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You’ve already heard how
marvelous Saints are. You should
also hear that SAINT BERNARDS ARE NOT THE PERFECT BREED FOR EVERYONE.
As a breed, they have a few characteristics that some people find
charming, but that some people find mildly unpleasant, and some people find
downright intolerable.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT BERNARD IF YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO THE BREED CHIEFLY BY ITS
APPEARANCE.
The Saint Bernard
you have seen in the show ring is the product of many hours of bathing and
grooming. This carefully
constructed beauty is fleeting: a few minutes of freedom, romping through the fields or
strolling in the rain restores the natural look. The true beauty of the Saint
lies in his character, not in his appearance.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT IF YOU ARE UNWILLING TO SHARE YOUR HOUSE AND YOUR LIFE WITH YOUR
DOG.
Saints were bred to
share in the work of their master and to spend most of their waking hours
working with their master. They
thrive on companionship and are happiest living with you in your house. They
should not be relegated to the backyard or kennel.
A puppy exiled from the house is likely to grow up to be unsociable,
unruly, and unhappy. An adult so
exiled will be miserable too. No
dog is happy without companionship. If
you don’t prefer to have your dog’s companionship as much as possible, a
better choice would be a cat, as they are solitary by nature.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT BERNARD IF YOU DON’T INTEND TO EDUCATE (TRAIN) YOUR DOG.
Basic obedience and
household rules training is NOT optional for the Saint.
You must commit yourself to attending an 8 to 10 week series of weekly
lessons at a local obedience club or with a professional trainer, and to doing
one or two short (5 to 20 minutes) homework sessions per day.
If he has grown up respecting you and your rules, then all his physical
and mental strength will work for you. But
if he has grown up without rules and guidance from you, surely he will make his
own rules, and his physical and mental powers will often act in opposition to
your needs and desires. If you
don’t intend to educate your dog, preferably during puppy hood, you would be
better of with a breed that is both small and socially submissive.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT BERNARD IF YOU LACK LEADERSHIP (SELF-ASSERTIVE) PERSONALITY.
Whatever the breed,
if you do not assume the leadership the dog will do so sooner or later and with
more or less unpleasant consequences for the abdicating owner.
You do not have to have the personality or mannerisms of a Marine boot
camp Sergeant, but you do have to have the calm, quiet self-assurance and
self-assertion of the successful parent (“Because I’m your mother, that’s
why.”) or successful grade-school teacher.
If you think you might have difficulty asserting yourself calmly and
confidently to exercise leadership, then choose a breed known for its socially
subordinate disposition.
Leadership
and training are inextricably intertwined:
leadership personality enables you to train your dog, and being trained
by you reinforces your dog’s perception of you as the alpha.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT BERNARD IF YOU DON’T VALUE LAID-BACK COMPANIONSHIP AND CALM
AFFECTION.
A
Saint becomes deeply attached and devoted to his own family.
Some are noticeably reserved, others are more outgoing, but few adults
are usually exuberantly demonstrative of their affections.
Saints tend to be sober, noble and thoughtful rather than giddy clowns or
sycophants.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT IF YOU ARE FASTIDIOUS ABOUT YOUR HOME.
One
Saint coming in from a few minutes outdoors on a rainy day can turn an
immaculate house into an instant hog wallow.
Saint Bernards are seasonal shedders, and in spring can easily fill a
trash bag with balls of hair from one grooming session, or clog a vacuum cleaner
if left to shed in the house. While
all dogs, like children, create a greater or lesser degree of household mess,
almost all other breeds of dog are less troublesome than the Saint in this
respect.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT BERNARD IF YOU FIND DROOL TOTALLY REPELLANT.
Most
Saint owners begin with some degree of distaste for drool, but as this is an
integral part of the Saint, this dislike usually progresses to some level of
nonchalance. Saint’s drool
because of their jaw and mouth structure, which allows them to breath while
performing tasks, this is a quality inherent in the breed.
If you cannot get used to the idea of drool in your house, then try one
of the many breeds of dogs that do not drool.
Saints are definitely not in this category. There is no such thing as a DRY MOUTH Saint.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT BERNARD IF YOU DISLIKE DOING REGULAR GROOMING.
The
thick shaggy long-haired Saint Bernard coat demands regular grooming, not merely
to look tolerable nice, but also to preserve the health of the skin underneath
and to detect and remove foxtails, ticks, and other dangerous invaders.
For pet grooming you should expect to spend 10-15 minutes a day.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT IF YOU DISLIKE DAILY EXERCISE.
Saints
need exercise to maintain the health of heart and lungs, and to maintain muscle
tone. Because of his mellow,
laid-back, often lazy, disposition, your Saint will not give himself enough
exercise unless you accompany him or play with him.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT IF YOU BELIEVE THAT DOGS SHOULD RUN “FREE”.
Whether
you live in town or country, no dog can safely be left to run “free” outside
your fenced property and without your direct supervision and control.
The price of such “freedom” is inevitably injury or death:
from dogfights, from automobiles, from the Pound or from justifiably
irate neighbors. If you don’t
want the responsibility of confining and supervising your pet, then no breed of
dog is suitable for you.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT IF YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO BUY, FEED, AND PROVIDE HEALTHCARE FOR
ONE.
Saints
are not a cheap breed to buy, as running a careful breeding program with due
regard for temperament, trainability, and physical soundness (hips especially)
cannot be done cheaply. The bargain
puppy from a back yard breeder who unselectively mates any two Saints who happen
to be of opposite sex may well prove to be extremely costly in terms of bad
temperament, bad health, and lack of essential socialization.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT IF YOU WANT THE “LATEST, GREATEST FEROCIOUS KILLER ATTACK
DOG.”
The
Saint’s famous disposition as the “Noble Gentle Giant” is not a fable, a
Saint with the typical disposition of the breed would prefer to slobber a
criminal than attack one.
DON’T
ADOPT A SAINT BERNARD IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO COMMIT YOURSELF FOR THE DOG’S
ENTIRE LIFETIME.
No
dog deserves to be cast out because his owners want to move to a no pet
apartment, or because he is no longer a cute puppy, or didn’t grow up to be a
beauty contest winner, or because his owners through lack of leadership and
training have allowed him to become an unruly juvenile delinquent with
repertoire of undesirable behaviors. As
most dogs have a life expectancy that is 10 years or longer, please do not get
any dog.
IN
CONCLUSION
If
all the proceeding “bad news” about Saints hasn’t turned you away from the
breed, then by all means DO GET A SAINT!
They are every bit as wonderful as you have heard!
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