Bernese Mountain Dog
A brief history of a working breed
The Bernese Mountain dog is a breed that has been long established. This large dog is believed to have originally been bred from the Mollosus dogs (large Mastiff's) which accompanied the Romans on their journey through the Alps. This echoes the story of the Rottweiller, which is also a descendant of the large dogs that travelled alongside the Romans on their journeys within Europe. Also, this suggests that the Bernese Mountain Dog shares its heritage with the Mastiff, and other Mastiff type breeds (e.g Mastiff, Douge De Bordeaux, Pyrenean Mountain Dog etc).
It is traditionally said that the Roman Mollosus was bred with the pre existing Swiss farm dogs, which were multi purpose working animals. This produced an animal of substantial size, which took on the role of livestock guards, drovers, or sometimes even provided a means of transporting produce to market. With little documented evidence regarding the Bernese Mountain Dogs very distant ancestors, canine historians largely agree on the Mastiff/farm dog theory. Certainly the size and strength of the Mollosus would have been an attribute for a dog expected to pull carts.
(Image: California Puppy. @MsAnthropissd)
Such dogs were known in their native land as Sennenhund's. Before dog showing and pedigrees became commonplace, dogs were identified as a 'type' and as such there were variations in their appearances. We do however today, have four distinct Sennenhund breeds hailing from Switzerland. The Bernese Mountain dog is amongst these four, as are the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Appenzell Mountain Dog and Entlebucher Mountain Dog. Whilst these breeds vary in size and coat length, they all share the same tri colour markings. Guillame de Lavigne highlights that, from the early sixteenth century, the remote valleys of Switzerland were much isolated from the rest of the world, and this remained unchanged for approximately three hundred years. As a result, the dog breeds developed there retained a similar type and appearance due to the lack of introduction to other breeds, thus explaining how 'type' and working ability remained consistent throughout the Sennenhund dogs.
(Image: Dega 15.5 months @1stBornLove)
As expected from a near three hundred year period of isolation, the Sennenhund remained almost entirely hidden from the rest of Europe. Unfortunately, the Industrial Revolution drastically reduced the need for large farm dogs. This did not bode well for Draught dogs such as the Sennenhunds. Nikki Riggsbee also suggests the Sennenhund types declined rapidly due to the increasing popularity of the 'in Vogue' Saint Bernard and German Shephered Dog. Despite this, the Sennenhund survived, and was developed into the four Swiss Sennenhund breeds mentioned earlier, all of which can still be found today, either as workers or family pets.
(Image: Brody @bestkeeper)
The revival of the Sennenhund, and the development of the Bernese Mountain Dog as we know it today begins its story in 1892 with an innkeeper from Burgdorf. His name was Franz Schertinlieb and so impressed was he by a big tri colour farm dog he discovered near Bern, that he decided to round up all dogs of a similar type to use in a breeding programme. The dogs were referred to as Durrbachlers, after the common name for Swiss farm dogs of the time. Interest in these dogs grew both in Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe.
Image: Ketch @SteveGilbert4)
Durrbachlers were essentially the first Bernese Mountain Dogs, although they were not directly the same as the Modern type we have today. There was still more development to come. A patron of the breed was Proffesor Albert Heim, who increased awareness and numbers of the breed, and was also responsible for a name change. He argued that the Durrbachler should instead become known as the Berner Sennenhund, which was more true to its origins.
(Image: Sasha @SwissMiss_Sasha)
There was now one key issue in preventing the Berner Sennunhund increasing in popularity, and that was the fact that the breed was well known for being prone to extreme shyness. However, a cross with a Newfoundland proved to be the solution to this problem. The Newfoundland added, not just a wonderful friendly temperament, but a longer, glamorous coat that the Bernese Mountain Dog is now famed for. Of course, our modern standard breed was not developed overnight and most of the Newfoundland cross Berner Sennenhund pups did not retain the tri colour coat of their predecessors. The result of this was an outcross project between the hybrid pups and the original Berner Sennenhund's.
(Image: Iva at 5 Months @Johnno1629)
In 1937, the Bernese Mountain Dog became a recognised breed with a conformation standard. Nowadays, the Bernese Mountain Dog is still large and strong, but it's is known for its gentle disposition and loyalty to its owners. It is highly recommended as a large breed for families.
(Image: Iva and Kimba 10 Week old pups @Johnno1629)
A huge thank you to everyone on Twitter who provided the pictures for this article. All images belong to the Twitter uses stated and must not be used without their permission.
Bibliography
de Lavigne, Guillaume. The Draft Dog-Past and Present. Creative Commons. San Francisco, California. 2015
Gilbert, Edward M.and Patricia H. Gilbert. Encyclopedia of Canine Terminology. Dogwise Publishing. Washington, 2014
Harper, Louise. Bernese Mountain Dog. Petlove, Surrey, 2002
Riggsbee, Nikki. Bernese Mountain Dogs. Barron's. New York, 2007
http://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/bernese-mountain-dog/