dog question... mountain dogs

15 years ago

hey all, I've never posted in the conversation area but since everyone here is so friendly and I've noticed there are lot of of dog people here, I figured it'd be a good place to start looking for advice--

My husband and I have 2 border collies and we've been wanting... dreaming of Bernese Mountain Dogs. We've seen one in Austin but most of the dogs we've met have been in cooler climes... so I'm wondering if any of you have experience with them and know how they deal with Texas heat?

I've read about them for awhile so I know their individual problems, that they have a short life-span, etc. I worry about the hair but there's always my super duper allergy cleanup vacuum cleaner. We just love their personality which might balance out the the rather energetic (to put it mildly) nature of our collies!

Anyhoo, if you know someone who works with them or breeds them... please send them my way! Thanks!

Amy

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Comments (5)

sylviatexas1
15 years ago
don't know anything specific about this breed, but I always thought that my Samantha, a Malamute mix, handled the heat okay...

Then one year we got a "deep freeze", & the water in the dogs' plastic pool froze solid.

I let the dogs out early in the morning, started the coffee, & went to bring them back in...

& saw Samantha lying flat on her belly on the ice, smiling.

Much as I love her, I don't think I'll ever have another Arctic dog, at least not deliberately, as long as I live in our hot state.

but you might go to the Pets Forum on That Home Site! (at the top of this page, there's a thin dark green strip; go to "Forums" & when the drop-down menu appears, click on Home Forums).

There are many knowledgeable & helpful animal lovers over there.
rick_mcdaniel
15 years ago
Having a cold climate dog in Texas, really isn't good for the animal. Of course, if you move to the mountains, that's another issue.
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austinwildflower
Original Author
15 years ago
thanks, I'll go check out the forum! I don't know if I'll ever move to the Alps although sledding down them sure is fun (we have friends there)! I think I've put snowy winters behind me forever (former Michigander). Most of my favorite dogs are sheep dogs and bird dogs, but I have just fallen in love with these special big ones.
pjtexgirl
15 years ago
I would stick with short haired breeds for two reasons. One those dogs as gorgeous as they are are FUZZY that's a LOT of grooming! They also "blow coat" twice a year that will bury your floors in fur. All triple coat snow dogs do this.
The other is the heat. I lived near mountains with snow back in CA. The only time my chow mix ever "came to life" was when we took her to the snow. She was a entirely different dog. I won't own another snow dog in heat again. PJ
denisew
15 years ago
I have seen them featured on Breed All About It on Animal Planet and the owners all said they are excellent family dogs. I have seen a couple here in Allen (north of Dallas) and they seem to do fine. If you brush them regularly, the fur problem won't be as bad. We used to have a Siberian Husky and all I can say is WOW - You should have seen the amount of undercoat that came out when she blew her coat! That fur is different that the BMD and the BMD is a predecessor of St. Bernards. I had a St. Bernard when I was young and just remember brushing him frequently, but he did not have the same kind of fur like our Siberian Husky.