Any Bernese Mountain Dog owners here?Or had any experience?
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This was a big baby at an agility show I went to. He was soo cute! Its what my bf is going to get eventually. Everyone I have talked to about them says just to research your breeder a ton. You can find some lines that live a little longer nad have fewer health problems but they are hard to come by. chaz listenes more than I do about them so maybe he'll remember the health problems to look for.
yeah. they are amazing dogs from what i know. to be honest the breeds temperment description was what i was looking for, and when i saw what they looked like properly (the first picture that came with the descripiton was in black and white so i didnt really know how beautiful it looked!) i knew this breed was the dog for us!
i was put off by it at first by the only fact of the life span, but i really beleive that that breed would fit in with the family perfectly, so we looked for a breeder to see what type of life spans there dogs have. we only found about 2, one of which we have contacted and nearer to the time we take the next step. i live in the UK btw.
if you could get any more info that would be great! thanks.
i was put off by it at first by the only fact of the life span, but i really beleive that that breed would fit in with the family perfectly, so we looked for a breeder to see what type of life spans there dogs have. we only found about 2, one of which we have contacted and nearer to the time we take the next step. i live in the UK btw.
if you could get any more info that would be great! thanks.
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There is one in the obed. school we go to & he is great! In fact my Chloe is simply enchanted with him - she happily lets him get away with things she doesn't allow any other male dog do including Farley! 
He is now 4 yo & I have known him since he was 3 mo. when him & Chloe started in puppy class together. The people who own him also have a female who is now 8 yo & starting to slow down somewhat but other than that in good health. They have had this breed for many, many years. They now have a 14 wk old which is a son of their 4 yo male, Geiger. I haven't seen him yet but I'm sure he'll have the same great temperment his father has. The older female is a little more stand-offish but not what I would call aggressive at all - where Geiger will bound right up to someone for a pat, Gracie will stay off to the side for a while & may possibly come to you for a pat. If someone approaches her she will accept their attention w/o any problem but you can tell she really doesn't care either way.
The guy who owns them also teaches a carting class when he has enough people interested & they do great at carting.
He is now 4 yo & I have known him since he was 3 mo. when him & Chloe started in puppy class together. The people who own him also have a female who is now 8 yo & starting to slow down somewhat but other than that in good health. They have had this breed for many, many years. They now have a 14 wk old which is a son of their 4 yo male, Geiger. I haven't seen him yet but I'm sure he'll have the same great temperment his father has. The older female is a little more stand-offish but not what I would call aggressive at all - where Geiger will bound right up to someone for a pat, Gracie will stay off to the side for a while & may possibly come to you for a pat. If someone approaches her she will accept their attention w/o any problem but you can tell she really doesn't care either way. The guy who owns them also teaches a carting class when he has enough people interested & they do great at carting.
ok. valtka what diet do you feed your berner? do you feed a raw? or kibble?
we have decided that a BMD is the best breed that will suit our life style and that will be a good companion. so weve found a few breeders and will contact them to see when their next litter is soon.
i know that i should look and ask about long lived lines, lines with less cancer, good hip and elbow dysplasia scores, skeletal lameness, OCD, and other problems that can be wrong with general puppys. but do you know of any others that you looked out for when enquiring about bernese mountain dogs puppys specificly?
ok, so the breed is a big dog and if theres too much strain on the puppys bones while it is yound, it could affect there health later on. so while it is growing, how do you exercise it? i know when very young a romp outside in the garden will be enough, but when it gets older do you do anything other than walking and of leesh running? i mean things like pulling sleds, etc? or anything you plan to do.
other than that could you just give me any tips or facts or experiences that you have had or think i should know about. the good things and the bad things. just general things also that could help me.
also, have you had any problems with the dogs size?
thank you.
we have decided that a BMD is the best breed that will suit our life style and that will be a good companion. so weve found a few breeders and will contact them to see when their next litter is soon.
i know that i should look and ask about long lived lines, lines with less cancer, good hip and elbow dysplasia scores, skeletal lameness, OCD, and other problems that can be wrong with general puppys. but do you know of any others that you looked out for when enquiring about bernese mountain dogs puppys specificly?
ok, so the breed is a big dog and if theres too much strain on the puppys bones while it is yound, it could affect there health later on. so while it is growing, how do you exercise it? i know when very young a romp outside in the garden will be enough, but when it gets older do you do anything other than walking and of leesh running? i mean things like pulling sleds, etc? or anything you plan to do.
other than that could you just give me any tips or facts or experiences that you have had or think i should know about. the good things and the bad things. just general things also that could help me.
also, have you had any problems with the dogs size?
thank you.
Hi! At first, I have to apologize on my english, I dont speak english very well.
I feed my berner with Royal Canin for giant dogs, its the best dry food I can get here in Croatia and he loves it. He also loves fresh fruit so we give him some fruit as treats.
Berners also have troubles with their eyes, so you should look for lines with healthy eyes, my Berg has cronic folicular konjuctivitis (Im not sure its called that way in english), it is inflamed foliculs on third eyelid and we are treating that since we got him.
It is very important to see how puppies are kept in breeders home, they should not go up and especially down the stairs or hills. You should prevent that until he is at least 6 months old.
The best exercise for young puppy is tug-of-war, that way he is getting good exercise and he is also having a quality time with you. He should also play with other puppies and dogs as much as possible.
Lot of people think that berners are not active dogs, but they are very active. Good exercise is also swimming because it does not pressure the joints, but my dog doesnt like to swim.
It is very important not to physicaly strain your dog until the age of around 36 months.
It is also very important to train your dog obediance from the first day, berners are very loving and gentle dogs, almost as they dont need any training at all, but if you neglect their training, sweet puppy will soon turn into your biggest disappointment.
Berg is now almost 7 monts old and he weights around 45 kg (100 pounds), I never had any problems with his size, probably because I tried to teach him not to do anything I supposed it could be a problem when he gets bigger and heavier. But I do have a problem with his wagging tail, he always knocks down everything off the coffee table!
I feed my berner with Royal Canin for giant dogs, its the best dry food I can get here in Croatia and he loves it. He also loves fresh fruit so we give him some fruit as treats.
Berners also have troubles with their eyes, so you should look for lines with healthy eyes, my Berg has cronic folicular konjuctivitis (Im not sure its called that way in english), it is inflamed foliculs on third eyelid and we are treating that since we got him.
It is very important to see how puppies are kept in breeders home, they should not go up and especially down the stairs or hills. You should prevent that until he is at least 6 months old.
The best exercise for young puppy is tug-of-war, that way he is getting good exercise and he is also having a quality time with you. He should also play with other puppies and dogs as much as possible.
Lot of people think that berners are not active dogs, but they are very active. Good exercise is also swimming because it does not pressure the joints, but my dog doesnt like to swim.
It is very important not to physicaly strain your dog until the age of around 36 months.
It is also very important to train your dog obediance from the first day, berners are very loving and gentle dogs, almost as they dont need any training at all, but if you neglect their training, sweet puppy will soon turn into your biggest disappointment.
Berg is now almost 7 monts old and he weights around 45 kg (100 pounds), I never had any problems with his size, probably because I tried to teach him not to do anything I supposed it could be a problem when he gets bigger and heavier. But I do have a problem with his wagging tail, he always knocks down everything off the coffee table!
Okay, I confess to owning one of these guys. If you are thinking about getting one-- please don't. You will not be happy. They shed. A LOT. You can pull a dish right out of the dish washer, set it on the counter, and immediately, you can find a stray hair that floats down out of the air on to it. They are too big for your house, but they need to be inside with you (or you outside with them) and not locked outside perpetually in the back yard by themselves. If you own an apartment, don't even think about it. Their tail WILL knock things over and off the coffee table. They are tall enough to rest their heads on the dinning room table when you have company over. They are slow to mature mentally, so they are rambunctious AND big from the time they are almost one until well past three years. They are incredibly strong, so they can, and will, pull you around if you walk them on a flat collar during this period of time, which is exactly when they need the most exercise. They are very expensive to buy, assuming you get one from a reputable breeder. Of course, the purchase price will be just a drop in the bucket compared to the cost to feed him, and get him the proper medical attention he will need. As puppies, there joints are incredibly fragile. They will die too young.
If you think about it, there really are no redeeming qualities to this breed. So, if you don't have one and have never met one, you would do well to look elsewhere. Please get a golden retriever, or a boxer instead.
If you think about it, there really are no redeeming qualities to this breed. So, if you don't have one and have never met one, you would do well to look elsewhere. Please get a golden retriever, or a boxer instead.
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That doesn't make them a bad breed to have. There are many breeds that shed alot. You just have to ask yourself if you can handle it. Anyway, daily brushing and vacuuming of your home can cut down on the hair load quite a bit.
That's for her to determine. You don't know how big her house is. Ex. we have a 3200 sq ft house. That's not to small for a BMD. You don't even have to have a house that big to have one.
Only crazy people would do a thing like that.
Again, there are many large breeds that this can happen with. Infact, my friends border collie does this with his tail. He's a huge BC.
That's characteristic of many large breeds. Actually it's characteristic of some small breeds also. Like papillons. Minus the pulling, but they think they can pull like a BMD if that's in consolation. Anyway you have to start training classes right away with most large breeds because there's nothing like a out of control 125 pound dog.
All things that are common in large breeds.
It sound to me like you got a BMD without really realizing if they were right for your life style. Now you have breed envy. This breed does have redeeming qualities. For some people they fit perfectly into their life style. Just not yours.
That's for her to determine. You don't know how big her house is. Ex. we have a 3200 sq ft house. That's not to small for a BMD. You don't even have to have a house that big to have one.
Only crazy people would do a thing like that.
Again, there are many large breeds that this can happen with. Infact, my friends border collie does this with his tail. He's a huge BC.
That's characteristic of many large breeds. Actually it's characteristic of some small breeds also. Like papillons. Minus the pulling, but they think they can pull like a BMD if that's in consolation. Anyway you have to start training classes right away with most large breeds because there's nothing like a out of control 125 pound dog.
All things that are common in large breeds.
It sound to me like you got a BMD without really realizing if they were right for your life style. Now you have breed envy. This breed does have redeeming qualities. For some people they fit perfectly into their life style. Just not yours.