Beatrice the Saint Bernard at 8 months old—"We originally got a Saint Bernard thinking she'd generally be a couch potato but we were dead wrong. Small for her breed at 107 lbs. she runs with the Labs and Australian Shepherds at the dog park. She is otherwise true to her breed, protective but friendly, loves to lay at my feet and sheds and drools excessive amounts but I couldn't imagine my life without her."
Beatrice the Saint Bernard at 8 months old
Beatrice the Saint Bernard at 8 months old playing in the water
Beatrice the Saint Bernard at 8 months old napping with her owner
Beatrice the Saint Bernard at 8 months old taking a nap on the sofa
Pepper the Saint Bernard at 3 years old—"This site probably saved the life of my new dog. I found an ad on Craigslist for a free St. Bernard and replied, ending up on a visit with the dog. Had I not been reading your website, her behavior (reported by the owners and observed when I visited her) would have been a major turnoff. And I'm guessing after 1-2 owner handoffs she probably would have ended up at the dog shelter or with a one-way ticket to the vet office. As soon as I stepped from the truck she rushed up growling and making very obvious signs that these people were "hers." We went into the house (her leading the way) and it probably took a half hour of talking to the owners, who admitted that she was dog aggressive to the point that they had vet bills to pay for a neighbor and had once bitten one of them before she would even approach me. But, having read this website first, I took a leap of faith and took her anyway, telling them I'd give her a one-week trial. I made a stop at a nearby park to take her for the suggested 'long walk'. Our first serious interaction was her stubbornly refusing to leave the truck. That didn't last long, as I'm used to hauling 150+ pound goats around. Being alpha is a position I am quite used to filling with the goats, I just had to learn how to speak canine nstead of caprine. She left the truck. It took some insisting, but she left the truck. We probably walked for a half hour before she finally started yielding to the leash. Fortunately there weren't many people or dogs on the trail to complicate our conversation, as it was raining pretty hard. Arriving home she attempted growling at my family (which I quickly halted) and I took her for the prescribed 'walkabout'. Since then she's been doing much better. Obviously she still has behaviors to unlearn and I am still in process of learning "canine," but I think it's safe to say that she's now a safe, happy pet. Now I just have to train the goats that this "wolf" is safe. Which is important as I want livestock guardian dogs in the future. I would like to thank you on behalf of Pepper and tell your readers that yes, you can use this method, even if you don't have a professional to show you how. It works. I also practiced it before I got Pepper on a very strong 10-year-old male Pitbull and I'm very petite. We were hiking and the Pitbull was wearing a harness. During our conversation on melting snow up and down a very steep hill the Pitbull minded quite well by the middle of the walk. His owner's other dog (handled by her owner) attacked someone’s dog at the end of the hike. The one I handled ignored all the other dogs after a few corrections and there were a lot of them. :)"
"This is my beautiful Saint Bernard as a puppy at 9 weeks old. I found a breeder selling St. Bernie pups in December for only $300, and I've always dreamed of owning one, so I made a 3-hour trip and fell in love-at-first-sight when I saw my puppy. My roommate has an English Mastiff named Lil, so naturally Ii named my St. Bernard Biggie, so we have Big and Lil."
Biggie, my St. Bernard puppy at 5 months old
"Biggie is the sweetest big baby I've ever seen. He is very gentle and extremely lazy. He likes to spend his days lying on the hardwood floor napping away. But don't let his fat self fool ya, when he hears his leash he gets all excited and knows that it’s time for his walk. We try to go on a long walk every day to keep in shape. He is very well mannered on his leash, walking right by my side, not in front of me. His expression is soft and caring, though it always appears as if he is pouting about something. He seems to have a sixth sense about human emotions. When he notices someone sad, he hobbles right over and puts his very large head right on their lap. Or if I'm angry, he tends to lie down and try to cuddle later. I use the expression hobble, because that's how he walks right now."
"He hasn't fully grown into his larger-than-life paws yet, so he is quite clumsy. Like most true Saint Bernards, he loves to please. He rarely ever barks or gets rowdy, but was once very defensive when another pup tried to nip at him. The only quirk I've noticed to owning a St. Bernard is the drool! Biggie drools when he gets too hot, or after drinking water. It's not an appealing trait, but we've learned to keep a few drool rags around the house and it’s not so bad. He and our Mastiff Lil are very calm, and play well together."
Barney the shorthaired Saint Bernard puppy at 12 weeks old
Barney the shorthaired Saint Bernard at 7 months old
Archie the St. Bernard at 3 years old in the snow with a barrel around his neck
Archie the St. Bernard at 3 years old—notice the frozen drool coming from his mouth.
Archie the St. Bernard at 6 1/2 years old with his human Nick
Frex the St. Bernard puppy—Frex stands for his Freckles and the fact that he will become as big as a T-Rex. This is Frex's first visit to the vet. Six weeks old and sleeping through it all.
Frex the St. Bernard puppy at 6 weeks old sleeping
"Frex has grown into quite a girl. She is near 165 pounds, a purebred St. Bernard. Smart as can be, she even opens the bathroom door and turns on the tub to get herself a St. Bernard-size drink."
Shelby Dakota and Gretchen
Shelby Dakota and Gretchen
