Bernese Mountain Dog Blog

All our dogs have the ability to break our hearts. Whether you share your life with a BERNESE MOUNTAIN DOG or a Labrador Retriever, the bond you form with your dog can be one of the closest and most powerful you will ever experience.

If you want proof of just how extraordinary the relationsip between man and his best friend can be then you really must read a stunning new book called One Dog At A Time. It has been written by a British Marine and dog lover called Pen Farthing and tells of his time serving in the violent Helmand Province of Afghanistan.

While dodging the bullets and mortars, Sergeant Farthing witnessed the cruel and barbaric Afghan tradition of dog fighting. Rather than standing by as many would have done, he risked his life by breaking up the fighting and freeing the dogs. One of them, a big, battle-scarred mastiff he christened Nowzad after the town he was stationed in, found his way into the Marine compound where he befriended his liberator. As Farthing’’s tour of duty continued, he and Nowzad became inseparable buddies. The tough British soldier and the powerful dog formed an odd couple in the middle of the war zone. They were soon joined by other dogs who were drawn to the sanctuary the Marine compound provided. At one point, one dog pushed her litter of newborn pups through the wall of the compound so that they could be safe from the Taliban bombs and general cruelty of the Afghans towards the dog.

By the end of his time in Afghanistan, Farthing had more than a dozen dogs and puppies living in his makeshift sanctuary. As he prepared to leave, he was faced with the heartbreaking prospect of leaving them all behind.

We won’t spoil the ending of this powerful book, but suffice it to say that two of the dogs he rescued are now living with Pen Farthing in England. He has also set up a fantastic charity to rescue other abused dogs in Afghanistan. His work is truly inspirational and is winning the admiration and support of dog lovers everywhere. Part of the proceeds from the book will go towards his charity.

If you only buy and read one dog book this year, make it One Dog At A Time.

Dogs have become such an important part of our society, that the need for them to fit in well with other human beings and not pose a threat or a disturbance is critical to their long term acceptance by our neighbors and others around us. Not all people are dog lovers and to make sure that they’re not inconvenienced by our pets, training is essential.

Also, dog training is an integral part of a working dog’s life for them to be able to assist humans in activities like hunting and police work. Training dogs is a specialized skill since the key difficulty lies in how to communicate efficiently with them. While the Bernese Mountain dog is a family companion, dog training will do miracles in your interaction with you dog.

All dog training is a repetition of the basic principle of reward and punishment in various forms and combinations. Communication of these signals is the key to proper training. One very important thing to remember is consistency of signals. The reliability of the training depends on how well your Bernese Mountain Dog is able to be sure of what your signals mean.

It must also be mentioned that different dog breeds take to training differently. Dogs like the iconic German Shepherd are very easily trained due to their high intelligence. Another important factor is the emotional state of the dog. A dog that is frightened, anxious, or insecure doesn’t train well and this reflects the importance of factors like proper socialization of puppies.

A lot of studies have shown that proper puppy socialization goes a long way towards ensuring a good temperament and receptivity towards training. Lots of handling, petting and generally being around humans in their everyday life goes a long way towards making a dog well behaved and easy to train.

Training of Bernese Mountain Dog puppies should not begin too early however, as there is evidence to show that before a certain age, the brains of puppies are not significantly developed enough to process complex learning.

Professional dog trainers are best when it comes to training your dog as they will ensure that the proper habits are set for life, including how to behave around strangers. For the safety of your dog, it is your duty as an owner to ensure that he or she is well trained.

Want to solve your dog’s behavioral problems?

Secrets to Dog Training covers all aspects of dog training, including behavioral issues that can ruin the relationship between dog and owner. If you have ever tried to train a dog, you know from experience what a challenge it can be. Here is what’s inside Secrets to Dog Training to help you avoid all the frustration and pain usually associated with training a dog yourself. Among many others, you will learn how to:

• curb your dog’s aggressiveness
• make your dog understand what is right and wrong
• house train your dog
• stop your dog racing in the house
• deal with a dominant dog
• overcome separation anxiety
• stop your dog jumping on people
• apply the cutting edge Dog Whispering technique
• deal with more than one dog in the house
• stop the family cat being harrassed.

Visit Secrets to Dog Training official website for more information.

In this time of living from paycheck-to-paycheck, with many people on the brink of foreclosure, what do people do when their pet has an emergency? Working as an emergency veterinarian for a number of years, I have seen a significant increase in people who simply cannot afford to pay for emergency care for their pets. At the very least, they find it extremely difficult to find ready money to put down for the kind of deposits that the typical veterinary emergency hospital requires in order to begin treatment. Lack of sufficient funds can leave an owner faced with euthanasia for a beloved companion. The goal of Veterinary Emergency Funding Mission (VEFM) is to help locate these funds.

VEFM helps in four important ways:

(1) finding resources for immediate, short-term emergency care;

(2) teaching participants ways to avoid emergencies with their pets in the future;

(3) counseling participants in money management, so they will have resources of their own if emergencies do arise; and

(4) once the current emergency is past, reaching out and help others in similar situations. In other words, they will not get a free hand-out. Instead, they will get a gift that requires making a commitment to others: “a gift that is given again.” (See http://www.heifer.org for information on this principle.)

Tell Us your Story

We want to hear your story. No pet should be denied emergency care because an owner has fallen on hard times. Let us hear from you, to help kick-start the birth of the Veterinary Emergency Funding Mission, or VEFM. Help us meet our target start-up date of January 1, 2009. To tell your story, go to: http://vefm.blogspot.com/2008/09/we-want-to-hear-your-story.html

Isn’t he adorable?

The temperament of a Bernese shines as brightly as his coat. For all his great size, he is a softy at heart. This is a people-loving dog who is also a willing worker. With gentle but firm and consistent training, he can pull a cart, compete in obedience competitions or tracking; do search and rescue work, become a therapy dog, or participate in agility trials. Because he is so willing to please, the Bernese responds to the gentlest of training methods. No yelling or yanking or scolding is needed with this large breed. All you have to do is to show him what to do, reward him when he does it, and practice to make the behavior an ingrained pattern.

The Bernese is slow to mature and needs gradual introduction to competition-level obedience training. Socialization is advisable. Owners should not be fooled by the breed’s gentle demeanor, however. An untrained Bernese weighing 80 pounds or more can be a menace, not because he is likely to be domineering or aggressive, but just because he behaves like a bull in a china shop. He remains a child at heart…

It pains me to write this, but the Bernese is one of those big dog breeds that Shakespeare would not label as immortal. On average the lifespan of a Bernese Mountain Dog is 7 years; so this is an important factor when considering buying one as a beloved family pet. Although the coat and disposition shines through and through, the Bernese is cannot be labeled as a very healthy breed. Apart from having a high food bill, veterinary bills may also skyrocket, since this breed is susceptible to getting certain illnesses. Hip and elbow Dysplasia plagues this breed, while bloating, several types of cancer and kidney problems have also been known to develop. Progressive retinal atrophy – an eye disease that causes blindness- is becoming a problem as well with this huge and lovable dog. Due to its heavy coat, the Bernese may suffer in hot climates if you plan to spend a lot of time outdoors in summer make sure you have enough shade and loads of fresh water for your Bernese. Take care of your Bernese. He will love you all the more for it…

The coat of a Bernese is slightly rough in outline, but not at all harsh in texture. There is an undercoat as well, which is fairly dense. A positive attribute of this big dog’s coat is that it is dirt and weather resistant! To keep the coat in fine shape, a good brushing every week or two is sufficient enough. When the undercoat is being shed, seasonally it is advisable to give the coat a vigorous brushing in order to speed up the moulting process. Bernese Mountain Dogs shed year-round,and often seasonal shedding will increasing the shedded fur. So be patient and loving with your Berner as fur drifting everywhere is to be expected!

Why take your dog to the vet if you can give it a check-up yourself?

The Bernese Mountain Dog (also called Berner Sennenhund or Bouvier Bernois) is a versatile breed of farm dog originating from the canton of Berne in Switzerland. I have loved this breed for a long long time, and decided to dedicate this blog to the fans of the Bernese Mountain dog! Welcome dear Reader. I hope to post fun and infomative posts on a regular basis. Let us unite in our love for the Bernese Mountain Dog. Please leave a comment or two. I welcome all feedback! Enjoy!