Description

Saint Bernards are very strong, tall and muscular animals having a big powerful head. A remarkable feature is their wide skull with high cheek bones and a noticeable furrowing of the eye brow. There are marked by the wrinkled skin on their foreheads, which accounts for their so called stern expression, especially if they also have a dark mask. It has comparatively short snout which doesn’t taper. The bridge is straight with possible breaks in between. Their teeth are designed for a scissor bite or an even bite. The roof of their mouth is often black. The nose has wide open nostrils which are black. So is the Saint Bernard’s mouth. The size of their ears is medium, especially when compared to the size of their heads. The ear flaps are longer towards the tip and forms a rounded triangle. The ear is soft and tender. These dogs are characterized by their dark brown eyes, which are medium in size and are set deep, rendering the dog a friendly and intelligent expression. It has a sloping neck, except when it’s being very attentive. Broad shoulders with prominent withers and a reasonably deep chest with broad backs, more or less sum the Saint Bernard. The legs are straight and strong with a bulky tail and wide feet and strong toes.

Coat

A St. Bernard has two varieties, in terms of coat color: one with long hairs commonly referred to as the “ROUGH COAT” and the one with Short-Hair, i.e. the “SMOOTH COAT” variety. The Long-Coat variety is especially suited for rescue operations, due to the long hair which gives it extra warmth. However these also tend to develop the cumbersome icicles in the snow. Long haired dogs are characterized by bushier tails and the hairs may develop some feathers on the forelegs with bushy thighs. The hair is characterized by waves, both in long and short hair varieties and shouldn’t be shaggy or curly.

History

The St. Bernard breed existed for centuries. The dogs were named after the St. Bernard pass in the Western Alps, which itself was named after St. Bernard de Menthon, a monk who devised a hospice to rescue deserted travelers in the dangerous Alpine pass between Switzerland and Italy. The breed originates from the Tibetan Mastiff and has been carefully bred for a terrific sense of smell, strength, surefootedness in the ice and snow and an intelligent sixth sense about winter storms and injured humans. Tibetan mastiffs were brought to the Alps by the Romans, and it is believed that these mastiffs were bred with Great Pyrenees and Great Danes owned by the monks in the area to develop the breed. They were bred originally as companion dogs to the monks that lived in the area. Often, after bad storms, the monks walked into the pass looking for lost travelers and the dogs accompanied them. The parsons soon discovered that the dogs had a mystifying knack to discover lost travelers, even if they were buried under several feet of snow. After a while, the monks began to have the dogs work in pairs to track humans stranded in the storms. Once a human was found, one dog in the team stayed with the human to give them warmth while the other ran back to bring help. In excess of 2000 people have been rescued by these dogs in the Alps. Saint Bernards are also sometimes called as "Barry dogs" after a famous St. Bernard named Barry, who is believed to have rescued almost 100 people during his tenure on the Alpine pass. It is believed that St. Bernards from the past looked quite different from the St. Bernard of today. An avalanche is believed to have killed off many of the original St. Bernard breeding dogs, forcing the breeding program to start all over again. Apart from being great rescue dogs, these dogs can also be used for carting, because of their great size and strength. Today, they are generally used as family pets due of their intelligence and gentle trait. However even today, many St. Bernard owners acknowledge that their dogs have a very remarkable alertness of upcoming bad weather conditions. This is endorsed to the consideration that these dogs can hear sound waves that indicate the presence of a storm. Today, there are three distinct standards for the breed. They are the old Swiss standard (still used in the United States), the English standard,(created in Britain after they began their own St. Bernard breeding initiatives) and the revised Swiss standard, used in much of Europe. The original Swiss standard that is still being used in the US is probably the closest to the original Alpine rescue dogs from the past.

Temperament

Saint Bernards are known for their sweet and gentle nature. Although being so huge they are the perfect pets for the house. Although they were originally bred for Rescue missions they are very polite and patient with children. They also like to maintain a good relation with other pets at the house. They are quiet clever and have strong desire to please their masters, so they are generally quite easy to train. However, since they are so strong and large, they must be trained adequately. They are extremely loyal and possessive of their owners, making them a great watchdog. In fact, even though they are so calm and sweet, many strangers simply fear them for their size. They are often sluggish but are extremely strong and have a great sense of smell. Because the St. Bernard was developed for rescuing humans, this dog needs to be part of the family. He will take care of the children, look after everyone during their daily chores and yet be happiest if he’s included in his family's day-to-day life. In fact, St. Bernards who are kept devoid of human contact for too long or too often tend to develop a sort of depression brought by loneliness. Thus it's important to keep the dog in the regular company of other pets and people. St. Bernards that get lonely tend to get destructive too. So, it's advised that if you must leave your dog alone for long, keep him in an area where he cannot do damage. The Saint Bernard has a terrific sense of direction; one of the features that made them such good dogs for rescuing people. They are not likely to wander far away from home, and even if they do can always come back home. So in case you ever get lost while on a walk with your dog, it is expected they will lead your way and get you back home blissfully.

This breed of dog is not known to bark unless there is some real reason to do so. This is another reason (accompanied with their size) that they make great watch-dogs though they are very gentle natured. If your St. Bernard is barking, you better look up.

Health Problems

Saint Bernards are quiet healthy animals in general, but can be prone to diseases like Wobblers Syndrome. This is actually Vertebral Instability and is popular in breeds which are large and grow fast. The disease makes the animal wobble when it walks, especially from the back. They may also experience difficulty with their front-legs forcing them to take short steps. Once you consult your vet he will in all probability prescribe for kennel rest for some time along with pain and anti-inflammatory medications. These animals also tend suffer from bone cancer more than other breeds and the trait is hereditary. They are also exposed to Hip Dysplasia largely especially in the larger animals. It’s better to consult with your breeder about these diseases being present in the lineage. They also tend to bloat so it’s better to feed them two small meals rather than one large one.

Grooming

It’s actually quite easy to groom your St. Bernard consider he has very a very simple coat which doesn’t get matted or tangled, even with the long haired type. Simple Brushing with a firmly bristled brush once or twice a week is about sufficient. Since they were bred to tolerate cold and snow, their coats have water resistant oils over them, so excessive shampooing your dog may make it loose its natural oils. Do it when only necessary and use a mild shampoo for dogs. They shed about twice a year and require more brushing then. Also one will notice that the dog tends to drool and get watery eyes. One should just wipe its eyes with a tissue to keep irritants out, eyes clean and minimize the drool. This is especially frequent after feeding.

Exercise

A simple long walk a day will suffice for your St. Bernard. They are not keen to run and play once into adulthood, but do require exercising. Keeping in mind that their bones require time to form, it’s advisable to keep the playing sessions and walks to some restricted at least for the first two years of their life.

Training

Saint Bernard's are clever dogs that are willing to please their masters, so training them is generally easy. However, it's still important to start training your St. Bernard while he is still young since he will grow to be so large, that it will be impossible to control him when he is fully grown if not properly trained. In addition, due to his size, it is important that your St. Bernard be socialized early. Educating him with simple dog manners like not jumping on the houseguests is particularly important when your dog weighs 200 pounds! If these dogs are not socialized early and often, they will be quite intimidating to people, and can be quite clumsy. But, a well taught and superior mannered St. Bernard will be taken pleasure of by all of your friends because of his charming and mild temperament. One needs to be gentle and patient during the training of the St. Bernard. Since they are so loyal and are dying to please, they can get depressed if they start believing that you are not satisfied with their behavior. It is thus vital to be calm, gentle and consistent when you're training them. If they perceive training to be a fun activity where they're confident to win your praise, they'll be very happy to learn any skill you'd like them to have.