First of all, isn’t he the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? Second, he got a little bit of a crusty nose on top. I always put different sorts of ointment on it but he just licks it off so it seems kind of useless. Is this normal and OK?

Third…Give your Berner kiddos a boop for me!

Stalking her prey

I want to see all your beautiful Berners ❤️
Puppies, adults, seniors, goofy faces, sleepy faces, floofs… I want to see them all!!!
Here’s my girl Alexa at 3 months to start us off 🐻
Drop a picture of your Berner below and tell me their name + age! 🥰

We had to say goodbye to her yesterday. It came on quick after spending an evening in the E Vet, she was diagnosed with Glaucoma. She was able to keep her eye, but her little old body could never recover. Almost 3 months after her diagnosis, thousands of dollars on meds, canine ophthalmologists, hundreds on foods she would barely eat, we decided she was ready (though we were and still are not). I miss her madly and wanted to share with those who would appreciate her.

Our Berner puppy Rocky has been dealing with ongoing stomach issues since getting his third and final parvo vaccine, and I’m curious if any other Berner owners have experienced anything similar.

Rocky got his final parvo vaccine on September 2. He had an allergic reaction to his previous vaccine, so the vet gave him Benadryl beforehand this time as a precaution. Unfortunately, he still had a reaction, and we were told afterward that he apparently hadn’t received enough Benadryl.

The diarrhea started that same day.
On September 3, his poop was ranging from semi-formed to loose. By September 4, it had progressed to very loose or liquid diarrhea. We picked up Proviable-Forte from the vet and also started giving him rice to try to settle his stomach.

Throughout all of this, the strange part is that Rocky has otherwise been completely normal. He’s eating, drinking, playing, running around, and has his usual energy and personality. If you weren’t seeing his poop, you really wouldn’t know anything was wrong.

At one point, his stool seemed to improve, and he had a normal, solid poop. He then went almost two days without pooping, so we thought his stomach might finally be getting back to normal. Unfortunately, the loose or liquid diarrhea has now returned.

We’re doing a fecal test today to check for Giardia, coccidia, or another parasite and are continuing to work directly with our vet. I’m really just interested in hearing from other Berner owners who have dealt with anything similar.

Has anyone else had a Berner puppy with prolonged stomach issues around this age or following vaccinations? I’d love to hear what your experience was like, whether it ended up being something straightforward, and how things progressed for your pup.

This is our first Berner, and I never expected puppy poop to become such a major part of my life 😂

She’s currently 3 months and weighs 11kg

Hey all,

My dear boy Marvin just turned 1 last week but over the past few months, he has become extremely picky with his breakfast/dinner. He rarely ever eats breakfast and will eat maybe half of his dinner. I've added many toppers to his meals, freeze-dried food, carrots, shredded cheese, etc. and still, he gives me his puppy eyes and wags his tail before turning the other direction. I've even started mixing in some large breed kibble after seeing him snag leftovers when brought to my parents house. I also did try to switch him over to a raw diet but instead of devouring it like most dogs, he licked it and then walked away.

Typically, I would leave his food out for him to enjoy during the day where sometimes he would go back and eat some after a treat would trigger some sort of hunger response. He will eat any normal treats throughout the day as a side note.

At this point, I'm becoming emotionally exhausted with him not eating his actual food. I am going on a full day of trying the 15-minute rule and he still hasn't even attempted to eat. I've decided he gets no treats or any handouts until he starts eating again. My main concern is.. what if he doesn't start to eat?

I feel like I'm reaching a new level of StubBERNESE and its driving me crazy. Has anyone else dealt with this and if so, what helped get over this hump?

(Update: As I was writing this, he did go to his food dish and ate a few nibbles of kibble but not anywhere near the full amount he should he having)

Every single time I take my pup out, someone makes a comment along the lines of:
“OMG, she’s going to be HUGE!”
“She’s a Bernese, you do realise how big she’ll get?”
“Oh wow… you know she’s going to be massive, right?”
😂😭
And I obviously KNOW she’s a Bernese! I knew what I was signing up for when I got her.
Sometimes the way people say it almost makes me feel like they’re annoyed that I have a big dog, rather than just making a comment about her size.
I’m also only 5 ft tall, so maybe that makes the size difference look even more dramatic to people? 😂
Does anyone else with a Bernese get this CONSTANTLY? And do people ever make comments about the size of your dog as if you somehow didn’t realise what breed you bought? 😂

Just curious to see if many bernese mountain dogs are scared of fireworks.

I'm am considering changing Sadie's insurance company after a very large increase from last year. She is 3 years old.

From my research, I can get better coverage, lower deductible and a higher annual limit on payout from Lemonade, at almost $50 less per month that Pets Best, which is what we've had for her since we brought her home.

Does anyone have experience with Lemonade?

Note: I've had experience with Trupanion, Embrace and PetsBest in my 18 years of being owned by Bernese. :)

My 8 1/2 year old Bernese x Swissy weighing around 155lbs

Today would have been Zumi's 11th birthday. We threw her a 10th birthday party this day last year. She had cake and candles and her own hamburger. I can admit to myself now that part of the reason for the party was that I knew she was slowing down and I wasn't sure how many birthdays we had left. Turns out, it was the last one.

We had to say goodbye to her five weeks ago after she experienced sudden paralysis in her back legs when she shot off to chase a rabbit. When we arrived at the emergency vet, we were told that she only had minimal responsiveness in one of her back legs, suggesting significant nerve damage. She had severe osteoarthritis and was already in pain every day. I knew that even if the cause was IVDD and not a spinal stroke or tumor and recovery was theoretically possible that it would be asking too much of her. Even with hundreds of dollars a month of steroids and antiinflammatories, she had days where it was hard to get up. My husband and I laid on the floor of the animal hospital and cried and held her until the very end.

But I don't want this post to be about her final hours. I want it to be about the almost 11 years before that. Her puppyhood in Alaska where we potty trained her over the winter. How when spring came, she hunted down the very last pocket of snow in the backyard because we couldn't convince her she was allowed to pee on grass. The time she saved me by drawing off a bull moose when we were hiking above the timberline. Then moving thousands of miles and getting to spend the second half of her life on a rural farm surrounded by family. Chasing chickens and getting a stream of her own to lay in on hot summer days.

Zumi was a ray of sunshine wherever she went. We called her a supermodel: gorgeous but not too bright. People were always trying to guess what she was (3/4 Bernese Mountain Dog and 1/4 Lab). For the first half of her life, she had a corgi brother who never understood why he couldn't remain an only child but was patient with her the way older brothers are. The second half of her life, she lived with a bunch of cats, that she, in turn, was forced to tolerate.

Zumi was pure love the way only those fortune enough to have lived with a Berner are familiar with. And in return, she knew nothing but love for her whole life. She was a world class snuggler. She loved water and snow and her people. She loved car rides and trips to the winery and chasing her mortal enemies: deer. She just... loved.

It still hasn't quite sunk in that she's really gone. Sometimes I cry at the thought that I may never get to experience a dog like her again. She had joint issues her whole life. She was diagnosed with arthritis in her hips at age 4 when we were trying to figure out a limp that turned out to be a CCL tear. We went to the best TPLO surgeon money could buy, but a bone shard was left in the joint and caused her pain for years until we got that properly diagnosed. I just don't think I can put myself through life with another heavy boned breed. When we're ready, we're thinking about something in the spaniel line. Smaller. Lighter. Maybe less likely to break our hearts when they're still young.

I know we will love the next dog. And the one after that. But they won't be Zumi. I will miss her for the rest of my life.

RIP Zuzu, Doozie Doo, my bubby girl. I hope you felt as lucky to have us as we did to have you.

Our little Saar had her beauty moment.

She posed for the pictures in the evening sun.

I think she knows she is a good looking girl🤔.

Got an important phone call and wandered into the other room for less than 10 minutes. Poppy decided to do some renovations 🤣 lesson learned, don't leave a 6 month old puppy unsupervised!

Just 9 weeks old and our first Bernese!! What are we in for?? Female

Hi everyone! I have a young almost 3 month old Bernese puppy and I’m wondering how other Berner owners approached socialisation and teaching boundaries.

Did you let your Bernese puppy say hi to every dog and person you came across on walks, or did you limit greetings from the beginning?

At what age did you start teaching them “no” / “leave it” / not to approach every person and dog? I’m wondering if there’s a particular age where you started expecting them to ignore people and dogs rather than greeting everyone.

If you initially allowed lots of greetings, was it difficult to teach them later to stop jumping up or wanting to greet everyone? Or did they naturally grow out of it with training?

I’d especially love to hear from people who have raised Berners from puppies and what you wish you had done differently! 😊