Famous Bernese mountain dog in history: origins and notable dogs

Part 1

Where the breed's fame began in the Swiss Alps

The Bernese mountain dog gets its name from the canton of Bern in Switzerland, where it developed in the Swiss Alps. Its ancestors are described as mastiff-type dogs that Roman soldiers brought over the Alps. The word Sennenhund comes from the German words for alpine pasture and dog, because these dogs worked alongside alpine herders and dairy farmers. In some areas, the breed was also called Dürrbachhund, after a small town where the large dogs were especially common. If you imagine your own dog living on one of these farms, you get a sense of the daily work these dogs did.

On Bernese farms, the dogs pulled carts loaded with milk to help transport it. Locals called the dogs Cheese Dogs. They also helped drive cattle and guarded the farmhouse against strangers. Bernese farms sat far apart from each other, so a dog that announced visitors was considered essential to the household.

As Swiss farming became more industrial, machines began to take over jobs that dogs once did. The number of Bernese mountain dogs fell sharply, and the breed was nearly extinct by the end of the 1800s. During this period, the Saint Bernard became known as the Swiss national breed instead. Growing interest in other breeds, such as the Saint Bernard and the German Shepherd Dog, also added to the decline.

Part 2

The revival led by Swiss breeders

In 1892, a Swiss dog fancier named Franz Schertenleib set out to find good examples of the breed and began a program to breed the surviving dogs. A patron of the breed, Professor Albert Heim, later argued for renaming it Berner Sennenhund, a name closer to its origins. The Swiss Cynological Society, the country's kennel club, had already been founded in 1883, before the breed's own club appeared. In 1907, breeders founded the first breed club, the Schweizerischer Dürrbach-Klub, and wrote the first breed standard. By 1910, there were already 107 registered members of the breed. The breed was formally recognized in 1912. If your dog has papers today, this early club work is part of why.

Part 3

How the breed reached the United States and Britain

A Kansas farmer named Isaac Schliess is believed to have imported the first Bernese mountain dogs to the United States, in 1926, hoping to gain recognition for the breed. In 1936, Glen Shadow of Louisiana imported another pair of Bernese mountain dogs, named Felix and Fridy. The American Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1937. The breed made its first appearance at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 1943. In England, a fancier named Mrs. L. Egg-Leach helped promote the breed, writing about it in the American Kennel Gazette in 1935.

Part 4

Notable Bernese mountain dogs in public life

By 2024, the breed ranked 19th in American Kennel Club registration numbers. In 1968, the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America started a drafting and carting program to test the breed's traditional working skills. Test rules require completing the course within about 12 to 15 minutes. One Berner named Indie became the first of the breed to earn a Master Agility Champion title in agility competition. Bernese mountain dogs could also excel at obedience, tracking, and therapy work alongside their older role as draft dogs.

Part 5

What the breed's traits reveal about its history

The Bernese mountain dog's tricolor coat of black, white, and rust markings is one of its most recognizable features.

Males typically stand between 64 and 70 centimeters at the shoulder, with females somewhat smaller. Weights range from about 35 to 55 kilograms in males, with females somewhat lighter. A large, well-muscled dog with sturdy bone was needed to pull a cart.

The breed also tends to have a shorter average lifespan than many dogs, commonly listed as 7 to 9 years. One study found that more than half of deaths in the breed were linked to cancer. The breed also has a high rate of elbow dysplasia, found in some studies to affect between about 14 and 26 percent of dogs. If you share your life with a Bernese mountain dog, regular veterinary checkups are worth keeping up with.