The Bernese mountain dog is a beautiful dog with a coat of black, white, and tan. They are intelligent and loyal and generally have a calm temperament. The Bernese mountain dog can be a good family dog; they can even protect your family from everything that could hurt them. Part of that is because they were bred to be good all-around farm dogs, which included guarding livestock against outside forces. But, if you are going to get a BMD, there are other things you need to know to make a good decision for you and your family.
Grooming
The Bernese mountain dog is a double-coated dog, which means that they are going to need to have a lot of grooming. A dog with a double coat has a short undercoat that is generally wooly and dense. It is there to help keep the animal warm in cold or wet weather. Then they have a silkier overcoat, which is the coat you see. Double-coated dogs will blow their coat yearly, which means they shed their entire undercoat all at once. This usually happens in the spring since it changes from a winter coat to a lighter summer coat. Usually, the Bernese mountain dog will need to be brushed a few times a week, but when blowing their coat, they will need to be brushed a few times a day.
Activity Level
Because the BMD was bred to be a working dog, they have a high activity and energy level. They need to have at least one long walk a day, and you need to spend some time with them every day doing some sustained exercise. It doesn't matter if that is running around in a dog park, training, or playing fetch or other games. You need to make sure that they get that activity daily. If they don't have a healthy and appropriate way to burn off that energy daily, you can end up with a bored and overly energetic dog, which is a dog that will get into trouble. If you are a couch potato or looking for a dog that will be happy to sit on your lap and chill all day, the Bernese mountain dog may not be the dog for you.
Before you get a Bernese mountain dog, make sure that you do research into the breed. You may also want to arrange to spend some with one of these dogs so that you can see how they are in real life. Keep these tips in mind when looking for Bernese mountain dog puppies for sale near you.
