dad getting bernese mountain dog!

he is going to get one next summer from a breeder in Victoria. The breeder is selling them for 8-1000 $ a puppy. She wont sell to people who are not seriouse about the breed. My dad is. He is ubsessed. Has anyone seen equilibrium? it has a bernese mountain dog in it, my dad went freaky when he saw it ;). Here are a couple of pics of bernese mountian dogs:

http://www.timberwolforganics.com/images/bernese.jpg

http://www.sennenkoirat.net/galleria/berni/elmeri2.jpg

does anyone know anything about the breed, or have any experience with the breed? thanks !! :)

I saw my first one in person about a year ago. One of our patients brought her puppy into the office for us to meet. It was 8 weeks old and already weighed 16 lbs. but what a precious little bundle.

This April I went to a dog show mostly of Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs but there were a few Bernese there as well. I must admit I just adored the Bernese dogs!! They were like big teddy bears! They are gorgeous and just awesome. The Swissies look very much like the Bernese except with short hair. In fact my daughter will be bringing a Swissie into her on home on July 12th and I am sure she will be posting pictures by the 13th! LOL!

Congratulations to your dad. He is one lucky man and we will look forward to seeing pictures!

Normally if a breeder charges that much for a pup, that is a show quality pup. I would show it. If it's an expensive pup, it usually means the parents are Champs, and the pup should finish fast and produce good pups in it's later life. I've had many years of handling Bernese Mountain Dogs. They are great dogs to handle, but they are big. You have to be prepared to be able to handle a 100=150lb dog.

Congrats!! I am Pam's daughter, the one who is getting a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog in less than 2 weeks. The Berner is one of the four Sennehunds (dogs from Switzerland) (the third largest, the largest being the Swissy). I had the pleasure of meeting several Berners and they are awesome dogs!! Very friendly..but very big :) I like big :)

Make sure to research the breeder very thouroghly. Make sure to find out if the parents are OFA certified ( that they have good hips and elbows), and make sure to read up on bloat...a disorder that effects large/giant breeds...that is very serious if not recognized early.

Anyway, my husbnad had wanted a Berner for quite sometime and then we found out about the Swissy, who shed less and have a longer life span...and we just fell in love...but i hope to have a Berner one day too...they are so cuddly. It isnt unlikely to pay that much for a Berner. And it is good if the breeder is very picky about who he adopts out to, b/c it means he takes good care and wants only the best for his dogs...anyway, pm me with any questions, we reserached this breed pretty thouroghly before we decided on our Swissy...so i may be able to answer some questions! Congrats!

Robyn

Congrats! I can't wait to see the doggy! Any names yet?

I hope he knows that the breed only lives for about 6 years. A major drawback.

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Normally if a breeder charges that much for a pup, that is a show quality pup

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I find that most breeders charge that much for a giant pup, show quailty or not. I've seen a pyrenees from a backyard breeder that cost 2000 dollars, and a great dane from a BYB that cost 1200 dollars.

is this the breeder?

http://members.shaw.ca/Swisskiss-BMD/

They have cute doggies! :)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by wolfsoul
[B]
I hope he knows that the breed only lives for about 6 years. A major drawback.

Actually, close, but they live to be at least 8, some 10 years old, where the Swissy lives to be 10-12, and some have lived/are living longer, ...another good question to jot down to ask the breeder on the health of his dogs and the averate lifespan that he was seen with his dogs, as well as any health issues.

It is true, the price doesnt mean it is show quality. You can pay $1200 for a dog from a pet store...if you have a great breeder they go the extra mile for their dog and have been breeding for years and years, and if you want to show it, they will choose the dog that most fits the standard, where the pet companion dogs, may have slightly different markings, or a shorter snout, ect. and may be a couple hundred dollars cheaper, but may also be quite pricey..which is expected for a fairly rare ( not so much anymore) breed.

Here is the schedule for the show Breed all about it on Animal Planet...It looks like the Bernese Mountain Dog one is airing at the end of July...mark your calendar if you get this channel :)

Here is the link:

http://animal.discovery.com/schedule...32&channel=APL

Robyn

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Originally posted by Orlando Bloom's Gal
Normally if a breeder charges that much for a pup, that is a show quality pup. I would show it. If it's an expensive pup, it usually means the parents are Champs, and the pup should finish fast and produce good pups in it's later life. I've had many years of handling Bernese Mountain Dogs. They are great dogs to handle, but they are big. You have to be prepared to be able to handle a 100=150lb dog.

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rust me I will Noit be handleing it, My dad will lol. He wants a big dog for hunting and helping him drag the kill ect.. thats what he used our old malamute for and he weighted 160 pounds.

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is this the breeder?

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I have no idea lol. I havelt looked at that website before, It is cute though :D.


the average lifespan is 8-10 years and that is just an average, if the dog is worked and healthy it could live longer.

Christiansmommy I will be pming u lol ;)

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Originally posted by wolfsoul
is this the breeder?

http://members.shaw.ca/Swisskiss-BMD/

They have cute doggies! :)

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I took a closer look at the site and it is the breeder that my dad was thinking of getting his pup from.

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Originally posted by tikeyas_mom
rust me I will Noit be handleing it, My dad will lol. He wants a big dog for hunting and helping him drag the kill ect.. thats what he used our old malamute for and he weighted 160 pounds.

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you cannot be serious
this is inhumane
Berners are NOT HUNTING DOGS! If the breeder sells a puppy to your dad knowing this, they are not very trustworthy.

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Originally posted by shais_mom
you cannot be serious
this is inhumane
Berners are NOT HUNTING DOGS! If the breeder sells a puppy to your dad knowing this, they are not very trustworthy.

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He isn't making the dog hunt. :confused: I know plenty of people that bring their dog out with them when they are hunting/fishing. Doesn't seem inhumane to me.

Huskies are used for dragging sleds behind them, is that cruel? I use Timber to drag sleds in the winter, and 6/7 of the breeds in her are NOT sled dogs. As long as it doesn't hurt the dog physically or mentally, it isn't inhumane or cruel. IMO.

I dont think its cruel, but, umm...were Berners used for hunting?? If your dad wants a hunting dog maybe a dog that was breed for hunting??

Most hunting dogs aren't muscular enought to drag a kill. (eg bloodhound, coonhound.) There are a few that are (eg Irish wolfhound, akita) but it seems like her dad is really focused on this breed for purposes other than dragging kill as well. He doens't want one JUST for dragging kill, he wants one for other purposes as well. It's a good thing that he took into consideration the other aspects of this breed, and isn't just buying it for one sole purpose.

Once again I respectivaly quote this from Binka- Nugget
" But then again, I'm entitled to my own opinion and so are you. So, I respect what you have said and won't try to argue because nothing good comes out of arguments"----------------->>>>binka nugget

I am entitled to my opinion as everyone else is, I don't agree with the reasoning behind him getting this particular dog. IMO
I am quoting Binka- nugget (Ashley???) b/c she said it perfectly to me in another thread.