WORKING THE BERNESE MOUNTAIN DOG

To use the term "working the Bernese Mountain Dog" would be creating a false impression. The Bernese never "work". They have fun. Everything they do is fun for them. They have a series of adventures. If their Human can remember that and apply the principles accordingly, they will achieve great success and enjoy every minute of their time together. The primary requirements that a Human would need to "train" his Berner. (or HER berner, of course!) would consist of a ball, some food, good shoes (Berners bounce a lot....Sometimes Human feet get in the way?) a desire for adventure, with the most important thing being a sense of humour.

Training the Berner has to begin when it is a puppy. These dogs are very beautiful, but they were designed for functionality. They are active and if the Human does not structure their time, they will look for something to do. This is not always a good idea. Bernese Moutain Dogs have initiative. They can dig! They love gardening and changing a 30 meter hosepipe into 30 meters of hose piping is not even remotely a challenge. Leaving them to their own devices can be an education most people do not want or need. So. As small puppies, it is great fun to track and start with gentle control work.

TRACKING

The tracking is always the most rewarding, as Berners are almost pre-programed for this. Obviously there are many methods, all of which work for different types of dog personalities. Berners like eating. The smell of crushed vegetation with just a hint of a little snack is irrisistable. Chose a clean area with short grass. In Africa, "clean" means relatively litter free with no foot paths crossing the area. Plant a stake next to your left foot, stand on the spot for a while. Face into the direction of the wind for the first stage. This would consist of laying a small "scent pad" next to the stake. Tramp on the grass for abot a one meter radius, putting food into each footstep, under your shoe. This will ensure that the smell of the food is interated into the vegetation. Immediately after you have done this, present the puppy, complete with a collar and lead , in the area. Becaus the scent was laid into the wind, he will very quickly pick up the smell of the food and go to the area, where he will explore and search, piccking up the food, but also making a sub-conscious mental note that following the smell of crushed vegetation and food is a very good idea. Before he has finished all of the food, take him away from the are. He must have a desire to return to the tracking venue. This procedure can be repeated once or twice, but the puppy must not get too tired or bored. As he gets better at finding every piece of food, stretch the scent pad out into a track. The puppy will very soon be following the track.

CONTROL

As far as control work is concerned, the Bernese puppy will do most things for a reward. Berners love to play. They especially like structured games, so.... as long as the rules do not change, they will learn very willingly and quickly. For example, to teach your puppy to sit, show him the reward (biscuit, ball, any treat..) Hold the reward high above his head, repeating the word sit. Ignore any other behaviour. If he jumps up or climbs your leg or lies down or even does nothing, ignore the behaviour. The minute he sits, albeit by design or accident, tell him how clever he is and immediately give him the reward. Repeat this a few times and he will very soon have the behaviour under the belt. Once he knows how to do it, tell him to sit and let him drive you for the treat. Should you require to correct your Berner at any stage of training, do so quickly with the reward being offered immediately. Bernese Mountain Dogs and compulsion are not synonymous! Berners do not like being shouted at. They have extremely acute hearing and can hear everything you are saying. If your dog does not respond to a request for a certain behaviour, it is probably because he does not understand you. Try again. Berners love making their Humans happy. This is not true for most breeds of dogs, where the dog wants to make its human happy in order to get a reward. The Berner's reward is his human's approval. The snack offered as a reward is certainly an added incentive. However, if the Human is not happy, it is sure that the Berner will be unnerved by this. Never try to train your Berner if you are not in good spirits. You will not get the results you are striving for. Rather skip the training session and take your Berner for a walk or play with him for a while.

CARTING

We taught our dogs all the manouevering actions relevant to carting before we actually tried to hitch up the cart. We only started when the dogs had a good grasp of basic obedience. They could do perfect heelwork off lead. They could do a recall to the front and to the working side from behind the handler. They could stay reliably for ten minutes with the handler out of sight. They could turn left or right on verbal command. We also taught them to turn around on the spot, crossing their front legs as they went, so that they would turn without moving from the spot they stood on. The last thing we taught was to go backwards. There are many ways to teach this, but the most effective is for the handler to face the direction in which they are going to walk, with the dog facing in the opposite direction. The dog will be on the handler's right hand side. The handler will have the dog's lead in the left hand and the treat in the right hand. The handler will hold treat just above and behind the dog's head, calling him to "Back". The dog will instinctively walk the one step back to get the treat. Give it to him. Then another treat, a little further behind and so on. Obviously one would not progress too quickly, but this is a very successful method, resulting in a dog who loves to go backwards! Once the dog can do these things, the cart can be produced. The first thing to do would be to put the harness on the dog and walk him around with it on. If the dog shows no reaction to the harness, the cart can be hitched. Do not walk the dog this time. Stand him for a few minutes, remove the cart and walk him around with only the harness. Then again hitch and stand. The most difficult thing to teach the dog when carting, is that the cart will never go away, no matter what he does. After hitching a few times, if the dog is firmly confident, very slowly move him forward a few paces and then stop. Unhitch and walk around. This process can take ten minutes or five days. Do not rush it! If you walk him before he accepts the cart, it is vey difficult to overcome his anxiety that will develop towards the cart. Once the dog walks comfortably a few paces, go a bit further until you are walking comfortably, in a straight line for about 50 paces or so. The dog will control how fast you progress in this discipline. Do not rush it.

Simon Davison rewarding Kodi with a bite after a superb "hold and bark"