Bernese Mountain Dog - TOP 10 Interesting Facts

1) Origin

The origin of the Bernese is little bit mysterious. We believe, that they are descendants of the Roman Mastiff dogs that were brought to switzerland 2000 years ago. They were used as all purpose dogs and they were herding cattle, pulling carts and protecting farms.

2) Sennenhund

The Bernese mountain dog is one of the four Sennehunds. The other three are Apenzeller, Entlebucher and Great Swiss mountain dog. All four are very similar to each other, they have tri color coat, stocky figure and gentle temperament. The Bernese Mountain dog has the longest fur of all.

3) Powerful dogs

One of the main purpose of Bernese Mountain dogs was to ship and deliver large shipments of food. The strong dogs would pull carts filled with dairy products and bread to different farms. And they were crazy strong, an adult Bernese can pull up to 1000 pounds – which is 10 times of their own weight.

4) Carting

There is no need for dogs to pull carts nowadays. But the dogs actually loved it and that is one of the reason the sport called carting was developed. The bernese club of america holds a competition in carting regularly and breeders all over the country come here to show their dogs.

5) Long puppyhood

Bernese might be a large and heavy dog very quickly, but their mind remains happy and puppylike very long. This breed is maturing very slowly and that is why they requiere a lot of attention and patient training.

6) They almost extinct

There were two reasons, why Bernese mountain dog almost extinct. The first one was called Saint bernard. Saint Bernard was the number one dog of Switzerland for a long time and the four mountain dogs were not registered and lost a lot of popularity. Only people on farms kept them. The second reason was, when more modern and expedient means of transportation became accessible to farmers and the dogs were not useful for the farmers anymore. Luckily they gained their popularity back during the second half of the 20th century and nowadays we dont need to worry about this wonderful breed.

7) Social dogs

Bernese love to be around their family all the time and it is recommended to not left them alone for a long periods of time regularly. They can become anxious and bored and they're likely to develop annoying behavior problems, such as barking, digging, or chewing, if you leave them alone.

8) Size

The Bernese is large, strong and muscular dog. They should be between 23-28 inches tall which is 58-70 cm and their weight should be between 80-120 pounds which is 36-54 kg.

9) Coat

The beautiful long coat of Bernese mountain dog needs a daily brushing to prevent matting and to keep it clean. Most of the time they sheds heavily two times a year, but honestly, they will shed a good deal all year long.

10) Short lifespan

Bernese Mountain Dog has shorter lifespan than other dog breeds because of numerous health issues that result from frequent breeding with close relatives which is causing that the genetic pool of this breed is small. Its average lifespan is 6 to 8 years.