| Saint Bernards: the most honest dog breed review you'll ever find. Information about Saint Bernard personality and behavior. |
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My book, Your Purebred Puppy: A Buyer's Guide (published by Henry Holt & Co.), includes a full-page profile of the Saint Bernard, including these excerpts:
"A well-bred Saint Bernard is calm, sensible, and patient. Some are more outgoing, others more introspective.
Adult Saint Bernards are quiet indoors, but do need space and deserve a roomy home with a spacious fenced yard in the suburbs or country.
The Saint Bernard needs daily exercise (whether he seems to want it or not) to stay fit, but long daily walks will do, along with regular opportunities to stretch out and lope around. He loves to romp in the snow, and pulling a cart or carrying a backpack gives him a purpose in life.
Companionship is of prime importance to this sociable breed. Left alone too much, he becomes dispirited -- and destructive.
Saint Bernards are generally relaxed and accepting of everyone, but because he is such a massive dog, he requires early, frequent excursions into the world so that he grows up to trust and respect people.
Most Saint Bernards are fine with other animals when raised with them, but there is some dog aggression, which can be frightening to experience because of this breed's sheer bulk and power.
Saints have an independent streak, but they are willing to please if you can establish consistent rules through motivational training methods that include praise and food rewards.
Saint Bernards are hard to beat as droolers, slobberers, and loud contented snorers."
History
Near Saint Bernard's Pass in the Swiss Alps, he served as a rescue dog for a hospice monastery. His sixth sense and keen hearing warned him of impending avalanches.
There are two coat varieties: the Longhaired is more popular, but the Shorthaired is the original and the best suited to living in snow and ice without tangling or matting.
Size
25-32 inches and 125-180 lbs |
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Saint Bernards
What's good about 'em
What's bad about 'em
- There are energetic Saints, and placid Saints.
- Hard-headed Saints, and sweet-natured Saints.
- Serious Saints, and good-natured goofballs.
- Introverted Saints, and Saints who love everyone.
| If you acquire a Saint Bernard puppy, you can't know for sure what he or she will grow up to be like. Because a good number of purebred puppies do NOT grow up to conform to the "norm." |
Now let's look at some common characteristics for this breed...
- Is heavy and powerful, with a thick furry coat
- Is steady-tempered with everyone
- Loves pulling carts and sleds and romping in cold weather
- Is responsive to training in a slow, good-natured way
A Saint Bernard may be right for you.
| If you don't want to deal with... |
- A very bulky dog who takes up a lot of space in your house and car
- A heavy dog who wants to sit on your feet, lie on your lap, and lean his weight against your leg
- Rowdiness and exuberant jumping when young
- "Separation anxiety" and destructiveness when left alone too much
- Fearfulness or aggression in some lines, or when not socialized enough
- Some stubbornness and/or dominance problems, especially in males
- Heavy shedding
- Slobbering and drooling
- Serious health problems and a short lifespan
A St Bernard may not be right for you.
| If I were considering a Saint Bernard... |
My major concerns would be:
- Providing the proper balance of exercise. Young Saint Bernards need enough exercise to keep them lean and healthy, but not so much that their soft growing bones, joints, and ligaments become over-stressed and damaged. Adult Saint Bernards need more exercise to keep them in shape, but not in hot or humid weather for fear of overheating. The proper amount of exercise can be difficult to regulate in giant breeds.
Since you have to minimize their exercise, young Saint Bernards can be very rambunctious. They will romp with uncoordinated gawkiness all over your house. You need to substitute extra quantities of companionship and supervision. Otherwise, left alone, young Saint Bernards become bored and destructive -- and their powerful jaws can literally destroy your living room.
| I strongly recommend that you get your Saint Bernard involved in obedience classes at the intermediate or advanced level, or tracking, or pulling a cart or sled, or even just hiking and swimming. This is a working dog who needs something interesting to do. |
- Bounciness. Young Saint Bernards (up to about two years old) romp and jump with great vigor, and things can go flying, including people.
| If you have small children, or if you or anyone who lives with you is elderly or infirm, I do not recommend Saint Bernard puppies. |
- Separation anxiety. More than most other breeds, Saint Bernards need a great deal of companionship and do not like being left alone for more than a few hours. They tend to express their unhappiness through destructive chewing. If you work all day, this is not the breed for you.
- Providing enough socialization. Saint Bernards need extensive exposure to people and to unusual sights and sounds. Otherwise their natural caution can become extreme shyness or suspiciousness or dangerous aggression, all of which are difficult to live with, especially with such a massive dog.
- Strong temperament in males. Many Saint Bernards, particularly young males, are not pushovers to raise and train. Some are willful and dominant (they want to be the boss) and will make you prove that you can make them do things. You must show them, through absolute consistency, that you mean what you say. Some Saint Bernard males are also dominant or aggressive toward other male dogs.
- Heavy shedding. Saint Bernards shed a LOT. You'll find hair and fur all over your clothing, upholstery, carpeting, under your furniture, on your countertops -- even in your food. Frequent vacuuming will become a way of life. Make sure you're REALLY up for this.
- Slobbering. Most people are not prepared for how much Saint Bernards slobber and drool, especially after eating or drinking. When they shake their heads, you will literally be toweling saliva and slime off your clothes, furniture, and walls.
- Serious health problems. The lifespan of a Saint Bernard is short and an alarming number are crippled by bone and joint diseases and/or succumb to cancer in middle age.
| If you're considering an adult Saint Bernard... |
There are plenty of adult Saint Bernards who have already proven themselves NOT to have negative characteristics. If you find such an adult, don't let "typical breed negatives" worry you.
When you acquire a puppy, you're acquiring potential -- what he one day will be. So "typical breed characteristics" are very important. But when you acquire an adult, you're acquiring what he already IS.
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Copyright © 2000-2006 by Michele Welton. All rights reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced without the permission of the author. |
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