This page was written foremost for my mother, as I really want her to choose her new dog with knowledge, but it´s also for anyone who´s interested in the bernese mountain dog.
In the early 80" Gipsy died and so did Baloo. My mum has never had another dog since then (I´ve had several, but thats another story:-) ). She´s had a cat, Missi, for 17 years, but she died a year ago. Now my mother, ( a widow since 1997) feels prepared to have a new dog.
As she said to me, "I really never wanted a cat, I´ve allways been more of a dog person".
So, Mum, and everyone else, here it goes, read this, explore the pages I posted further down, and then, decide.
Love, Anne Vestring Wieringa.
PS. If anyone has more info or comments they would like to share, please leave a comment. Thanks.
The Bernese Mountain Dogs.
A Brief historic overwiev:The distant origins of the Bernese Mountain Dog are not well documented. The breed apparently had its origins in the mastiff type dogs brought by the Romans when they came into Switzerland around two thousand years ago. The Roman dogs were used to guard and drive herds brought with the invaders. Over the centuries, since Roman times, these dogs remained as general-purpose farmers' dogs, but little attention was paid to preserving the type of developing the breed. Indeed, near the end of the 19th century, the breed was nearly extinct.
Fortunately, around the turn of the century, several Swiss dog fanciers realized that ignoring the many good qualities of the old native breeds would be a mistake. These pioneers brought Bernese from various isolated valleys in their home canton of Bern, and promoted the general interest in these dogs. The breed was originally called the Schweizerische Dürrbach-Klub; after the name of the hamlet and of the inn of Dürrbach, Switzerland where the dog was first developed.
In 1902, 1904 and 1907 subjects of this breed were exhibited at dog shows. In 1907 a few breeders of the region of Burgdorf decided to promote the pure breeding of this native dog by founding the "Schweizerische Durrbach-Klub" and fixing the characteristic traits of the breed in a first standard. The Dürrbächler (eventually called "Berner Sennenhund" to follow the naming convention of other native swiss breeds) progressed steadily in Switzerland, and eventually found admirers in other countries as well.
Source: the bernese mountain dog home page
Here´s a page in Spanish, sorry guy´s, but we do live in Spain and have for 31 years now LOL.
Boyero de Montaña Bernés.
BREVE RESUMEN HISTÓRICO : El Boyero de Montaña Bernés es un perro de granjeros de vieja procedencia que se conservaba en la zona pre alpina y parte de la llanura, en las cercanías de Berna, como perro de guardia, perro boyero y de tiro (tracción). Estos perros de granjero, de pelo largo y tres colores eran vistos con frecuencia en la hostería y posada de Dürrbach de Riggisberg en el cantón de Berna obteniendo de ahí su nombre de origen " Dürrbächler ". Luego de su participación en exposiciones caninas en los años 1902,1904 y 1907; en noviembre de 1907, algunos criadores de Burgdorf se reunieron para criar esta raza y lograr su pureza. Fundaron el " Club Suizo de Dürrbach " y delinearon las características de la raza. En el año 1910, en una exposición canina en Burgdorf, a la cual acudieron muchos granjeros de los alrededores llevando a sus perros Dürrbächler, se presentaron 107 ejemplares.
A partir de ese momento, esta raza, en conjunto con los otros perros de montaña suizos, llamada ahora "Boyero de Montaña Bernés", rápidamente adquirió celebridad en toda Suiza y como así también con su país vecino, Alemania. En la actualidad y debido a su atractiva coloración tricolor y su versatilidad es conocido y querido en todo el mundo como perro para la familia.
Origen: Club Español de Boyeros Suizos.
