Mom says a lot of her friends want puppies like me and Denali. She says I should use my blog to help people learn about my breed before they decide to get a Berner puppy. We're Bernese Mountain Dogs. When we go out on walks, someone always comments about how beautiful we are and asks what breed we are. Some people call us Bermese, but our breed didn't come from Burma, we come from Bern, a mountain region in Switzerland. Some people ask if we are black Saint Bernard dogs, but I don't think we are related to St. Bernard dogs. I could see why they'd think that. Boy Berners, like my brother Denali, have a flat forehead like the St. Bernard. Us girl Berners usually have longer noses and more sloped than flat foreheads than boy Berners. We grow up big too, around 80-120 pounds as adults.
While all full-bred Berners share many qualities and look a lot alike. We each have something that makes us unique. The first thing people notice is our striking tri-colored markings. Our coats are a thick with long black wavy fur. We have fluffy white hair on our chest, paws, on the tips of our tails, around our mouths, and with a blaze of white going up our foreheads between our eyes. The third color is a pretty copper-rust color that runs on each side of our face, under our tail, like socks or boots on our paws, and small spots above our eyes like eyebrows. We have thick double coats that shed a lot, mostly according to seasons where we "blow coat" twice a year. Mom says if you don't like finding a long black hair in your food, bed, drinks . . .really anywhere, even places dogs can't go, like your glovebox. . .then maybe a Berner isn't the right dog for you. But on the positive side, we don't require a lot of grooming. Mom just casualy brushes us about once every few days while we cuddle with her on the couch, watching TV. When we were small puppies our fur was more curly and soft than it is now.
Berners are slower to mature than some other breeds, so we'll be considered puppies until we're about 18-24 months old. Unfortunately our lifespan is short. They say our breed's average age is around 7-8 years old. But I know many older Berners (they call them Veterans) who are 10 years old. I plan to be an old Veteran some day. They're treated really special. They are so lucky. There's a saying about our breed that goes like this: "Three years a puppy, three years a good dog, three years an old dog. All the rest is a gift from God." (I hope I got that right. I tust you Veterans will help me out if I messed that up.) Mom says she can't wait for Denali and me to get to the "good dog" stage. She said we foreget all our good behavior training when we're in our awkward teenage years, which start around 9 months old and lasts untill we're about 2 years old. After age two, Berners are nice and mellow all the time.
Mom says temperment is the most important factor in choosing a breed and a particular puppy of any breed. She says you have to determine what traits you want in a dog. . .ones that fit your family. . .as you consider what breed is best for you. That's what Mom did. She wanted a dog that would be a good companion for my dad, who became disabled after he had a couple of strokes. His balance was not very good, so she didn't want a little dog that he might trip over or a big dog that would jump up on him all the time. She didn't want a dog that barked a lot or one that drooled. She wanted a dog that was calm and most happy just sitting at your feet. All these things are typical Berner traits. Mom didn't mind that we're not the type of breed to leave alone at home or outside all the time. Those things would have been problems before Dad retired, but not now. We like to go everywhere our people go. Mom and Dad had to buy a minivan to haul us around everywhere. Mom says it would be nice if we had better control over our massive wagging tails. She makes sure the family room is wag-proofed, but she says she's tired of getting slapped in the face when one of us stands next to her on the couch to greet visitors entering the room next to the couch.
Us Berners love cold weather, and our favorite thing in the world is a good romp in the snow. We're not as much into swimming as some breeds are, and most of us would rather play keep-away over fetch. Of course there are exceptions of course. We're considered a "working dog" breed. Originally bred to work on farms, our ancesters guarded farmhouses and pulled milk wagons. Today many Berners pull carts for work and sport. They call it drafting. I can't wait until I'm old enough to do it. They tell me I have to wait untl I am two, when my bones are fully developed.
Berners are generally very friendly, thinking everyone (human or animal) they meet can't wait to pet or play with them. That's certainly true of my brother Denali. But I'm more aloof with people I don't know well. I'm curious enough to approach strangers and whiff their hands to see if they have treats for me. But if they reach up to pet my head, I just back up so they can't reach me. Mom says I'm not like most Berners in that way. I tend to be a little more fearful of anything that may have startled me in the past. . .like a baby gate that fell on me and a laundry basket that made a noise when it landed behind me once. It's funny, but mom says I'm fearless when it comes to getting to her. I tend to fly over fences, furniture, and other dogs to jump up next to mom . . . or into her lap if something spooks me. Denali on the other hand is a typical goofy Berner boy. Nothing phases him and he's happy to just go with the flow. He does have one weird reaction to getting his harness on. He runs away until he gets himself into a corner he can't get out. Then he just stands still with his head down and eyes diverted. I don't think he realizes the sooner he gets into his harness, the sooner we leave. He LOVES to go places, so you'd think he'd be happy about putting his harness on. Me, I jump up on the chair next to the harness hooks to make it easier and faster to get harnessed up. But that's one difference between Berner girls and boys. Girls tend to be smarter and more aloof, while boys tend to be goofy and uber-friendly.
Us Berners love to please our people, so we love to go to obedience school and other training programs. We can be a little slower to learn, compared to some breeds, but once we learn something we never forget. And if positively rewarded (think cookies), we'll do it right every time. Denali, being the typical friendly type, is being trained to become a therapy dog. He'll go into hospitals and nursing homes so people can pet him and feel better.
Well, there's probably more I could tell you about Bernese Mountain Dogs, but mom's telling me to quit blogging and go outside to play. Consider it done, Mom.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Bernese Mtn Dogs; We're all alike but Different
Mom says a lot of her friends want puppies like me and Denali. She says I should use my blog to help people learn about my breed before they decide to get a Berner puppy. We're Bernese Mountain Dogs. When we go out on walks, someone always comments about how beautiful we are and asks what breed we are. Some people call us Bermese, but our breed didn't come from Burma, we come from Bern, a mountain region in Switzerland. Some people ask if we are black Saint Bernard dogs, but I don't think we are related to St. Bernard dogs. I could see why they'd think that. Boy Berners, like my brother Denali, have a flat forehead like the St. Bernard. Us girl Berners usually have longer noses and more sloped than flat foreheads than boy Berners. We grow up big too, around 80-120 pounds as adults.
While all full-bred Berners share many qualities and look a lot alike. We each have something that makes us unique. The first thing people notice is our striking tri-colored markings. Our coats are a thick with long black wavy fur. We have fluffy white hair on our chest, paws, on the tips of our tails, around our mouths, and with a blaze of white going up our foreheads between our eyes. The third color is a pretty copper-rust color that runs on each side of our face, under our tail, like socks or boots on our paws, and small spots above our eyes like eyebrows. We have thick double coats that shed a lot, mostly according to seasons where we "blow coat" twice a year. Mom says if you don't like finding a long black hair in your food, bed, drinks . . .really anywhere, even places dogs can't go, like your glovebox. . .then maybe a Berner isn't the right dog for you. But on the positive side, we don't require a lot of grooming. Mom just casualy brushes us about once every few days while we cuddle with her on the couch, watching TV. When we were small puppies our fur was more curly and soft than it is now.
Berners are slower to mature than some other breeds, so we'll be considered puppies until we're about 18-24 months old. Unfortunately our lifespan is short. They say our breed's average age is around 7-8 years old. But I know many older Berners (they call them Veterans) who are 10 years old. I plan to be an old Veteran some day. They're treated really special. They are so lucky. There's a saying about our breed that goes like this: "Three years a puppy, three years a good dog, three years an old dog. All the rest is a gift from God." (I hope I got that right. I tust you Veterans will help me out if I messed that up.) Mom says she can't wait for Denali and me to get to the "good dog" stage. She said we foreget all our good behavior training when we're in our awkward teenage years, which start around 9 months old and lasts untill we're about 2 years old. After age two, Berners are nice and mellow all the time.
Mom says temperment is the most important factor in choosing a breed and a particular puppy of any breed. She says you have to determine what traits you want in a dog. . .ones that fit your family. . .as you consider what breed is best for you. That's what Mom did. She wanted a dog that would be a good companion for my dad, who became disabled after he had a couple of strokes. His balance was not very good, so she didn't want a little dog that he might trip over or a big dog that would jump up on him all the time. She didn't want a dog that barked a lot or one that drooled. She wanted a dog that was calm and most happy just sitting at your feet. All these things are typical Berner traits. Mom didn't mind that we're not the type of breed to leave alone at home or outside all the time. Those things would have been problems before Dad retired, but not now. We like to go everywhere our people go. Mom and Dad had to buy a minivan to haul us around everywhere. Mom says it would be nice if we had better control over our massive wagging tails. She makes sure the family room is wag-proofed, but she says she's tired of getting slapped in the face when one of us stands next to her on the couch to greet visitors entering the room next to the couch.
Us Berners love cold weather, and our favorite thing in the world is a good romp in the snow. We're not as much into swimming as some breeds are, and most of us would rather play keep-away over fetch. Of course there are exceptions of course. We're considered a "working dog" breed. Originally bred to work on farms, our ancesters guarded farmhouses and pulled milk wagons. Today many Berners pull carts for work and sport. They call it drafting. I can't wait until I'm old enough to do it. They tell me I have to wait untl I am two, when my bones are fully developed.
Berners are generally very friendly, thinking everyone (human or animal) they meet can't wait to pet or play with them. That's certainly true of my brother Denali. But I'm more aloof with people I don't know well. I'm curious enough to approach strangers and whiff their hands to see if they have treats for me. But if they reach up to pet my head, I just back up so they can't reach me. Mom says I'm not like most Berners in that way. I tend to be a little more fearful of anything that may have startled me in the past. . .like a baby gate that fell on me and a laundry basket that made a noise when it landed behind me once. It's funny, but mom says I'm fearless when it comes to getting to her. I tend to fly over fences, furniture, and other dogs to jump up next to mom . . . or into her lap if something spooks me. Denali on the other hand is a typical goofy Berner boy. Nothing phases him and he's happy to just go with the flow. He does have one weird reaction to getting his harness on. He runs away until he gets himself into a corner he can't get out. Then he just stands still with his head down and eyes diverted. I don't think he realizes the sooner he gets into his harness, the sooner we leave. He LOVES to go places, so you'd think he'd be happy about putting his harness on. Me, I jump up on the chair next to the harness hooks to make it easier and faster to get harnessed up. But that's one difference between Berner girls and boys. Girls tend to be smarter and more aloof, while boys tend to be goofy and uber-friendly.
Us Berners love to please our people, so we love to go to obedience school and other training programs. We can be a little slower to learn, compared to some breeds, but once we learn something we never forget. And if positively rewarded (think cookies), we'll do it right every time. Denali, being the typical friendly type, is being trained to become a therapy dog. He'll go into hospitals and nursing homes so people can pet him and feel better.
Well, there's probably more I could tell you about Bernese Mountain Dogs, but mom's telling me to quit blogging and go outside to play. Consider it done, Mom.
Bath time again.
Why does everyone make such a fuss over my new bathtub? I hate it! Sure it's pretty. But the only reason I get up in it is because I know I'll get lots of treats. When I know it's bath time, I usually try to jump up into the tub before they put those steps up. I can leap really high (mom says I'm part Gizelle) and I hate those steps. The last time I trusted them, they went cashing down. . .with me on them. So mom quit using the steps. Now she puts a little bench next to the tub to keep me from jumping up and down so far. For some reason she's worried about my joints. But I keep trying to tell her I LOVE to jump and fly through the air. When I'm really excited I can leap over the four-foot ex-pen they use to keep us in the family room. Anyway, back to bath time. Mom gave me a really good bath yesterday. She said it was time to get rid of all my hot girl smells, now that my first "season" is over, and then I could go out in public again. I had been couped up in this house for weeks while Denali got to do fun things without me. He went to the dog park a lot. He even got to go to an event where he got to herd sheep. He went on a long walk with his birth-brother, Amos, and Amos's forever mom Pudge. Staying home and missing out on all the fun was so hard. I wanted so much to go. So when mom said I could go out again if I took a bath, I jumped right up into that cute little bathtub. I usually close my eyes tight while mom or Jenny spray water on me, but I was so excited this time that I kept my eyes wide open. I took time to notice the cute tiles with happy puppies that look just like me painted on them. They seem to like this tub. They're always here, smiling down into it. So I decided not to fight it this time. And before I knew it, it was time for the best part of bath time. . .the blow dryer. Mom always dries us while she sits down on the couch while we stand on the vinyl-covered ottoman. Denali usually tries to hog the drier, knocking me off even if he's already dry, because he loves it that much. Mom says it takes twice as long to dry me, compared to Denali, and he doesn't think that's fair. After I finally get dry, the whole family gets busy sweeping up hair, mopping floors and washing towels. We shed a lot and use a lot of towels. What a production! No wonder we only go through all this once every few weeks. As much as I hate baths, I love feeling clean. Everyone says I'm so so soft and fluffy. They say I still have that soft puppy fur they love.
Happy Mother's Day to all my Moms
Another late night post. It will officially be Mother's Day by the time this post is published. This is actually my second Mother's Day, since I was born on Mother's Day last year. My birth mom is Lilly, who lives with her owners Fred and Karon Thomas in Selah, WA. Karon took good care of me and my 8 brothers and sisters, getting us ready to go to our adopted moms' homes. So I'm pretty lucky to have so many moms in my life.
My forever mom, Phyllis, is the best mom in the world. She calls me her heart dog. I don't know what that means, but she's always hugging me and kissing me when she says it, so I figure it must be good. People always call Denali "mama's boy," but I kinda think mom likes me best. This is because I'm the one who is always in her lap or by her side. Never mind that I sometimes have to push Denali out of the way to take my rightful place. . .it is after all MY place.
Another reason I know mom loves me best is she let's me lick the peanut-butter off her fingers after she makes her famous peanut-butter balls. Never mind that Denali sometimes gets an actual peanut-butter ball . . . not just a finger lick. I know she only gives him one when she wants to give him his medicine without him knowing it. Denali doesn't even know he just ate a pill. I was going to tell him one day, but mom said the medicine helped keep his heart regular, and I'm getting the idea that a heart is something good. . .so it should probably be taken good care of.
Mom says she loves all her kids equally. So how come I'm the only one she let's lick her face? When Denali tries to lick her, mom makes a funny face while pushing him away and says, "Ugh! You have pooh breath!" Not only is Denali dumb, but his culinary habits are gross. Boys!
I'm not supposed to tell anyone, so keep this to yourself. Sometimes when Denali is gone for a walk with Dad or Byron, mom let's me lie next to her on her bed. Sometimes we share some frozen yogurt or potato chips on the patio while the boys are away.
But even if I wasn't convinced mom likes me best, I'd still think she was the best. Coz she's mine, all mine. She's my person. I love you mom.
Friday, May 10, 2013
It's my birthday, so I get my own blog!
Hi everyone. I'm so happy to finally have my own blog. Mom said I couldn't have one until I turned one . . .and guess what? It's after midnight, so it is my birthday now. You know I'm a Bernese Mountain Dog, don't you? So you know I've really grown a lot since my profile picture was taken. Mom used to call me her teacup Berner, because I was really tiny at first. I was barely 6 pounds at 8 weeks old, when I left the breeder's house to come to my forever home. And for my breed that's really small. I am my family's second Berner. My big brother, Denali, is only 5.5 months older than me. He always says he's 6 months older, but he can't count as well as I can. He may be older, but I'm definitely smarter. He is a little small for a Berner too. But when he was 8 weeks old, he was almost 12 pounds . . .too big for a teacup. When he was the age I am now, he was 80 pounds, and I'm about 70 pounds. And since he's lost some weight, I think we're pretty much the same weight now. Mom says I'm taller than Denali, at least my butt is higher she says.Me and Denali have life pretty good here. Dad and Byron get to stay home all day and play with us. Actually, I've been a little ticked at Byron recently. He's been taking Denali on walks and trips to the dog park without me. What's up with that? Mom says it's because I've been having my first season, whatever that is. I just know it has something to do with why I have an appointment with the vet's office in a couple of weeks. Mom says I get to spend the night there. I don't know about that. I've never been away from my family at night. I'm used to sleeping in my crate next to Denali's crate in the family room. I'm not as brave as my brother, so I'm not looking forward to spending the night at the vets, even though Denali did tell me it wasn't bad when he had to stay there overnight himself. He said he slept in a crate just like our crates.
Speaking of sleep, I should probably get some now. Mom doesn't like me to stay up too late. She thinks I'm sleeping now. Well, tomorrow (oops, I mean today) is a big day, so I should rest up. I'll write more later. I can't wait to get lots of people and other fur kids to follow my new blog. We'll have fun!
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