Anyone here have a St. Bernard? I'm planing to buy one in the next few months and I wanted to hear what people have to say about them.

I never had a large dog before, only small ones.

Majority of people tells me that they are waaaaay to big and that I should get Labrador or Golden Retriever instead (or even Siberian Husky).

 

My experience with them is not good. When I was in college I had two jobs for a few years and one was working with a professional trainer, so I kinda know a little bit about dogs, but am not an expert. My sister has had Swiss Mountian Dogs, somewhat similar. My parents friends had two St. Bernards...very dangerous dogs and sent more than one person to the hospital. When I was about 6 there was a kid three or four houses down (5 yrs old) who was killied and chewed up by the family St. Bernard.

I did have a client who had one and if you got to his house and no one came out you didn't dare get out of the truck...their St. Bernard would hide and get between you and the truck then attack. One of our delivery drivers got 18 and 7 stitches because he forgot.

 

Wow. I always though St. Bernards are friendly dogs.

 

We had 2 St, Bernards growing up and they were the best. Never had a mean streak. My bro just got one now for his family. no problems...

 

I've had friends that have had them, they were all great dogs, although one was a bit posessive if stranges came on the property, never attacked but would be very watchful until it knew the person was allowed around.

With any massive breed it is very important to make sure it knows you are in charge, you don't want to deal with a potentialy 200 pound plus dog that thinks he is in charge.

Worst things you'll probally deal with is the slobbering, and maybe it thinking it's a lap dog .

If it's what you want go for it. We have a 5 month old English Mastiff, already at 60 pounds. Best animal we have ever had. Cutest thing with these massive breeds is, they may be close to the size of a full grown lab at 5/6 months, but still have the puppy coordination, makes for some extremely funny moments.

 

We had a female St. Bernard. Overall she was a real good dog, but they are real hard to get out of the "puppy stage". They are like goats; they'll eat anything. For the longest time my kids socks would be disapearing then one day while I was out picking up dog crap in the yard I found the missing socks in her poop.

My biggest complaint was that she always though that she was a lap dog. She just didn't realize how big she was. I also have a Great Dane and he realizes how big he is and won't try to get on your lap and put their paws where it hurts.

Also my St Bernard loved beer. If you put a beer down to say go to the bathroom when you came back she done knocked it on the floor and slurped it up.

For some reason she hated our Great Dane after they had pups together so I ended up giving her to my sister. I still see her from time to time and she is doing great with her new family.

One more thing: If you have kids and a stranger comes into your house. They'll tear them a new one so becareful who you let in. I would always introduce people to her then she would be fine with them, but she would still keep a close eye on them if my kids where playing nearby.

Good luck. You kind of got me wanting to go to my sisters to visit that dog.

 

Lol didnt no that would happen with dogs to.

 

now that was funny.

 

Plan on them drueling a lot, and the one I was around was a male and if a women came by him that was near starting her period on on it he would approach from the rear an lift her off the ground when he sniffed between her legs. not cool for people you want to keep as friends.
I prefer my Border Collies, much more family friendly, especially if you have kids.

 

Dog advice is like car/truck advice in such a way that everyone has different opinions. I honestly think the breed in general is very docile, but those were my experiences.

I have had several breeds; but most of my dogs were either yellow labs, or as now; pitbulls and I am fully aware of their bad reps. Its all up to you and your training of the dog. I believe that any breed can be dangerous. Remember most hospitalization and death from pets is caused by peoples OWN dog.

I think the big thing is going from small dogs to REALLY big dogs...that in itself will be an adjustment.

 

I should mention that last time I had a dog (small one) was in early 1990s. Then war broke in former Yugoslavia, we moved a lot and I didn't had a dog. We bought a house here in Wisconsin few years ago, we finally finished remodeling the house so now we have enough space for a dog.

 

Need I say more?

 

I have no idea about the breed specifically. What I will bring up is control, and costs.

I have 3 German Shepherds they are all rather large the youngest is around 140 lbs. You must set guidelines early when they are young and small. It is cute to have a little puppy in your lap, until it reaches 100 lbs and wants up there. They have a hard time figuring out why you are mad when it was where they spent their time as a puppy.

Early training is important as well as socialization with other animals both dogs and cats. When full grown they will be very hard to control if you have them on a leash and they decide to go after another dog or a cat. If they are socialized when young and small (easy to control) then it won't be something for them to go after it will be familiar for them. They will also know how you expect them to react. You must be strict when they are young and small it make it much more enjoyable for you and them when they get bigger.

Food is something else to think of a quality food is not cheap. In order to ensure your pet is healthy you must make sure they are fed a good quality diet. It will both keep them healthy and if fed properly they will produce less waste. A big dog produces a large amount of waste it is even worse if the food is of poor quality and just runs through them. They will eat much more than they need in order to get the nutrients and will have to get rid of the bad so you will be picking up a lot. If the diet is high quality they will eat less and less will be produced as waste.

Again with food. quality food is expensive. Even with a quality food a big dog eats a lot. I currently go through around 100 lbs every 2 weeks. $200 to $250 a month for dog food is nothing to scoff at it has to be counted in to your budget. The price will even be higher if you feed a mixture of wet and dry.

Vet costs are something to plan for there are health insurance plans for pets to help with costs. You will have to determine if you want to pay monthly for insurance or if you have the money on hand for all things that may occur. Larger dogs tend to have more health problems so that will have to be considered also.

Hauling a large dog around is also an issue. Again the training when they are young will help tremendously with this as they get older and bigger. An SUV with a gate in the back to keep them in the back is probably the safest for them and you.

Something else to consider is property or homeowners insurance. Some insurers won't insure if you have a large dog, or a dog who could be classed as dangerous. I have to pay extra due to the fact I own 3 German shepherds. It adds almost $100 a year to my homeowners insurance.

I don't want to turn you off from owning a St. Bernard, I just wanted to make sure you know what you will be getting into. A lot of large dogs end up in shelters, and euthanized when they grow out of the cute puppy stage, because people don't think realistically of the responsibilities that come with a large dog, or in the case of a St. Bernard, an enormous dog.

 

I'm a veterinarian and have seen nothing but nice/friendly St. Bernards. But they drool every hour of every day. The good owners come in with towels to wipe their lips off several times during the visit. And sometimes one big towel isn't enough.
If you can live with that then make sure you investigate the breeders history of hip, and elbow dysplasia. And don't just take the breeder's word for it, get references and talk to people that have pups from them and find out how they are doing 4 to 6 years out. These dogs have a very high rate of arthritis due to their size. By high rate I mean as high as 50% or more in some lines.

 

Is it true that giant breeds in general have more health problems and a very short lifespan? We have had shepherds and retrievers and they lived to 13yrs on average.

Jim