Bernese Mountain Dog Health Care & Feeding

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Bernese Mountain Dog Health Problems

Or check out my advice for raising a healthy Bernese Mountain Dog puppy or adult dog:

Complete list of Bernese Mountain Dog health problems

Unfortunately, this handsome breed has so many serious health problems that I cannot in good conscience recommend them to my breed consulting clients.

Many Bernese Mountain Dogs only live 6-8 years. So many are lost prematurely to hereditary cancers, or to crippling elbow dysplasia or hip dysplasia, or to an emergency gastrointestinal syndrome called bloat.

There's also epilepsy, heart disease, hereditary eye diseases that can cause blindness, autoimmune diseases, blood-clotting disease.

Prospective owners should be able to look past the breed's handsome features, striking colors, and good-natured temperament and be willing and able to handle the financial responsibilities of specialist veterinary care, not to mention the potential emotional heartbreak.

The Bernese Mountain Dog Club conducted a health survey that included 1325 dogs. They report that the average age of death was 5-6 years for unneutered Bernese Mountain Dogs, and 7-8 years for neutered Berners. These are shockingly young ages to die.

Looking specifically at 261 Bernese Mountain Dogs who had died, only 18 of them died of "old age". Almost half died much earlier – of cancer. The most common cancer in the breed is histiocytic sarcoma, which accounts for about one-quarter of the diagnosed cancers. This deadly cancer is inherited – if your Bernese puppy has just one parent who develops histiocytic sarcoma, his chances of developing it are about 22%.

But histiocytic sarcoma isn't the only cancer found in the breed. Other tumors and cancers found regularly in Bernese Mountain Dogs are mast cell tumors, lymphosarcoma, osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, and fibrosarcoma. The club survey reports that 16% of the dogs in their survey had some form of tumor, whether benign or malignant.

Moving away from cancers, we have orthopedic diseases, which are rampant in Bernese, especially elbow dysplasia. The Orthopedic Foundation of America evaluated the elbow X-rays of over 15,900 Bernese Mountain Dogs and found a shocking 28% dysplastic – the 8th worst rate of all breeds. And the true rate is even higher because most of the obviously bad X-rays were not sent in for official evaluation. Supporting that theory, a Swedish study found that over 53% of Bernese Mountain Dogs had elbow problems.

Hip dysplasia is also a big problem. The OFA evaluated the hip X-rays of 21,000 Bernese Mountain Dogs and found 16% dysplastic. For comparison, the massive Great Pyrenees has a 9% hip dysplasia rate.

Other common orthopedic diseases in Bernese Mountain Dogs include luxating patella (loose knees), osteochondritis, cruciate ligament rupture, panosteitis, and Wobbler's syndrome.

With their deep chest, Bernese Mountain Dogs are at higher-than-normal risk for the emergency gastrointestinal syndrome called bloat.

Epilepsy and heart disease (subaortic stenosis) are occurring more frequently in Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Cataracts is the most common eye disease, followed by eyelid abnormalities (entropion and ectropion). Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) can occur early in life (some Bernese go blind before age 2), or much later.

Autoimmune diseases are those in which your dog's defective immune system attacks and damages parts of its own body. In Bernese, automimmune diseases include hypothyroidism, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, lupus, and degenerative spinal myelopathy.

Blood-clotting disease (von Willebrand's) occurs in Bernese Mountain Dogs. Fortunately, a simple DNA test is available so you can find out at any time whether your Bernese has von Willebrand's, carries it, or is completely clear of it. Thus far, test results show that about 1% of Bernese are affected and another 14% are carriers.

Allergies cause itchy skin and can lead to bacterial skin infections (pyoderma).

Other health issues reported in Bernese Mountain Dogs are kidney disease, inflammatory brain disease (aseptic meningitis), cerebellar ataxia, hernias, and calcinosis.

With their thick black coats, Bernese Mountain Dogs often suffer in hot climates. Summer exercise should be limited to early morning and late evening hours to prevent overheating.

Preventing health problems

Some health problems are inherited. For example, if your dog inherits from his parents the genes for an eye disease called PRA, he will go blind and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

But most health problems can be prevented by the ways you raise your dog.

FREE eBOOK! My free online health care program, 11 Things You Must Do Right To Keep Your Dog Healthy and Happy shows you how to raise your Bernese Mountain Dog in all the right ways that help prevent health problems. Become your dog's health care champion!