Saint Bernard Dog

Features

The St. Bernard is known for having a heart as big as its body.

The personality of the giant colossi is characterized by calm and serenity. In addition, the animals are not only balanced, but also confident.

Important to know

The Saint Bernard, also known as the Saint Bernard dog, is characterized by its imposing appearance, which is usually recognized even by people who are not dog experts. In the past, the Swiss national dog with the barrel around his neck was a rescue dog, trained mainly to save avalanche victims.

Tall, Serene & Fond of Children

Personality

Body & Appearance

Attributes

Coat care
7
Hair
7
Energy
5
Trainability
5
Suitable for children
7

This is the St. Bernard

Features

The Saint Bernard, also known as the Saint Bernard dog, is characterized by its imposing appearance, which is usually recognized even by people who are not dog experts. In the past, the Swiss national dog with the barrel around his neck was a rescue dog, trained mainly to save avalanche victims. However, due to undesirable developments in breeding, the resistant rescue dogs became huge colossi, which were hardly able to carry themselves.

Nowadays, the majestic giant dog radiates mainly calm and serenity. He has a height at the withers of up to 90cm in males and a height at the withers of 80cm in females. In addition, the dog breed reaches a weight of up to 80 kg, which makes it one of the largest and heaviest dog breeds in the world.

The massive head of the dogs is framed by floppy ears.

Although the St. Bernard originally existed only in short hair (stock hair), the breed is nowadays known mainly in long hair. The top coat is of medium length and covers the abundant undercoat. The base coat color is white with smaller or larger clear panels or blankets. The St. Bernard has white markings on the chest paws, tail tip and noseband, as well as a symmetrical dark mask.

With a life expectancy of just 6 to 8 years, the St. Bernard is one of the dogs with the lowest life expectancy.

Personality

The St. Bernard is known for having a heart as big as its body.

The personality of the giant colossi is characterized by calm and serenity. In addition, the animals are not only balanced, but also confident.

Even though the Saint Bernard has an imposing appearance, he is also very gentle at the same time. He is not only reliable and good-natured towards his master or mistress, but also mostly towards strangers as well as children, whose caresses he enjoys. Hardly any dog breed is as fond of children as the St. Bernard.

Even though almost nothing can upset the St. Bernard, he still has an alert protective instinct with which he defends his family and territory when necessary. However, well-socialized dogs never lose the calm and composure that characterizes them, despite their protective instincts.

The people-loving St. Bernard is also very affectionate and needs a lot of contact with his master or mistress as well as with other dogs.

Posture

The St. Bernard is not a dog for beginners. Just because of its size and power. The keeping of a St. Bernard – as with all large dogs – is more complex than that of a small dog. A St. Bernard is also not a dog for a small apartment . He needs his space and also likes to go for walks. Nevertheless, he is not an athletic dog and your four-legged friend should also avoid frequent stair climbing. Nevertheless, you should make sure that the big colossus moves outside every day in the interest of his fitness. St. Bernard likes it best in the countryside, in the great outdoors. Keep in mind, however, that the St. Bernard definitely needs a cool place to rest in the summer. Heat does not tolerate well the large and heavy dogs.

Since the St. Bernard’s visual stubbornness is also reflected in their personality, consistent training from puppyhood is essential for keeping the up to 80kg dog, because the St. Bernard is in doubt much stronger than you are. The basis of education should be the deep and intimate bond with you as the master or mistress. With this foundation, the St. Bernard can usually be trained well. His easy-going and good-natured nature also forgives mistakes.

Nutrition and care

For large breeds, you must make sure that your four-legged friend does not grow faster than his bones . Feeding your four-legged friend too many calories and protein can lead to massive skeletal problems. Otherwise, when it comes to food, the most important thing is that you should focus on a food with high-quality ingredients.

When used expertly, St. Bernard is well suited for barfing (feeding raw meat). Otherwise, it is recommended that you ask your veterinarian in advance about the proper diet for your four-legged friend.

The coat care of the St. Bernard is simple. Since the St. Bernard is a longhaired dog, you have to brush it every two to three days, because otherwise it can s come to matting, but you do not have to pay more attention to the coat care.

In addition to coat care, you should pay particular attention to eye care in St. Bernards, as the lower eyelid of St. Bernards hangs down and thus the eyes of the four-legged friends tend to increased tearing.

Due to its size, the St. Bernard is also prone to joint diseases such as the well-known hip dysplasia or bone cancer, but also diabetes, salivary cysts, eye problems or gastric torsion are more common in St. Bernards.

History

Originally, the St. Bernard was kept by monks who rubbed a hospice at the pass of the Great St. Bernard in the Alps. Mongrel dogs supported the monks there since the middle of the 17th century when walking through the snow.

The most famous representative of his race ,,Berry”, born around 18000, is said to have saved more than 40 people from death in the snow. However, the breeding of the dogs began only in 1814, after the death of Berry. In 1884, the Swiss then declared the St. Bernard the national dog and in 1887 the St. Bernard dog was officially recognized as a Swiss dog breed.

However, the well-known St. Bernards today are usually twice as heavy as their predecessors. The reason for this is mainly the cross-breeding of Newfoundlands in the 19th century.

Conclusion

St. Bernard is a faithful and friendly companion for dog lovers who, above all, have a lot of space at home and already have experience in dealing with dogs.