Alaskan Malamutes and Bernese Mountain Dogs

[Karen]

Irescue posted about the Bernese Mountain Dogs - reread her post. Sweet as can be, but prone to certain cancers, so shorter lifespans.

[K9soul]

The Bernese Mountain dogs I've seen have been very sweet dogs, but I have not known one personally. It is actually a breed my mom was interested in when we were looking to add a dog but I was stuck on collies .

Anyway, I did find this site. Maybe you could ask some questions there, or at least browse through posts with info.

http://www.bernertalk.com/

Some breeders are very willing to educate about their breed as well and tell you all the good and the bad.

[IRescue452]

Maybe I shouldn't have refered to them as "berners" since my whole post is getting confused as being about malamutes. I don't think shepherds have too many health problems compared to malamutes and bernese mountain dogs. How much time do you have to work with a dog? Do you want a 1 family dog basically? How about like an Australian cattle dog? You can play frisbee on your 3 acres and the dog will certainly alert you if an intruder comes by. Its not as big as a bernese mountain dog by far but it has the tenacity.

[koxka]

The only Bernese Mountain Dog I have ever met is a Theray Dog for Kids. Very sweet natured and always at her owner side even off leash.

http://www.ctac.cat/portal/index.php?sect=1&lang=en

http://www.ctacgirona.com/CTAC_GIRONA/Benvinguts.html
( In case you wonder what lenguage it is, is Catalan)

I would go for a German Shepherd Dog. Lived alone in the country for a few months with the family GSD dog and always felt secure. I can't say enough good things about him. Any stranger would dread step out the car till we said him they were ok. We could tell from his bark who was approaching, he could distinguish the sound of the family's card from th others, good with kids and others animals of the house. I could go on and on...Strong,highly intelligent and loyal to his humans beyond mesure. He was the perfect dod.

[luvofallhorses]

I would not recommend an Australian Cattle Dog. They need a job, like working sheep or out on a farm. Labs would be a good choice, I think. They are pretty easy to care for too and don't always need a job.

[K9soul]

Well.. that very much depends on the lab. They can be very high energy actually .

Case in point: http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/charac...gh-energy-dogs

It's just a lot of people go out and get them cause their the supposed perfect family dog and then find out they are not the easiest breed after all.

[CountryWolf07]

Mike would be at work weekdays and home on weekends. I would be the one home alone so obviously, I would have a lot of time on my hands to train a dog. I think it's the right time for me to go ahead and look into breeds - I wouldn't mind a mix if it came down to that. Wouldn't matter to me. My aunt had a Bernese Mt. Dog - but she was prone to running away off leash - she eventually got hit by a car. I've always liked German Shepards - always met nice ones - nothing against them at all. So I recently did a breed matching quiz - Obviously, the top 3? Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. Go figure! I absolutely love Labs - I'm constantly around them - Mike has one, his brother has two, his cousins all each have one or two at least. It's a constant type of breed they have in the family. I am thinking to go bold and maybe go with a Golden Retriever? I DO NOT MIND HAIR at all. We would have wood floors - so it wouldn't really be a problem.