hello there,
not sure where you heard that you couldn't bath a berner but i bath 'Darby' on a regular basis. He loves getting towel dried after his bath! I find that if you bath them too much then you will dry out there coats (removing the natural oils).
I give darby a good grooming session 1st to get rid of the knots and tangles and them bath him with a gentle puppy shampoo, followed by a puppy conditioner... making sure to completely rinse the dog afterwards.
after this he gets dried off and when he is completely dry i give him another brushing to remove any loose hair.
Berners are a house dog really and so they require regular bathing* (darby gets it about once or twice every 3 months or so depending on the dirt) unless you like the wet dog smell!
if the dirt is only on the surface of the coat it will fall away naturally - one of the benefits of the oily coat. but if it from - say dirty water - then it is deeper in the coat and may need a bath.
...hope this helps
