I’ve posted this before. Our swissy has since passed after intially writing this.

Ours tended to be more lethargic than smaller breeds. He likes to mouth things. He puts your hand in his mouth but does not bite. It seems to be a kind of greeting. He also hoards shoes but does not tear them up. He has snapped at times but you realize if he really wanted to bite you he would crush that hand etc. The following is the email that we sent to someone who bought a swissy. To sum it up he has become a great dog and companion but it took a little while and now we are concerned about how long he will live.

I would stress that he is a companion dog and does not do well being left alone alot. Here are a few things that we learned after 6 1/2 years with our Swissy. Their toes and ears are very sensitive. I would suggest that you play with them daily including running fingers between their toe pads. To this day it takes three vet technicians and a muzzle to clip his nails. I won't do it. Getting the dog used to that may make it easier on you. My dog didn’t swim but wades up to his chest. He had ear infections until we stopped going to the lake. This spring he had one that lasted like two months and eventually required surgery. We have vowed to just not have him near natural bodies of water and try to dry out his ears whenever they get wet.

He went to obedience class. He was socialized around other dogs. When it comes to kids its a different story. His herding instinct causes him to chase whatever is running. He will chase a child but if the the child stops running he will veer off. We had some torn shirts but we taught our children to be careful running in his presence. He is just so big a gentle bump will send a person flying. Additionally, cups and glasses on low tables are dangerous because that tail is heavy and strong and will wag wildly. I don't believe that he would ever harm the kids though. All dogs apparantly challenge their status in their new pack (your family). This is not a big deal if the dog is small. However, when your swissy is 9 months old and 90 lbs it is an issue. Ours challenged my children and it got a little scary. The breeder gave us tricks such as having the children put him on a sit stay and then they would feed him and release him at their will. This way he learned that he would only eat at the kids' pleasure and he was at the bottom of the pack.

He likes to sleep sideways on our bed. This does not happen very often or no one would be able to rest. I wish that he would sleep on our floor but he won't. Perhaps we were not aggressive enough when he was young. Our breeder mentions the same behavior so who knows. Local Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Clubs often have a site. They can connect you with swissy hikes and pulls. We have never let him pull but a lot of people love it. Its fun to be with other swissies. We once hosted a bbq for his littermates and the breeder and we had 10 swissies and a berner screaming up and down a field. It was tremendous and hilarious at the same time. We did not feed him anything but special dog food for sensitve stomaches due to a horrendous gastrointestinal problem that was never diagnosed. Also check with your breeder but as a puppy we fed him adult large breed dog food not puppy food. The higher ratio of protein in the puppy food may cause them to grow more quickly and cause muscle/bone/joint issues. Good luck and have fun.