St Bernard owners?

[Bayby]

Hi all,

We’re excited to be welcoming our first St Bernard (she’s a cross, but favours the SB) in the next 2 weeks. I’ve got everything we need, an excellent local vet surgery, a puppy trainer for classes, lots of ideas for enrichment and insurance is sorted. We’ve got the space, time and dedication.

Just wondered if there were any other owners of the breed out there who could tell me their experiences?

[MrsMozartMkII]

Lots of things to clean up hair and slobber!

Enjoy. Absolutely brilliant dogs.

[RubbingHimSweetly]

We have a St. Bernard x bernese mountain dog. He is lovely,so great with the kids and an utter fluff monster. He doesn't drool which we are thankful of!

Our big thing was to start training instantly. At a little over a year old he walk consistently on a loose lead, even my 6yo can walk him despite him weighing over 100 lbs. We slept downstairs with him until he settled as didn't want him going up and down stairs too much and putting strain on his joints.

As a giant breed you have to be really careful not to over exercise and they really can't do very long walk at all until their growth plates have closed around 18 months to 2yo.

Feed a good quality, giant puppy food. Avoid raw hide. And I would recommend crate training as they are very tall very young and ours is a sod for counter surfing.

We have been insistent and consistent that right from the start all 4 paws must be on the ground to get any attention.

And keep on top of regular grooming!! Feel free to ask any questions :)

[Bayby]

Thank you so much for the replies!

We’re planning on starting training the basics straight away as I understand how important they are due to their size. We’ve met our local puppy trainer and will do weekly classes, she does 1 2 1’s for any problem issues. I’m home all day, and work a few hours when my partner gets home. I’ve joined the enrichment FB page too.

I don’t mind the drool/hair, the kids leave enough of both around!

[RubbingHimSweetly]

One of the biggest things for us was deciding on house rules before he came home. Nobody lets him on the settees or beds. Nobody feeds him from the table. Everyone starts walks with the same routine etc.

Early socialising is important too but not letting them get crazy. So they meet other dogs calmly on lead, sniff and move on. There's time for playing and crazy when they've learnt manners and some dogs will be confused/intimidated by their size.

Enjoy! Ours is such a lovable teddy bear. Always finding random kids in the yard who've popped in to play with him (we live in a very small community, not a normal village situation so it's not as bad as it sounds 😂)

[Bayby]

We’re so looking forward to it, especially training her together. We lost a dog recently in tragic circumstances and he had really brought our family together.

[StephenQueenBooks]

Buy tea towels in a different colour than your kitchen ones. Cheap drool rags.

You can get bandanas that act like a drool bib.

[RubbingHimSweetly]

What is the cross with? :-)

[Bayby]

Different coloured ones is a great idea, will add that to the eBay list!

Crossed with a Spanish Mastiff.

[Bayby]

Because of the unexpected loss of our other dog, we’re calling her Hope.

[Notrusthere]

We need pics OP!!

[Bayby]

I’ll get another one next week!

[Girlintheframe]

Oh my gosh he is absolutely gorgeous!

[Bayby]

He’s a she. We wanted a change as the one we lost was a boy.

I’m so excited to start training

[Notrusthere]

She's adorable!! Xx

[tabulahrasa]

Not to point out the obvious, but looking more like one breed doesn’t mean the behavioural traits will be like that breed with a cross - so you’ll need to be prepared for anything from completely like the St. Bernard parent right through to completely like the other parent.

[Bayby]

Of course, I just meant looks wise she favours the SB. She could be any mix of traits of the two parents, my plan is tackle socialisation with our trainer’s input to make sure we cover everything in the best possible way in case she is more like the Spanish mastiff in temperament.