If you love dogs, not having one will make your home feel like it’s missing something. Having a dog at home will make your family feel complete and makes you want to stay at home all day. However, you shouldn’t compromise when picking the best dog for your family, particularly if you have children.
Bernese Mountain Dogs are often thought to be among the least violent dogs toward people because they are loyal and friendly. This type of breed is friendly, quiet, and ready to play, which makes them great playmates for kids.
Read on to learn more about Bernese dogs, including the good and bad characteristics they may have during their stay at your home.
Bernese Mountain Dogs: Good Characteristics
- A Bernese Mountain Dog is a fantastic option for playful and noisy kids since it is composed and even-tempered.
- Since they are very patient, Bernese Mountain Dogs can put up with aggressive kids who want to climb all over their big, hairy bodies.
- Bernese Mountain Dogs want to please their owners and it’s possible that your dog will enjoy playing with your kids.
- Even if a Bernese Mountain Dog isn’t mean, it is still a guardian. He will care a lot about the safety of your kids and the rest of your family.
- A Bernese Mountain Dog loves and stays true to his family.
- If you have young children, it’s a good thing that Bernese Mountain Dogs are easy to train. It makes it easier to include kids in the classroom.
- Bernese dogs get along well with most other animals. They like to play in the cold, and love to pull carts and sleds.
- Bernese dogs are willing to be trained and go about it with love and patience.
Bernese Mountain Dogs: Bad Characteristics
- The Bernese Mountain Dog is not a type of dog that needs or likes to run. They do, however, need a big yard with a fence around it so that they can run around and play as they please.
- Since it needs to be socialized so much, the Bernese Mountain Dog does not do well when left alone for more than a few hours at a time. These dogs do aggressive chewing to release their anger.
- Even though Bernese Mountain Dogs like to be alone, they need to spend a lot of time with their human owners so they can get used to different sights and sounds. If this doesn’t happen, their natural shyness could turn into something hard to get over.
- Some Bernese Mountain Dogs, especially young males, can be dominant and strong-willed. This just means that they want to take charge of the situation. These dogs will test your authority over them to see how much control you have over them. There is a chance that male Bernese dogs could be aggressive or dominant toward other males of the same breed.
- The Bernese Mountain Dog is known to have a coat that sheds a lot.
- Some Bernese Mountain Dogs, especially those with big heads and loose lips, are known to drool and slobber, especially after eating or drinking. This is something that these Bernese Mountain Dogs are more likely to do.
- Bernese Mountain Dogs have great personalities, we’ll give you that. However, you should also know that they have serious health problems that you should think about before choosing this breed. Their average lifespan is much shorter than that of other breeds in the same size range. This is because a lot of them are born with hip and elbow dysplasia or die between the ages of 5 and 7 years from heart disease, cancer, or epilepsy, which are all hereditary conditions.
Getting to Know More About Bernese Mountain Dogs
A Bernese Mountain Dog could come pretty close to being the perfect pet for a family. Bernese Mountain Dogs are known for being friendly, smart, and good-natured. Any person who wants to get a dog would be interested in one with these traits.
However, when choosing a dog for your family, you have to think about more than just how it acts. Also, you should think about what the dog breed’s most important traits are. When choosing the best dog for you, you should also consider things like how easy it will be to train dogs, how easy it will be to exercise them, how they will affect your health, and so on.
For example, a Labrador may be a great friend for kids, but he probably won’t like spending the day alone in a small apartment if you don’t visit very often. A smaller dog that can live in an apartment is another option, but it will take a lot of time and work to care for and groom it properly (or the budget to have it done professionally).
In the end, it doesn’t matter what kind of dog you choose for your family. The most important thing is to look at the big picture. If you start by learning the basics of any dog breed, you will be less likely to be surprised later.
Bernese Mountain Dogs: Good-To-Know Facts
1. Life Expectancy
One should keep in mind that the average lifespan of a Bernese Mountain Dog is between 7 and 10 years before deciding whether to buy a puppy or an older dog. This must be taken into account as a key aspect. If your children are still very little or have just been born, you should keep this in mind as much as you can.
2. Size
A typical Bernese Mountain Dog is between 23 and 27.5 inches tall and weighs between 70 and 115 pounds. Males of the same breed tend to be substantially bigger than females in the great majority of dog breeds.
3. Grooming Needs
This dog sheds a lot of hair because it has a double coat made up of a strong outer coat and a thick undercoat. It sheds most heavily during the season when it does so most often. Even though you won’t need to bathe this dog very frequently, it’s still vital to brush him at least once per week and keep his nails cut short.
It is advisable for you to brush him every day throughout the season when he is shedding since doing so will help get rid of the extra hair. Along with this, you should regularly brush his teeth and watch for any signs that an infection may have started in his ears.
4. Exercise Needs
If you want a Bernese Mountain Dog, you’ll need to be ready to spend a certain amount of time each day making sure he gets enough exercise. Every single day, these dogs need to run around for at least half an hour. This dog likes to do dog sports like pulling a cart, agility training, and other things, but he’s also happy to go with you on a long trip where he has to stay in one place.
This dog likes to hang out with his human pack both inside and outside. Yet it is important to give him a lot of things to think about, especially when you are not around. Give him interactive dog toys, puzzles, and reward games to keep him busy and happy. If he doesn’t have it, he is free to do things that are bad for his health.
5. Training
All dogs need to be able to get along with other dogs and finish basic obedience training, but this is especially important for big breeds of dogs. The Bernese are smart breeds who are also willing to do what they are told, which is good quality. He is easy to train because he has a good mix of traits. However, since he is also sensitive, harsh training methods don’t work very well with him. Instead, you should try to make them happier and keep a positive attitude.
6. Health needs
The National Breed Club advises owners to do a series of examinations on their dogs regardless of the breed’s generally good health. For example, both the elbows and the hips should be looked at for problems like hip dysplasia. There are also other things to think about, such as a heart exam and a DNA test. Bernese Mountain Dogs, like other big dog breeds, tend to gain too much weight, so everyone needs to learn about the health risks that come with this.
Conclusion
Even though Bernese Mountain Dogs are great family pets, your kids and your new puppy need to learn how to get along with each other. Make sure your kids know how to behave when they are around animals, especially dogs.
You must familiarize yourself with any specific rules that apply to your new dog and that you do it as soon as possible. In the same way, it’s crucial to start teaching your new Bernese Mountain Dog as soon as you bring him home and to set clear rules about what behavior is okay and what is not.
We really hope that this article has given you a better understanding of this breed. That way, when you plan to get a Bernese Mountain Dog in the future, you already know what to do.
