of the joint and hip problems the Bernese Mountain Dog is susceptible to. So removing dewclaws isn't just a good idea from the point of view of professional breeding--it's also a good idea to keep your dog healthier and fitter throughout its life.

Exercise

For a working dog, the Bernese Mountain Dog is surprisingly lazy. Due to the breed's heavy bone structure and propensity for joint problems, the Bernese Mountain Dog tends to be active and energetic for only short bursts of time every day. This can be a relief for some owners who are less active themselves, but it can also be a disappointment for lovers of large working dogs or mastiffs who're expecting a companion for long bike rides, country jogs, or other high-endurance, high-energy canine activities.

Probably the best way to exercise your Bernese Mountain Dog is simply to take long walks (or even extremely slow, light jogs) with it around your city or through a local park. The Bernese Mountain Dog will enjoy your close company and loyalty, while at the same time enjoying the opportunity to get outside and exercise.

While indoors, you might also exercise your Bernese Mountain Dog with some light fetching activities or some tug-of-war games. Although the Bernese Mountain Dog can't keep up with these activities for as long as some other breeds (and as long as you don't expect as much interest in the tug-of-war games as a more aggressive, territorial breed might show), they'll again be grateful for the company and bonding with the family that the activities create. For the Bernese Mountain Dog, loyalty is everything--expending energy is only a secondary goal. So keep this in mind when exercising your dog.

Training

The Bernese Mountain Dog lives for a fairly short period of time, compared to many dog breeds--even when compared to its fellow large working dogs, typically among the more short-lived of dogs. This, plus the unusually late maturity of the Bernese Mountain Dog, creates a few problems for the dedicated trainer to solve.

First of all, the Bernese Mountain Dog is slow to mature physically. When coupled with the genetic hip problems found in the breed, this can mean that the Bernese Mountain Dog will be at risk of injury while learning even simple jumps, rolls, or other physical tricks. It's important to avoid such tricks until your dog is at least two years old, so that an early-life injury doesn't permanently hamper the growth and abilities of your Bernese Mountain Dog.

Another problem is that the Bernese Mountain Dog is slow to mature mentally. According to an old Swiss herding saying, "Three years a young dog, three years a good dog, and three years an old dog"--meaning that the Bernese Mountain Dog is slow to mature and enjoys only a short period of loyalty and obedience before lapsing into sickness and old age. (The situation is even worse now that increased incidences of cancer have lowered the average age of the Bernese Mountain Dog to around seven years--at least the Swiss herders had three good years out of nine, rather than three out of seven!) The Bernese Mountain dog's low level of early maturity prevents you from training the dogs too rigorously during their puppy years--usually the most productive years for training, in that the dogs don't have any bad habits to "unlearn" before they can learn good behavior.

Add to all of this the Bernese Mountain Dog's lack of enthusiasm and energy for long periods of activity and you begin to grasp the overall scope of the problem.

The key to training a Bernese Mountain Dog, then, is to train them when they're slightly older than the average dog--starting heavy training at around two years is best--and to train them for short bursts every day rather than marathon obedience sessions, focusing on positive rewards whenever possible and varying activities so as to keep training interesting. If followed consistently without overtaxing (or endangering) your Bernese Mountain Dog, you can get your "three years a good dog" without too much trouble--and the overall health you've helped to preserve in your dog may give you your "three years an old dog" as well, or even more.

Life :: 6 to 8 years

Litter Size :: Average of 8 puppies.

Group :: Mastiff, Working Dog (America)

Color :: Tricolor (Black/Tan/White or Black/Rust/White).

Hair :: Long

Size :: Extra Large

Shedding :: Heavy Shed

Male Height :: 24-28 in (61-71 cm)

Male Weight :: 85-110 lbs (38-50 kg),

Female Height :: 23-27 in (58-69 cm)

Female Weight :: 80-105 lbs (36-48 kg)

Living :: The Bernese Mountain Dog is an extremely loyal breed of dog, and will become upset if kept outdoors too often. You'll need to make some provision for keeping your dog indoors with your family as often as is possible. That said, however, the Bernese Mountain Dog does need some room to walk, run, and play outdoors, eliminating extremely dense urban areas as an ideal place to keep a Bernese Mountain Dog. Since the Bernese Mountain Dog isn't as prone to physical activity as some of its working dog cousins, however, you don't need to actually live out in the country in order to give your dog its ideal living environment--suburban areas or even less-dense urban areas will probably be fine to meet your dog's needs.