Bernese Mountain Dog puppies

About the Bernese Mountain Dog

The Bernese Mountain Dog is a Swiss farm dog from the canton of Bern, used to pull carts, drove cattle and watch the property. They are large and heavy boned, 58 to 70cm and 31.8 to 52.2kg, with a tricolour double coat and a broad, gentle head. The temperament is famously steady: affectionate, placid indoors and eager to please the people they live with. They rate at the top of the scale with children and other dogs, which still assumes supervision and early socialisation.

Berners want at least half an hour of moderate exercise daily and enjoy long walks, hikes and carting, though heat is hard on a dog in that coat. Shedding is heavy, so a weekly brush becomes a daily one twice a year. The thing to face before buying is longevity. The breed lives roughly 7 to 10 years, cancer is common in them, so choose a breeder who screens seriously, keep the dog lean, and learn the signs of bloat.

What to expect at eight weeks

At eight weeks a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A large breed puppy at eight weeks looks deceptively normal sized and will roughly double every few weeks for a while. Keep exercise short and low impact, the growth plates are wide open. This is a high energy breed. At eight weeks that shows up as intensity rather than stamina, and they will need a job to do long before they need long walks. Grooming needs are moderate, so build the brushing habit now while the coat is still short and easy. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything they meet calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of their life.

Health worth knowing about

Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.

• Hip and elbow dysplasia, which breeding stock should be x-rayed for under the hip and elbow scoring schemes
• Cancer, picked up on a veterinary examination with imaging and biopsy of any new lump
• Bloat and gastric torsion, a surgical emergency in deep chested dogs
• Von Willebrand's disease and eye disorders including cataracts and progressive retinal atrophy, the first detectable by DNA or blood test and the second by an ophthalmologist eye examination

Your Bernese Mountain Dog puppy's first six months

• Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
• Worming and parasite schedule.
• Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Large for a Bernese Mountain Dog.
• Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 31.8 to 52.2 kg adult range.
• Puppy names and the first week checklist.

Kit sizes: crate 48 inch (48 x 30 x 32 in, 122 x 76 x 81 cm) for an adult of up to 52.2 kg, the largest size in the chart, which tops out at 49.9 kg, so measure the dog before you buy; chew toys made for large breeds. Worked out the same way as the crate size calculator. PetMD bases a crate on the dog's own measurements, not weight or breed alone, so measure once the puppy is home.

Buying guides for this

• Do slow feeder bowls work? Choosing one for a puppy that gulps
• Best crate for a puppy: wire, plastic or soft, and how to size one with a divider

Other large breeds

More on the Bernese Mountain Dog

Previous: Bernedoodle · Next: Bichon Frise

Sources

• akc.org for adult weight and height, life expectancy, energy, grooming, shedding and the temperament ratings, coat type and health notes
• fci.be for country of origin
• Health notes from Bernese Mountain Dog breed information at https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/bernese-mountain-dog/. Discuss any of these with your own vet.

Photo: FriendlyToaster, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped. All photographers are listed on the photo credits page.