History

History of the Saint Bernard

The St. Bernard or Saint Bernard is a breed of very large working dog from the Western Alps in Italy and Switzerland. They were originally bred for rescue work by the hospice of the Great St Bernard Pass on the Italian-Swiss border.

The hospice, built by and named after the Alpine monk Saint Bernard of Menthon, acquired its first dogs between 1660 and 1670. The breed has become famous through tales of Alpine rescues, as well as for its large size, and gentle temperament.

The St. Bernard is recognized internationally today as one of the molosser breeds. It is a giant dog. The coat can be either smooth or rough; the smooth coat being close and flat, while the rough is dense, flat, and more profuse around the neck and legs.

The color is typically a red shade with white, or a mahogany brindle with white. Black shading is usually found on the face and ears. The tail is long and heavy, hanging high. The eyes are usually brown, but sometimes can be icy blue, and should have naturally tight lids, with haws only slightly visible.

The earliest written records of the St. Bernard are from monks at the Great St Bernard Hospice at the Great St Bernard Pass in 1707, with paintings and drawings of the dog dating even earlier.

Early British accounts of the breed described the breed as the Alpine Spaniel. The first evidence that the dogs were in use at the monastery is in two paintings dating to 1690 by Italian artist Salvator Rosa.

The Saint Bernard is no longer used for rescue. It lost its job when we invented the heliocopter.

St. Bernard Dog Facts:

Saint Bernard Dog
Other names: Saint Bernhardog, St. Bernhardshund, Bernhardiner, Alpine Spaniel
Common nickname: Saint
Origin: Italy – Switzerland
Height Males: 70 to 90 cm (28 to 35 in)
Females 65 to 80 cm (26 to 31 in)
Weight: Males 64 to 82 kg (140 to 180 lb)
Females 54 to 64 kg (120 to 140 lb)

The most famous St. Bernard to save people at the pass was Barry (sometimes spelled Berry), who reportedly saved somewhere between 40 and 100 lives. There is a monument to Barry in the Cimetière des Chiens, and his body was preserved in the Natural History Museum in Bern.

The famed brandy cask is a myth. It probably began due to the fact that the last traveler, once found, was usually offered brandy by the Augustinian Brother who accompanied he search dog. But the Brother carried the brandy, not the dog.”

Author, Matt Soniak, writes that the brandy barrels seen around the necks of Saint Bernards was the invention of the artist, Edwin Landseer, who, as a 17-year-old in 1820, painted, “Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveler.” The painting shows two Saint Bernards standing over a fallen traveler, one dog barking in alarm, the other attempting to revive the traveler by licking his hand. The dog doing the licking has a barrel strapped around its neck, which Landseer claimed contains brandy.

Soniak continues, “Despite the fact that brandy wouldn’t be something you’d want if you were trapped in a blizzard — alcohol causes blood vessels to dilate, resulting in blood rushing to your skin and your body temperature decreasing rapidly — and that the dogs never carried such barrels, the collar keg stuck in the public’s imagination and the image has endured.”

In the early 19th century (1816–1818), severe winters and avalanches nearly wiped out the hospice's dogs. To replenish the stock, monks crossbred the survivors with Newfoundlands. This introduced long-haired coats to the breed, but the monks found that long hair was actually a disadvantage in deep snow because it would freeze and weigh the dogs down.

By the late 1800s, the breed was officially recognized.

Official Name: "Saint Bernard" was formally adopted as the breed name in 1880 by the Swiss Kennel Club.
Swiss National Dog: In 1884, it was the first breed entered into the Swiss Stud Book, and it remains the national dog of Switzerland.
International Recognition: The American Kennel Club (AKC) officially recognized the breed in 1885.

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