I was wondering, at what age should they start being trained or put in a training class? I've heard that they are not hard to train, is this true?

I think Riley was around 3 months when we started his training class. It was the "Puppy Basics" which was really more for us than for him. But we got so much out of it. I think Berners are different to train because they are so sensitive. The dont do very well with the "pop on the nose", or being yelled at. They react more to positive reinforcement. Riley knows just from the tone of your voice if he is being a "good boy" or a "bad boy"

I would look into types of food for the dog. Of course dog food will get expensive so I would also look into dog food coupons.

Our boy Toa is now 5 months old. He is an indoor dog and is fully crate trained (which I recommend because he's teething and I can't imagine what he could get in to!)

We do not have access to a professional trainer yet, so we have been training him on our own at home. He has been fully house trained and can also sit, stay, lay down, pee on command, and 'speak'. He obeys verbal as well as visual commands for each of these, and he is an excellent walker on leash.

I am amazed at how easy it was to train him. We started at about 10 weeks old. My husband and I haven't had much experience with dogs, other than having them when we were kids.

Toa is an awesome dog, and really great indoors. He gets along with the cats and they aren't a high energy breed. If you want them to perform, they will. If you want them to sit and relax, then they'll do that too! lol . I think it's doable to have them in the house just fine, as long as you keep them brushed and vacuum often!

My advice would be to research and read LOTS! Generic dog stuff before breed specific. And, for training, start EARLY! The best window is between 7-16 weeks for them. While they are young, and before they start to teethe. When they are really young, they are less independant and will be more willing to listen to you.

Hope this helps anyone considering a berner! They are amazing and I already want another one! lol

here's my take , from both sides ( pro and con) of a berner

i have trained 2 dogs. a near 10 year old golden retriever and now my berner, who is near 5 months.

the golden was by FAR easier to train.

dont get me wrong, Mouse is wonderful, and ive been able to teach her very well.

she has been house broken since 7 weeks, and knows sit stay wait, laydown, quiet, potty, spot (sort of like place) paw and ciao(wave) all other than Spot and Ciao she knew and would do on command by 9 weeks of age.

however, she is STUBBORN to bits. she chews everything in site (teething or not) , is the worst counter surfer i have ever seen (and we leave nothing on the counters), tries to swallow socks and fabric whole, if ever given the chance, she bites everyone to the point we cannot pet her most of the time. she is incredibly happy but is just playing incredibly rough. alot of her aggression and biting is probably attributed to her partial blindness, so my impression may not be the norm. these again are just my berner's attributes.
im also comparing the puppy berner to the puppy golden. i cant comment on personally owning an adult berner, yet!

most say this breed is friendly, and id agree, to a point. however there are many, many berners i know of that are very, very timid and shy, and very fearful. others are quite aggressive. these dogs need proper training, in their way. a firm hand does nothing for these guys. i cant count how many times we are out in public and people ask about our girl then say they have a brother/ sister/ friend etc with the same breed and the dog is incredibly scared/ aggressive or "mean"

it is one thing they really do need to try to improve on in this breed, temperament. sometimes all of the training in the world wont bring your shy berner out of its shell. they just need the right home willing to have the patience to have a berner with that type of temperament

i know of someone with 2 berners from the same litter. one is a social butterfly, the other is scared of his own shadow and hides under tables all day long. they have other dogs as well including another berner, all have been raised the same way. obviously all dogs have different personalities.

id say do your research. there are many wonderful dogs that are big and fluffy and furry and friendly. some are berners, some are other breeds.

id say another down side is the worry for disease or bloat. i dont go through a single day where i dont worry our girl is bloating. no dog is guaranteed any amount of time, and i understand that. berners just tend to live shorter lives which i see as a big downer, since i love them to pieces. they are quite a bit more fragile than other breeds. i do find myself worrying about anything and everything my girl does. if she plays too rough is she going to hurt her legs, if she goes up and down the stairs the wrong way, or too much will that impact her. if she eats the wrong thing, or too quickly or goes and plays too soon after eating, could that be the end of her...

so many things i knew i would worry about when i got her, but i also understood, and it was my trade off.


im not trying to push you off wanting a berner, they can be wonderful dogs. they just need quite a bit more attention, patience and understanding when compared to another breed. that of course is my own opinion from my own experience.

some i know do say that my golden quite possibly is the best dog in the world (lol) and it may just be HER. i may have just gotten a golden that is the most wonderful pet known to man and when comparing it to a 'normal' berner, or any other breed puppy, nothing can compare. so all judgments can only be taken for what it is worth to that person.


berners are

-fluffy (yay)
-can be kind
-absolutely striking and gorgeous
- usually big goofballs


they are also
- furry (nay) furr will be everywhere and i mean everywhere. berner fur is hollow, it floats. if you have textured ceilings, it will be stuck to it.
-expensive to buy, own and maintain (food vet etc)
-can have a tendency to be shy or fearful or aggressive, this again varies from berner to berner... as it would any other breed.
-require very high quality foods to keep healthy and fit
- can easily rake in the bills (hips, elbows, bloat, droopy eyes, cancers)
-really not good for areas that have hot summers (our girl cant stand it outside if it is over 60'...)

again many of these pros and cons can apply to other breeds you are looking for.


as for training: it should be done/ worked on and well understood before 16 weeks or around 4 months. puppy adolescence can hit hard and at that point, it can be very difficult to get your dog to listen to you, period. that is where we are at this point. ughhhh. ( haha )
we have gone to one puppy kindergarten class, and i found it mostly useless,in regards to training. we are on the 6th week now, and we havent learned anything. all of the things that were taught Mouse knew by 9 weeks. However, it was a great place to socialize Mouse safely. so in that respect i do recommend getting into a puppy KG class. you may not learning anything, especially if you have already had a dog, but your dog will benefit from the strangers, and dogs and sounds and smells of the strange place.
Most dog training places really arent for the dog, they are for the owner to learn. they teach you to teach your dog. as for berners going, id recommend it for the socialization, big time. i think that can make or break your dogs personality and how they deal with strangers and strange situations. if you can find one, i would recommend getting your puppy into a regular basic obedience class that accepts young puppies. some do , some dont. they will learning just as much if not more, and still get the socialization necessary. if we ever do the puppy 'thing' again. we will be going right to regular classes instead of puppy KG


sorry if anything i said upsets anyone, im not bashing the breed, im just saying what ive noticed while ive owned one and how i compare it to my first pup/ breed ! we love our berner to bits and still really enjoy the breed. i just wish i didnt worry so much while having her!

enjoy whatever dog you get

__________________
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Natalie (& Brian) Bartizek, Lebanon, Ohio
c/o
Miss Patches (booted tort, holland lop) DOB 02/14/04
Mister Otto (rescue black otter mini rex) DOB 05/14/04
Villairns Swarovski Crystal Mouse (Bernese mountain dog) Miss 'Mouse' DOB 10/09/08
Photo Folders and Videos of our Mouse here : http://photobucket.com/FurryPhotos

Do you think it could be the breeder that you purchased mouse from? I am searching for a puppy for months now, and I am learning that "Breeding" accounts for many of the problems. I have a 9 year old golden retriever, so I can agree totally with you regarding their ease of training and everything about them! Actually my mother keeps saying that to me, why take chances on any other type of dog when goldens are sooooo perfect?! I just feel that berners are very similar to goldens. I can't help but think you've gotten a bernese with many issues. I feel badly for you. Have you gotten ANY help or support from your breeder? Did your pup have a health guarantee? I know that you would never return her so to speak, but it is very important to keep in touch with your breeder so she can track these issues in her bloodline. I think I read in another post that her vision issuess were thought to be genetic? If that is so the dogs she was bred from should not be bred again. I will admit, if you only read this site, bernese mountain dogs sound like one health problem after another. This is our second golden, we lost our first at 8 years old to cancer, that is prevalant in golden retrievers. As is hip dysplasia, and seizures. (Our 9 year old has had 2 seizures in the passed 6 yrs, cannot diaganose why......) All I'm saying is its very important to find a reputable breeder. Its so tempting to just find a pup on the internet site, ie petfinder, petsforyou, kiiji, etc. We just have to stay strong and do our homework. I'm not putting you down, please accept my apologies if it sounds that way. On another group I am part of a woman purchased her dog from the internet and is heartbroken over all of the health problems this young dog has. I would be interested to know where you did purchase your pup, perhaps it will cause me to think twice........Good luck.

I am a strong believer in dogs being a product of their environment. That is why you see one dog that is friendly and another from the same litter that is mean.....

Many reputable breeders will strive for good temperment. Berners are a very friendly and gentle breed. No berner should be shy/fearful and least of all aggressive. Any good breeder will tell you this and stress it. Any large breed dog needs a lot of consistent training. As they get older, they will test their dominance and if a leader has not already been established, then they will take that position. Not to say that we have been strict with our boy Toa, but we have been very consistent and he is 6 months old now and we haven't had any bad behaviour being repeated twice.

I'm also a big believer in crate training. That crate is Toa's den. His safe place. He sleeps there and is there while we are at work. That way he doesn't get into any bad habits while we aren't there, because then we can't correct him and he is the one getting the rule of the house. We decide that he comes out of the crate to eat, pee, exercise, play, etc. From that comes respect, and obedience. It's this way with any breed though....

What I kept in my mind since he was very small was "this is cute now, but when he's 100lbs do I still want him acting like that" . More often than not the answer was NO.

As for them being high maintenance and expensive..... we actually took our pup off of one of the highest rated dog foods (and expensive) because it was simply too rich for him. He is now on something still good quality but much cheaper and is still very very healthy. You do have to brush them often, so there isn't fur everywhere.... especially when they change into their adult coat. We brush Toa at least once a week, and the cats too. But we'd do that anyways because pet hair is gross lol.

In my berner experience, and with all the other berners I know from reputable breeders, these guys are just big goof balls, they are happy and funny and eager to please. They are great with children and other pets (we have two cats and they are like Toa's babies) they love to work and to be around their families and be included in daily household events. Berners are definitely one of my favourite breeds.

My advice would be to do lots of research. Even call up a few registered breeders and chat with them. Many of them should be open to meeting with you and talking to you about the breed. They should never be pushy or try to sell them to you right away. Any breed has its pros and cons, and a good breeder will want to make sure that this breed is right for you.

Kinda felt I had to redeem the breed after you, Bernertalk08. LOL j/k totally. We all love our dogs on here. It's important to consider all of the aspects of a breed and it's good that everyone can come on here and share their experiences I would recommend a berner to pretty much anyone based on the experience with our Toa.