I'm a first time Bernese owner. We got the little guy (not so little now...) fairly recently. He's about 18 weeks old now.

He no longer has that soft, puffy hair look that most bernese do. His hair is all wavy and almost appears to be greasy, even after a bath. Is there any thing I can give him to get his old hair back to how it was before?


I'm a little confused as to why he's like this. It's not really the biggest deal, but nobody else in his bloodline was like this. His father was one of the top show dogs in the US and his mother had a flawless coat.

Is this perfectly normal? Is there something I should be concerned about?

At 18 weeks, he is going to have lost his puppy coat - that is what is light and fuzzy. Usually at 4 months this starts to shed, and the full mature coat comes in, starting down the back and tail. I can guarantee his parents don't have a puppy coat so this is not what you would have been seeing.

You may want to read the breed standard, found readily at the BMDCA site to understand what the mature coat should look like - but wavy is perfectly normal (curly is not) and most Berners are wavy, with a minority being truly straight.

If you are seeing grown adult dogs in the show ring looking "fuzzy" - this is because they are being overly groomed (blow dried and teased) and excessively trimmed - this is supposed to be faulted and not allowed in the breed standard, but rarely gets penalized so many do it. As a result, you can't judge a dog by the show ring parents, as they are rarely shown in "natural coat".

Hope that helps!

I appreciate the response. I have a few more questions though. Is it perfectly normal for berners to be "lanky" at this age? He has huge back legs, relatively short front legs, a broad chest, and a somewhat skinny rear. I remember my golden being like this at a similar age, but I'm not sure if that is breed specific.

He also loves sitting in your lap on the couch. This is no big deal, but right when he's behaving almost perfectly he will randomly take 1 bite out of my arm. It's not like he goes crazy when he does this, he still looks completely happy, but it's just one hard bite. Nothing else happens after it, he just goes back to behaving perfectly on my lap. It's at the point where my arm actually begins to bleed. How do I stop him from doing this?

For your first question - No, this is not necessarily optimal but without seeing your Berner and his structure, it is impossible to evaluate. You are describing a high rear, with an unlevel top line and this may or may not resolve. But if he also has a narrow rear (poor structure), and a straight rear (poor structure), this will affect his gait.

There are an increasing number of Berners out there that as far as structure goes - do not look like Berners! This is a problem in folks not breeding breeding stock and conforming to the breed standard.

On the other hand, there are some dogs that do go through a lanky teenage phase and come out nicely on the other end. This does not start this young however and the teenage phase is usually after 6-7 months. If you see structure issues, or a lack of substance/bone thickness before then, it could be less than optimal structure.

The best way to know is to contact your local Berner club and ask if there are approved judges in the club who would be willing to take a look at your dog - they will give you honest feedback. As long as his hips, elbows, shoulders, knees, and hocks conform well however with no dysplasia or issues, you do not need to care as long as you do not breed him.

As for your other questions - the key thing for managing mouthiness - and especially poor bite inhibition is to socialize heavily with properly behaved, well socialized older dogs - this is who teaches bite inhibition and a soft mouth.

At home, always ensure you have a tough chew toy to offer him - in fact, when you allow him in your lap, be sure this is part of that deal and as soon as he turns at you, offer the tough chew toy. He is going to be teething and this will be a must - buying frozen toys too that can be readily chilled are a great way to get through teething as well. He needs firm, yet giving things - rubbery things to deal with the pressure. Be sure to have these things readily available and always handy through teething.