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Saint Bernard

The St. Bernard Dog is a very large breed of dog, a working dog from the Swiss Alps, originally bred for rescue. The breed has become famous through tales of alpine rescues, as well as for its enormous size.

Appearance

The St. Bernard is a very large dog with a large and massive head. A full-grown male can weigh between 160 and 240 lb (73–110 kg) or more and the approximate height at the withers is 27½ inches to 35½ inches (70 to 90 cm). The coat can be either smooth or rough, with the smooth coat close and flat. The rough coat is dense but flat, and more profuse around the neck and legs. The coat is typically a red colour with white, or sometimes a mahogany brindle with white. Black shading is usually found on the face and ears. The tail is long and heavy, hanging low with the end turned up slightly. The dark eyes should have naturally tight lids, with "haws only slightly visible". Ectropion or entropion are listed in the breed standard as serious faults, indicating that the dog should not be bred. Other faults include aggressiveness, flews of the lower jaw turning outwards, eyelids too loose, curly coat, and sway back or roach back. See the article Dog terminology for an explanation of terms. Faults do not always indicate that a dog would not be a good companion, only that the dog should not be bred.

History

Painting by John Emms portraying St. Bernards as rescue dogs with brandy barrels around their neck. According to legend, the brandy was used to warm the bodies of trapped people in avalanches or snow before help came.

The ancestors of the St. Bernard share a history with the Sennenhunds, also called Swiss Mountain Dogs or Swiss Cattle Dogs, the large farm dogs of the farmers and dairymen of the Swiss Alps, which were livestock guardians, herding dogs, and draft dogs as well as hunting dogs, search and rescue dogs and watchdogs. These dogs are thought to be descendants of molosser type dogs brought into the Alps by the ancient Romans, and the St. Bernard is recognized internationally today as one of the Molossoid breeds.

The earliest written records of the St. Bernard breed are from monks at the hospice at the Great St. Bernard Pass in 1707, with paintings and drawings of the dog dating even earlier.

The most famous St. Bernard to save people at the pass was Barry (sometimes spelled Berry), who reportedly saved somewhere between 40 and 100 lives. There is a monument to Barry in the Cimetiere des Chiens, and his body was preserved in the Natural History Museum in Berne

The classic St. Bernard looked very different from the St. Bernard of today, because avalanches killed off many of the dogs used for breeding between 1816 and 1818. Severe weather during this period led to an increased number of avalanches that killed many St. Bernards while performing rescue work. In an attempt to preserve the breed, the remaining St. Bernards were crossed with Newfoundlands in the 1850s, and so lost much of their use as rescue dogs in the snowy climate of the alps because the long fur they inherited would freeze and weigh them down.

The Swiss St. Bernard Club was founded in Basle on March 15th 1884. The St. Bernard was the very first breed entered into the Swiss Stud Book in 1884, and the breed standard was finally approved in 1887. "Since that time the St. Bernard has been a Swiss national dog."

Naming

The name "St. Bernard" originates from traveler's hospice on the often treacherous St. Bernard Pass in the Western Alps between Switzerland and Italy, where the name was passed to the local dogs. The pass, the lodge, and the dogs are named for Bernard of Menthon, the 11th century monk who established the station.

"St. Bernard" wasn't in widespread use until the middle of the 19th century. The dogs were called "Saint Dogs","Noble Steeds", "Alpenmastiff", or "Barry Dogs" before that time.

Related breeds

The breed is strikingly similar to that of the English Mastiff. This can be attributed to a common shared ancestry with the Alpine Mastiff. It is suspected that St. Bernards were used to redevelop this breed to combat the threat of their extinction after World War II.

The four Sennenhund breeds, the Grosser Schweizer Sennenhund (Greater Swiss Mountain Dog), the Berner Sennenhund, (Bernese Mountain Dog), the Appenzeller Sennenhund, (Appenzeller), and the Entlebucher Sennenhund (Entlebucher Mountain Dog) are similar in appearance and share the same location and history, but are tricolour rather than red and white.

Kennel Club recognition

The St. Bernard is recognised internationally by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale as a Molosser in Group 2, Section 2. The breed is recognised by The Kennel Club (UK), the Canadian Kennel Club, and the American Kennel Club in the Working Dog breed group. The United Kennel Club (US) places the breed in the Guardian Dog Group. The New Zealand Kennel Club and the Australian National Kennel Council place the breed in the Utility Group.

Activities

St. Bernard demonstrating its strength

St. Bernard dogs are no longer used for alpine rescues, but do participate in a variety of dog sports including carting and weight pulling.

Health

The very fast growth rate and the weight of a St. Bernard can lead to very serious deterioration of the bones if the dog does not get proper food and exercise. Many dogs are affected by hip dysplasia or elbow dysplasia. Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) has been shown to be hereditary in the breed.

St. Bernards are susceptible to eye disorders called entropion and ectropion, in which the eyelid turns in or out. The breed standard indicates that this is a major fault.

The breed is also susceptible to epilepsy and seizures, a heart disease called dilated cardiomyopathy, and eczema.

Temperament

St. Bernard puppy

St. Bernards, like all very large dogs, must be well socialized with people and other dogs while young if they are to be safely kept as a pet. A St. Bernard not properly introduced to and socialized with children from a young age can pose a threat, not having learned to distinguish between a child and other, smaller animals.

Extremely loyal, the St. Bernard is eager to please its owners. Due to its large adult size, it is essential that proper training and socialization begin while the St. Bernard is still a puppy, so as to avoid the difficulties that normally accompany training large animals. An unruly St. Bernard may present problems for even a strong adult, so control needs to be asserted from the beginning of the dog's training. While generally not as aggressive as dogs bred for protection, a St. Bernard will bark at strangers and their size makes them good deterrents against possible intruders.

Notability

Record size

St. Bernards were exported to England in the mid 1800s, where they were bred with mastiffs to create an ever larger dog. Plinlimmon, a famous St. Bernard of the time, was measured at 95kg (210lbs) and 87.5cm (24 1/2ins), and was sold to an American for $7000. Commercial pressure encouraged carelessly breeding ever larger dogs until "the dogs became so gross that they had difficulties in getting from one end of a show ring to another".

The world's heaviest and largest dog in known history was a Saint Bernard named Benedictine, which weighed 162 kg (357 lbs), even though there have been unconfirmed reports of heavier Newfoundland (dog). Benedictine surpassed Zorba, the largest English mastiff on record, which measured 8 feet, 3 inches long and weighed 343 lb. Benedictine currently holds the world record for the heaviest dog that ever lived. This weight was provided, not by direct measurement, but by "successive studies", and the lower weight of 152.5kg (336 lbs) is sometimes cited, which would put Benedictine back into second place among all time heaviest dogs.

Akbash vs St. Bernard

Saint Bernard Kris in EXCELLENT JWW Agility

Saint Bernard

• COUNTRY: Switzerland
• WEIGHT: 110 - 200+ pounds
• HEIGHT: 25V2-27V$ inches minimum
• COAT: Two varieties—short and smooth or medium-long
• COLOR: Red and white
• OTHER NAMES: St. Bernhardshund
• REGISTRY: FCI, AKC, UKC, TKC, CKC
• GROUP: Mastiff

High in the Swiss Alps is the Hospice du Grand St. Bernard. Located at St. Gotthard's pass near the Italian border, this monastery is one of the highest and oldest human settlements in Europe. The Romans erected a temple to Jupiter there as they marched north to conquer Europe. In the tenth century, Bernard of Menthon (later canonized St. Bernard) built a Hospice over the old ruins and dedicated his life to helping the poor and needy pilgrims who traveled through the pass on their way to Rome, often on foot.

The monks at St. Bernard's worked to aid travelers and to rescue victims of avalanches and bitter winters. By 1707, the overworked monks soon realized that dogs, with their superior noses, strength and weather-resistant coats, were better equipped to guide and rescue travelers. Humans couldn't follow the treacherous narrow trails when deep snow covered them, and often plunged to their death. But the sure-footed dogs showed them the way. The dogs' amazing sense of direction was a godsend in blizzards, when even the native monks became lost and disoriented.

Initial attempts utilized a hodge-podge of mastiff cast-offs from the Roman era. But by 1800, the monks had established a kennel and their own breeding program, generally calling the dogs Alpine Mastiffs.

Edwin Landseer, at the age of 17, immortalized these dogs on canvas, and established not only their fame but his own as a dog portraiteur. One work, entitled Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveler, portrays two dogs standing over a fallen traveler. One of the rescuers bayed its alarm, and the other, with the all-important brandy cask around its neck, attempted to revive the man by licking his hand. Landseer's whimsical addition of a non-existent brandy keg has carried through the years as a symbol.

The youngsters accompanied adult dogs on their missions, learning from their experienced elders. It is said if a person were found, one Saint lay down on each side, furnishing body heat. Another licked the face, attempting to revive the victim, and yet a fourth dog returned to the monastery for assistance.

Tales of their great rescues abound, with 2,500 lives credited to the dogs. One of the most famous dogs, "Barry," reportedly saved 40 lives. On his 41st mission, his rescue attempt ended in tragedy when the person killed Barry in a misbegotten "fit of cowardly terror." Around 1810, the breed was often referred to as Barry hounds.

They were, at first, all moderately sized and shorthaired. In the 1830s the canine population at the Hospice was decimated by losses, disease, inbreeding and bad winters. Over the next few decades, the monks outcrossed to other breeds to regain vigor and establish the St. Bernard as we know it today. As a side effect, crosses to larger breeds, such as the Newfoundland, increased the size and introduced the longhaired variety. Today the St. Bernard dogs are still mascots at the monastery.

The Reverend J.C. Macdona, an English owner, brought the breed before the public around 1870. He and other fanciers of that time standardized the St. Bernard. It never takes long for a breed creating a sensation to reach America, and the first Saints competed at Westminster Kennel Club in 1877. Asking prices were listed for a few of the dogs in the Westminster catalog, with some of the St. Bernard price tags greater than $1,000.

These dogs are gargantuan in size and in accomplishments, with three listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. "Benedictine" won the honor of the largest dog on record by tipping the truck scales at 305 pounds. A Saint named Ayette's Brandy Bear shifted the heaviest load, 6,400'/2 pounds of steel on a wheeled cart, for 15 feet in less than 90 seconds. And a bitch, appropriately named "Careless Ann," tied the record for the largest litter with 23 puppies whelped.

As true giants, they have the physical problems associated with the other large breeds. Their gait is lumbering, they slobber and are expensive to feed. Families that are willing to cope with these aspects have majesty at their feet.

Saints are not always "saints," but they are always large. The combination takes an owner who is willing to discipline that adorable ball of fluff right from the start. Responsible breeders urge buyers to be selective, choosing from sturdy-bodied parentage with gentle temperament.