Bernese Mountain Dog

Pinschers & molossoids

Large

Median 10.1 y

FCI group 2 · Pinscher and Schnauzer, Molossoid and Swiss Mountain Dogs · Derived from the adult weight midpoint (40.9 kg)

Median survival across 1,565 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 7–12 y

The Bernese Mountain Dog, German: Berner Sennenhund or Dürrbächler, is a large dog breed originating from the canton of Bern, Switzerland and the Swiss Alps. It is one of four Sennenhund-type breeds, with ancestral roots in Roman mastiffs.

Good-natured

Calm

Strong

Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · reference ranges from the Kintail breed dataset

Adult weight

Reference

Male

36.3–52.2 kg

Female

31.8–43.1 kg

Breed club figure (the American Kennel Club)

Weight for age

Stock data

Male

Female

Expected range

Expected range from the breed's own adult weight, kilograms. Growth reference: Hawthorne et al. 2004, WALTHAM (five giant-breed fits, n=35).

Heat cycles · females

Stock data

First heat

8–12 mo

typical

Interval

180 d

typical

Bleeding

~9 d

typical

Proestrus 9d

Estrus 9d

Diestrus 52d

Anestrus 110d

General figures for dogs, not for this breed — individual cycles vary widely.

Questions people ask

Adult males usually weigh 36.3–52.2 kg and females 31.8–43.1 kg. Most are close to their full size by around 13 months, though the last little bit of filling out takes longer. Growth reference: Hawthorne et al. 2004, WALTHAM (five giant-breed fits, n=35).

No Bernese Mountain Dog cycle figures are published here yet, so this is general guidance rather than a breed number: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later.

The median is 10.1 y. Median survival across 1,565 UK dogs (VetCompass, McMillan 2024) · half live 7–12 y. How the later years go comes down to weight, teeth, exercise and regular check-ups far more than to the breed.