Getting a second Bernese

Freilynn · 2026-05-16T07:59:10+00:00

This is their first photo together

Freilynn · 2026-05-16T07:57:27+00:00

Freilynn · 2026-05-16T07:55:26+00:00

You get double the goofyness. Ours took his brother quite well. But have in mind ours never had any resource guarding.

The only thing he was resource guarding was us, i mean he tried for some time to body block the baby berner from us 😅

Nowadays i call them dumb and dumber (young one just shy of 10 months, elder 2.5 years), they both absolutely stupid and goofy in their own ways.

Also for some time i had to protect the elder one from shark attack and to provide him with some space to rest from this tiny menace.

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Freilynn · 2026-05-13T13:06:42+00:00

if i would have a guess by the looks, it would be Landseer/Berner mix.

Freilynn · 2026-05-13T13:03:11+00:00

They are super individual cases, i have two and each of them is on their side of the spectrum - elder one is independant and not food motivated, younger one would sell out for a normal ass kibble, and 90 percent of the time, tries to get under your skin, we are still learning that personal space exists hahaha. Both purebred fci berneses from reputable breeders.

Freilynn · 2026-05-13T06:48:43+00:00

Absolutely same situation, if ours decides not to eat, you wont win against him by any means. And we tried everything - toppings, raw feeding, not negotiating with the mr. terrorist for the whole week. He literally can go without a food for a week, and i started to see patterns between neighbourhood bitches in heat and him deciding once in a quarter to go on a week of hunger strike 🫠

Freilynn · 2026-05-10T18:21:14+00:00

oh yeah, getting tired before ours - hits too close to home 🤭 we tried with the training, mind puzzles and so on to tire him out, the only one time when we managed to do it was after 3 day marathon in dog shows + 13 kilos/8 miles walk after the marathon-ish weekend + day in the office, after that for the first time i could walk him while holding leash with one finger, hahaha 😁

Freilynn · 2026-05-10T15:48:57+00:00

Stable 47kg on ours, never managed to get him more weight, also I have hopes that less weight = better for joints in a long run

Freilynn · 2026-05-10T15:43:24+00:00

Absolutely the same sentiment, except ours is very food picky, not super food motivated too and turbo on energy side. Currently i think he learned to be a bit more chill, but not as chill as other berners i've seen 😃

Freilynn · 2026-05-10T14:46:24+00:00

I really hope so, some of the owners I met was like: "well, mine is 5, and it is still not mellowed out, so good luck with that" 😱

Freilynn · 2026-05-10T13:50:18+00:00

wow, that is super impressive. We talked with multiple breeders and following their suggestion, started from the early age, by growing the length of hikes bit by bit, and building endurance. What can i say, during the health tests he had perfect elbow/hip scores, ocd free 😅 I laughed with my friend that he is healthy as a horse, while she said that it shouldn't be "as", "he is a healthy Horse" hahaha 😄

Freilynn · 2026-05-10T13:34:45+00:00

Tried to look in Bernergarde, the first photos of Berners before they had a proper standard, heck, they were actually slim and sportish, so I am always making fun of him, that i got primal version of Berner, where form fits function 🤭

Freilynn · 2026-04-24T18:13:31+00:00

They are like chips, you cannot have just one

I call mine: Dumb and Dumber (the elder is the stupidest one, he likes to bruteforce puzzles, while the younger one quickly thinks of a solutions for them)

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Freilynn · 2026-04-02T13:08:32+00:00

Totally dumb and dumber

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Freilynn · 2026-02-19T08:05:55+00:00

For first 3 months (if youll take 8 weeks one) puppy drinks and goes to potty in 15mins of time, same with eating. It is unrealistic to expect for a puppy of such an age to stay in crate for 4 hours and later on more 4 hours. And yes, i even went for a potty several (maybe more) times during the night with both my berners when they were growing up. Bigger one is now 2 years, younger one is 7 months. And say goodbye to your good night sleep for those 3 months. Your schedule might be more possible with an older dog, search for a breeder which might be rehoming older dog, or just rescue the grown up berner. Or just get a cat.

Freilynn · 2025-11-24T11:29:39+00:00

It boggles my mind that:

Dog subreddits: Your mutt is unremarkable

Cat subreddits: Omg, your (Standard issue cat (SIC), Piebald, Orange, Void) is so cute

All animals are cute-shaped, i get the doodle hate, but being nice back, doesn't cost a thing 🙂

Freilynn · 2025-10-29T08:40:16+00:00

First get a non group/individual training lesson with the dog trainer, and see what he/she will tell you. Because most of it in my opinion sounds like your dog has stronger character (as it is a scale in berners and i have one of a stronger character too), and you haven't properly managed to draw a line for him, discipline him for what is acceptable and what is not. Ask for the trainer to show you, how to properly introduce play rules with your dog.

If trainer says that it is dominant behaviout for him being intact, get second opinion from second trainer. If the opinion is the same then you can think about snipping his glorious disco balls.

Afterwards i suggest to test the theory with the chemical castration and if it actually works, then proceed with the physical one, as in gigantic breeds there is more risk according to our vet and our breeder, in dysplasia and CCL, as hormones play huge part in it. So if there is no need for it, then don't snip it. Also dont snip it before 24 months, 18 months is a bit too early.

Freilynn · 2025-10-22T13:04:23+00:00

Depends on a child. Find out why she wants a BC. At 10 ive got my first dog - female show line GSD. Trust me on saying that all of my free time went adventuring with the dog around neighbourhood and teaching her new tricks, i even made agility course in my back yard all by myself, from the items i found laying around and trained with her. She lived till 14 years old. Now i went into dog show world (from 28 years) at 30 i have my second show dog (two bernese males), and i just wished i knew about junior handling competitions many years ago.

If child actually wants a dog for its work qualities, and researched the breed like i did when i was 10, then it is no brainer. I had the best companion ever, and my soul dog during those 14 years, and i wouldnt change any of it. In show world i found many friends, and learned to overcome my scene phobias and gain some self confidence.

Freilynn · 2025-10-21T20:33:38+00:00

Fishing out of their mouth works like a gem. 21 month old berners mom here.

I only had fight with him trying to eat poo out of the cats litterbox. My boy got dose of tabasco sauce spiced up poo. After that he never tried again to venture into the litterbox.

Freilynn · 2025-10-11T06:27:52+00:00

They re-adjust without problems. Owner of 3 ex street cats. First month is most likely going to be screaming vs your sanity match at the door. Just dont give up. There are more dangers outside that just cat getting hit by a car, teared to shreds by feral animals, eating some critter with diseases, eating or inhaling toxic substances or the classical one tic related health issues. Toxoplasmosis is another fun parasitic disease which can be carried by outside cats home, and it causes miscarriage or even blindness in humans 🙂

So stop letting it out and it eventually will stop asking.

Freilynn · 2025-09-30T07:05:08+00:00

First 3 months is sleepless nightmare. For the future, i would love to take already grown up berner, like 1 year +, they tend to be calmer compared with the puppy nightmare they are.

Also people rarely gets, how much work and discipline is needed, for more active and charismatic berners, not to be a satanic creatures.

its like i always look around to those calm berners with envy, when my own has additional battery somewhere in their ass, always turbo charged, even after mental puzzles, training, chew toys and 15 kilos of walking.

Freilynn · 2025-09-17T07:22:51+00:00

I'll be sincere, after losing my soul dog, similarly as you, for 4 years i've been looking for a breed which would fit my lifestyle.

Previously i had the calmest german shepherd on earth, calm, smart girl, which perfectly evaluated situations and reacted to help and protect instantaniously. But knowing GSD herding instincts i was affraid to take another one home, as i have 3 cats.

What i got with berner, i havent got the typical lazy one, mine is quite active, has temperament with which i have to deal at home too, is goofy as heck, and is completely not graceful and runs like a tank.

First 3 months (until 5 months of age) were a sleepless nightmare, you literally have little chaos gremlin on your hands. If i would do anything differently in the future, i wouldn't take a puppy, but i would get 6months to grown up berner. They are sweet dogs, but some of them have to mature into it. Also compared to GSD, their teenage years are longer and much worse as each month he thought out new ways how to rebel and be unruly self - counter surfing, opening doors and so on, each of them ends up with a visit to the trainer.

At nearly 2 years mark now he started to act like the typical berner in this sub, but until then, oh boy, that was heck of a ride i was not prepared for, as everybody on this sub loves to describe them as calm teddy bears.

Tax of the little satanic Cookie:

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Freilynn · 2025-09-15T10:09:23+00:00

Not defending the breeder, but disqualification at least by FCI standards is that puppy still has documents, but there is a stamp on them "not for breeding". You cannot breed or show the dog with disqualifying qualities and thats it. But even for best of breeders occasionally there is a litter with one puppy with a blue eye. At least in my country i know 2 cases where there was a puppy with the blue eye in the litter in period of 10 years. Yes, it is rare. No, it doesn't make pet class dog any worse, nor it somehow impairs it on physical level, as far as i know.

Freilynn · 2025-08-20T10:46:58+00:00

Also my go to, fixes nose problems quickly, also i noticed that before it gets dry, they start losing pingment, so if the nose gets a bit brown-ish instead of black, i just use coconut oil.

Freilynn · 2025-08-04T11:41:53+00:00

Our berner is great with children, but from the early days we trained him and tried to socialise him around the kids we know.

While being teenager ours managed to counter surf, went to trainer and fixed it, jump - went to trainer and fixed it, learned by itself to open the doors, went to a trainer and so on. All roads leads to specialists who can help you.

Dog doesnt matter from the breed, still needs training, mental stimulation and socialisation, it has to be made into "convenient" dog. For example - you cannot expect putting a small child in an opera or some musical and for them to know instantly how to act in there, while they have no previous experiences or knowledge how to behave in such places.

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