Bernese Mountain Dog

The Bernese Mountain Dog, called in Swiss German the Berner Sennenhund, is a large breed of dog, one of the four breeds of Sennenhund-type dogs from the Swiss Alps. Like the other Sennenhunds, the Bernese Mountain Dog is a large, heavy dog with a distinctive tricolored coat, black with white chest and or rust colored markings above eyes, sides of mouth, front of legs, and a small amount around the white chest. An ideal of a perfectly-marked individual gives the impression of a white horse shoe shape around the nose and a white “Swiss cross” on the chest, when viewed from the front.

The Bernese Mountain Dog, like all dogs, is descended from the wolf. The breed was used as an all purpose farm dog, for guarding property and for driving cattle into the ground. The breed standard for the Bernese Mountain Dog states that dogs should not be "aggressive, anxious or distinctly shy," but rather should be "good natured," "self-assured," "placid towards strangers," and "docile."

Bernese Mountain Dog Traits

Bernese Mountain Dog Breed

Bernese Mountain Dog Classification:

Bernese Mountain Dogs are working dogs.

Other Names: Berner Sennehund, Bernese Cattle Dog, Berner, Bouvier Bernois

Bernese Mountain Dog in Foreign Languages:

Catalan: gos de muntanya Bernese
Czech: Bernský salašnický pes
Danish: Berner mountain hund
Estonian: Berni karjakoer
Finnish: berninpaimenkoira
French: Bouvier bernois
German: Berner Sennehund
Hungarian: Bernese Hegy Kutya
Indonesian: nama mountain dog
Lithuanian: Berno kalnu šuo
Norweigan: Berner sennenhund
Polish: Bernenski pies pasterski
Romanian: Bernese munte dog
Slovenian: Bernese planina pes
Spanish: perro de montaña bernés
Swedish: Berner sennenhund
Turkish: Bernese dag köpegi

Origins: Bernese Mountain Dogs originated in the Swiss mountains, of Switzerland. Images of Bernese Mountain Dogs can be found in paintings from the 1800s, though there are other indications the breed goes back as far as 100 BC.

Description: Bernese Mountain Dogs are large square bodied dogs, they have a distinctive tri-colored coat pattern.

Size: Bernese Mountain Dogs weigh between 80–110 lbs, they stand 23 to 27.5 inches tall. Bernese Mountain Dogs are a large breed. Male Bernese Mountain Dogs are normally larger in size than their female counterparts

	weight	height
Male	85–110 lbs	25-27.5 inches tall
Female	80–105 lbs	23-26 inches tall

Coat: Bernese Mountain Dogs have a long soft, black base coat, with a white chest, rust colored legs, underbelly, white paws and a tricolor mask on their face. Additionally Bernese Mountain Dogs have a white tip on their tail.

Disposition: Bernese Mountain Dogs are affectionate, loyal, and intelligent. Bernese Mountain Dogs are docile and require moderate exercise and are just as happy when inactive.

Type Dog: Bernese Mountain Dogs are working dogs. Bernese Mountain Dogs were first used to pull carts full of produce to the market.

Litter Size: Bernese Mountain Dogs give birth to litters of 1-14 puppies. An average Bernese Mountain Dog litter typically has 8 pups.l

Behavior: Bernese Mountain Dogs are intelligent and require a gentle hand when training.

Traits: Attentive, friendly, good natured, docile

Country of Origin: Switzerland

Life Span: Bernese Mountain Dogs typically live 6-8 years.

Club Recognitions: FCI, AKC, ANKC, CKC, KC (UK), NZKC, UKC

Bernese Mountain Dog