Hi there, I'm here on behalf of my parents and their Berner Sophie. She's two years old and though we love her dearly, she does have a lot of problems and I'm hoping this forum can help. We got her from what turned out to be a very bad breeder (though she came highly recommended), and she has both severe health and temperment probelms that I would really like some help with. Sophie tore her ACL when she was 15 weeks old and, although she looks breed standard at a distance, when you get closer you notice that her legs are 4 inches too short! She's a purebred, but people always ask "is that an australian shepherd/basset hound?" Sophie is my parent's dog - and she gets long great with my Doberman Pit Bull cross Socrates. Thank you and I look forward to hearing what you all have to say!

not sure about the shortness. what is her behavioral problems?

Well Berners come in all different heights. They can be anywhere from 23 inches to 28 inches at the shoulder. We have a little girl, Mirabelle who is very petite-only 23 inches, if that and she is still "standard" you never know what you are going to get. A single little can have all different builds from small and rangy to big and bulky.

What are her behavioral issues?

Sophie is 18.5" at the shoulder, small but very mighty little girl. her behavioral problems are partly based on her medical problems. She is unable to control her bladder due to its size and shape and she also has some brain damage that causes her to behave oddly and causes her to constantly believe that she is dying from dehydtarion (she drinks 6-11 gallons of water a day, not kidding). She has bitten before - me - she also attacks leashes, if you try to ignore her when she won't stop barking or jumping - you will get mouthed (roughly - though I do know that mouthyness is sometimes a breed trait with these guys),

I'm a firm believer that exercise plays a large part in dog's behavior - but due to her health we have never been able to. She cannot run because of her short legs - her body will hit the ground when she picks up speed. Also because of her ACL tearing, we cannot cart her as we wanted to because they vet says that putting that much stress on the joint will likely tear it again or tear the other one. The only exercise she gets is at the dog park, which is mostly slow walking or laying down. I do understand the dangers of taking a dog like her to the dog park, but I trust her 100% there, I only wish I could trust her elsewhere.

We try to give her a wonderful life, she's my dad's baby and he loves her more than anything. We all love our little Soph despite her problems, although the breed was not well researched on our part and nor was the breeder.

sounds like a "special needs" girl. I personally think they are the best. You can adapt to her special needs and learn how to handle them.

storm is special needs as well and i've had to think outside the box. he does do the mouthing thing. when he gets rough i scold him. he has learned not to apply pressure.

storm can't really exercise either, i walk him every night. he can't jump, run very well, or do anything straining on his elbows. when we walk he will lay down, which means he is sore, so we wait and then he gets up and on we go. I usually have a good idea on how far he can go, so i monitor it.

special needs guys are just that, special. they give more love if cared for well and loved well. she will show you how appreciated she is, she is just specal needs.