THE BERNESE MOUNTAIN DOG: HISTORICAL INFORMATION
by BMDCA JUDGES EDUCATION
I n the course of time, the sport of dogs has developed a way to judge and evaluate its breeding stock. Each breed has a set standard by which it is judged. The standards are generally purpose driven and, depend- ing on the breed, sometimes fashion driven; the latter not being preferred in a working dog. Standards of dogs from non-English speaking countries may suffer from inaccuracies or misun- derstanding in translation to English. For instance, what one culture under- stands as a guard dog, another under- stands as a watchdog and, yet, another understands as a watchful dog. It is to be noted that Swiss farms are very dif- ferent from American farms. In the case of the Bernese Moun- tain Dog, the AKC standard was origi- nally a direct translation from the FCI standard at the time of recognition in 1937. The first BMDCA revision, made in 1980, and the second, made in 1990, reflected changes in the FCI standard as well as incorporation of AKC require- ments. Major changes included raising the height on the lower end and adding a section on movement. The historical essence of the Ber- nese Mountain Dog is that it has been a farm dog of the midland regions of Switzerland, mostly around the city of Berne. In that capacity, it was primar- ily used as a companion and watchdog to the farmer and his family. It alerted his owner to unfamiliar visitors. It may have been used as a dog to pull a cart. A large dog, well-muscled and with sturdy bone, was needed for this task. It may have been used to accompany cows to pasture but not for long dis- tances as dogs that work on a range. As most Swiss farmers had a small number of cows, the dog was not required to
MOSTLY AROUND THE CITY OF BERNE.” “IT HAS BEEN A FARM DOG OF THE MIDLAND REGIONS OF SWITZERLAND,
244 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , A UGUST 2017
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