St. Bernard (dog)

St. Bernard

St. Bernard in the snow
Other names	St. Bernhardshund Bernhardiner
Nicknames	Saint
Country of origin	Italy / Switzerland
Traits
Classification and standards FCI Group 2 Section 2 #61 standard AKC Working Group standard ANKC Utility Group standard CKC Working Group standard KC (UK) Working Group standard NZKC Utility standard UKC Guardian Dog Group standard
Dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

The St. Bernard is a very large breed of working dog from the Swiss Alps, originally bred for rescue. The breed has become famous through tales of alpine rescues, as well as for its large size.

Appearance

The St. Bernard is generally a dog with a large head. The longest recorded dog was 42 inches (107 cm) tall, 35 inches (89 cm) at the shoulders, and 102 inches (2.59 m) long and weighed 220 lb (100 kg),^[1] The average weight of the breed is between 140 and 264 lb (64–120 kg) or more and the approximate height at the withers is 27½ inches to 35½ inches (70 to 90 cm).^[2] The coat can be either smooth or rough, with the smooth coat close and flat. The rough coat is dense but flat, and more profuse around the neck and legs. The coat is typically a red colour with white, or sometimes a mahogany brindle with white. Black shading is usually found on the face and ears. The tail is long and heavy, hanging low with the end turned up slightly. The dark eyes should have naturally tight lids, with "haws only slightly visible". Sometimes the eyes, brown usually, can be icy blue, nearly white.

History

Painting by John Emms portraying St. Bernards as rescue dogs with brandy barrels around their neck. According to legend, the brandy was used to warm the bodies of trapped people in avalanches or snow before help came.

The ancestors of the St. Bernard share a history with the Sennenhunds, also called Swiss Mountain Dogs or Swiss Cattle Dogs, the large farm dogs of the farmers and dairymen of the Swiss Alps, which were livestock guardians, herding dogs, and draft dogs as well as hunting dogs, search and rescue dogs, and watchdogs. These dogs are thought to be descendants of molosser type dogs brought into the Alps by the ancient Romans, and the St. Bernard is recognized internationally today as one of the Molossoid breeds.^[3]

The earliest written records of the St. Bernard breed are from monks at the hospice at the Great St Bernard Pass in 1707, with paintings and drawings of the dog dating even earlier.^[4]

The most famous St. Bernard to save people at the pass was Barry (sometimes spelled Berry), who reportedly saved somewhere between 40 and 100 lives. There is a monument to Barry in the Cimetière des Chiens, and his body was preserved in the Natural History Museum in Berne.^[5]

The classic Saint Bernard looked very different from the St. Bernard of today, because avalanches killed off many of the dogs used for breeding between 1816 and 1818.^[6] Severe weather during this period led to an increased number of avalanches that killed many St. Bernards while performing rescue work.^[7] In an attempt to preserve the breed, the remaining St. Bernards were crossed with Newfoundlands brought from the Colony of Newfoundland in the 1850s, and so lost much of their use as rescue dogs in the snowy climate of the alps because the long fur they inherited would freeze and weigh them down.^[8]

The Swiss St. Bernard Club was founded in Basel on March 15, 1884. The St. Bernard was the very first breed entered into the Swiss Stud Book in 1884, and the breed standard was finally approved in 1888. Since then, the breed has been a Swiss national dog.^[4]

Naming

The name "St. Bernard" originates from traveler's hospice on the often treacherous St. Bernard Pass in the Western Alps between Switzerland and Italy, where the name was passed to the local dogs. The pass, the lodge, and the dogs are named for Bernard of Menthon, the 11th century monk who established the station.^[9]

"St. Bernard" wasn't in widespread use until the middle of the 19th century. The dogs were called "Saint Dogs", "Noble Steeds", "Alpenmastiff", or "Barry Dogs" before that time. They were also used for rescuing people in the Alps.

Related breeds

The breed is strikingly similar to the English Mastiff and Newfoundland. This can be attributed to a common shared ancestry with the Alpine Mastiff and the Tibetan Mastiff. It is suspected that these breeds were used to redevelop each other to combat the threat of their extinction after World War II.^[10]

The four Sennenhund breeds, the Grosser Schweizer Sennenhund (Greater Swiss Mountain Dog), the Berner Sennenhund, (Bernese Mountain Dog), the Appenzeller Sennenhund, (Appenzeller), and the Entlebucher Sennenhund (Entlebucher Mountain Dog) are similar in appearance and share the same location and history, but are tricolour rather than red and white.

Kennel Club recognition

The St. Bernard is recognised internationally by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale as a Molosser in Group 2, Section 2. The breed is recognised by The Kennel Club (UK), the Canadian Kennel Club, and the American Kennel Club in the Working Dog breed group. The United Kennel Club (US) places the breed in the Guardian Dog Group. The New Zealand Kennel Club and the Australian National Kennel Council place the breed in the Utility Group

Activities

St. Bernard demonstrating its strength.

St. Bernard dogs are no longer used for alpine rescues, but do participate in a variety of dog sports including carting and weight pulling. A St. Bernard holds the world record in strength: in 2008, a St. Bernard was recorded to pull over 2 tons.

Health

The very fast growth rate and the weight of a St. Bernard can lead to very serious deterioration of the bones if the dog does not get proper food and exercise. Many dogs are genetically affected by hip dysplasia or elbow dysplasia. Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) has been shown to be hereditary in the breed.^[11]

St. Bernards are susceptible to eye disorders called entropion and ectropion, in which the eyelid turns in or out. The breed standard indicates that this is a major fault.

The breed is also susceptible to epilepsy and seizures, a heart disease called dilated cardiomyopathy, and eczema.

Due to the likelihood of health problems in later years, the average lifespan for a St. Bernard is around 8 years. St. Bernards may live beyond 10 years but those dogs are rare.

Temperament

St. Bernard puppy.

St. Bernards, like all very large dogs, must be well socialized with people and other dogs in order to prevent fearfulness and any possible aggression or territoriality. The biggest threat to small children is being knocked over by this breed's larger size. Overall they are a loyal and affectionate breed, and if socialized are very friendly and are occasionally avoided because of their slobber.

Due to its large adult size, it is essential that proper training and socialization begin while the St. Bernard is still a puppy, so as to avoid the difficulties that normally accompany training large animals. An unruly St. Bernard may present problems for even a strong adult, so control needs to be asserted from the beginning of the dog's training. While generally not as aggressive as dogs bred for protection, a St. Bernard may bark at strangers, and their size makes them good deterrents against possible intruders.

Notability

Record size

St. Bernards were exported to England in the mid 1800s, where they were bred with mastiffs to create an even larger dog. Plinlimmon, a famous St. Bernard of the time, was measured at 95 kg (210 lbs) and 87.5 cm (34 1/2ins), and was sold to an American for $7000.^[12] Commercial pressure encouraged carelessly breeding ever larger dogs until "the dogs became so gross that they had difficulties in getting from one end of a show ring to another".^[13]

The world's heaviest and largest dog in known history is claimed to be a St. Bernard named Benedictine. Benedictine reportedly measured 9 feet in length and weighed 162.3 kg (357 lbs) ^[14], although an 1895 New York Times report mentions a St. Bernard named Major F. who was longer.^[15] If these claims are true, Benedictine would surpass Zorba, the largest English mastiff on record, in both length and weight. Zorba measured 8 feet, 3 inches long and weighed 314.5 lb.^[16]

In media

St. Bernards are often portrayed, especially in old live action comedies such as Swiss Miss, the TV series Topper, and classic cartoons wearing small barrels of brandy around their necks. The brandy was supposedly used to warm the victims that the dogs found. The monks of the St. Bernard Hospice deny that any St. Bernard has ever carried casks or small barrels around their necks; they believe that the origin of the image is an early painting. The monks did keep casks around for photographs by tourists.^[17]

A Punch magazine cartoon from 1949 depicts a man with a St. Bernard and several puppies, all of which are wearing neck casks. The man explains, "Of course, I only breed them for the brandy."

A frequent joke in old MGM and Warner Brothers shorts is to depict the dogs as compulsive alcoholics who engage in frequent nips from their own casks.

The 1981 Stephen King novel Cujo portrays a rabid and crazed St. Bernard that terrorizes the residents of the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine.

The 1992 comedy film Beethoven featured a large, friendly but troublesome St. Bernard and, in later sequels, his mate and their brood of unruly pups. According to the producers of the sequel Beethoven's 2nd, the St. Bernards used in the film grew so fast during filming that over 100 St. Bernard puppies were cast to potray the sequel's four puppies (Tchaikovsky, Chubby, Dolly, and Mo).

Famous St. Bernards

• Schotzie & Schotzie "02", beloved pets and mascots of Cincinnati Reds' owner Marge Schott
• Barry, famous Alpine rescue dog
• Bolivar, Donald Duck's pet
• Cujo, a fictional portrayal of a rabid St. Bernard by Stephen King
• Nanna, from various Peter Pan movies (but originally a Newfoundland in the text)
• Buck, from Jack London's The Call of the Wild, is half St. Bernard
• Gumbo, team mascot for the New Orleans Saints
• Neil, the martini-slurping St. Bernard of George and Marion Kerby in Topper
• Beethoven, the 1992 movie Beethoven, and multiple sequels
• Bamse, a Norwegian dog honoured for exploits during World War II memorial statue in Montrose, Scotland where he died in 1944
• Båtsman, a St. Bernard in Astrid Lindgren's story Vi på Saltkråkan
• Schnorbitz, on-stage partner of British comedian Bernie Winters during his later career
• Gumbo, Bradley Brannings pet dog on EastEnders
• Wallace (currently Wallace VI), mascot of The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's)
• Bernie, mascot of the Colorado Avalanche

Legends

The famous Barry found a small boy in the snow and persuaded the boy to climb on his back, and then carried the boy to safety.^[8]

A St Bernard is often credited with being the dog that helped save Manchester United, currently one of the world's largest football clubs, from financial ruin. The legend goes that in 1902 when the club owed sizable debts, the then captain Harry Stafford was showing off his prized St Bernard at a fund-raiser for the club when he was approached by a wealthy brewery owner, J.H.Davis, who enquired to buy the dog. Harry Stafford refused the offer but managed to convince him to buy the club thus saving Manchester United from going bankrupt.

See also

• Great St Bernard Pass
• Great St Bernard Hospice
• Dog sports

References

External links

• St. Bernard (dog) at the Open Directory Project