Anyone own(ed) a Bernese?

Artereis

I'm nowhere near ready to buy a dog right now, but I'm definitely getting one once I have a shorter commute and potentially own my own place. I really like what I've read about this breed, and understand that they tend to be shorter-lived than other dogs.

Anyone have some experiences to share?

Disco11

My best friends family owned a Bernese. big, happy playful puppy till the day it died. Lot's and lot's of hair though.

Rderdall

I haven't owned one, but one of my clients has a couple of them, and these dogs are freaking awesome. They're big, clumsy, and are unaware of how big they are but from what I've experienced with them, they are super playful, loyal and have big personalities.

If my wife didn't want such a big dog, I'd get one for sure.

Noggin

My family got a Bernese puppy this past summer.

Our only difficulty with him has been due to how small our previous dog was. For a while he liked to eat anything he could get his mouth on. The bigger he got, the more he could reach, so we've had to keep that in mind. He tends to get a little crazy if we don't burn off his energy with a walk or playing in the backyard.

But enough with the negatives! He's certainly very playful and downright goofy at times, but very affectionate as well.

He's also been much more interested in learning "tricks" than our last dog. If we hold out a fist and say "bump" he'll lean in and do a fist bump with his nose!

HK5

I work for a veterinary radiologist at the moment and we see a lot of these because of orthopedic problems relating to their elbows. They're big, sweet, goofy, hair-shedding machines. I've always found them to be a little ditzy but very sweet and tolerant. All giant breed dogs are shorter lived than average so it's reasonable to expect about a 10 year lifespan out of them.

Don't let them jump out of cars, or down from heights, or anything else creating concussive force on their elbows and you won't have to come see someone like me for a $1000 CT scan + $3000 surgery.

Thanatos

You will avoid a lot of vet bills by getting a mix, or by getting a shelter dog instead of a dog from a breeder.

life3

My friend has a Bernese for a couple years now.

She is such a shy dog. I've never met another dog like her. Once she gets to know you though, she is super affectionate.

Wolfrider

I have half bernese, half labrador retriever. She's all-around awesome.

Seco

I had a friend who had one. He was pretty much the sweetest dog ever.
The only thing is that he was very slobbery, and shed so much, he'd leave these huge hairballs during spring/summer.
If you have allergies, you may want to either look for a different breed or get used to vacuuming a lot.

Bagginses

Thanatos wrote: »

You will avoid a lot of vet bills by getting a mix, or by getting a shelter dog instead of a dog from a breeder.

That tends to vary by breed. Some purebreds (mainly obscure working breeds) can outlive the mixed average. While anything that big is going to be pretty short lived, the benefits of outbreeding really depend on how overbred the breed is.

I have no idea what the state of breeding for Burnese is, though, so you may be right.