 Performance Events for Berners
Bernese Mountain Dogs are well known to highly excel at all of the
following events.
In fact, there are a great many Berners today who
hold many honorable titles from various performance events. These
titles are a crown for the super-ability of the Berner and the
dedication of its human.
Important Note: Prior to getting into any performance
event, it is critical that an owner seriously consider the overall health of the
Berner in relation to whatever performance event the owner would like
to pursue, and to what level to pursue it. In Berners, one main
consideration is orthopedic health, among others. Another impact is
heat intolerance. Performance events can impact a Berner's general
health, and this should be considered when electing to engage in a
performance event. It should be noted that perhaps performance events
are best accomplished with physically matured Berners, so there is no
impact on immature orthopedics by performance training.
Obedience:
An important part of responsible dog ownership is teaching your Berner
to have good manners and have socially acceptable behavior. A dog
without good social manners can be very difficult to live with.
Some people mistakenly think that Berners are born with an innate
'good temperament', and this means that the Berner doesn't need to be
taught manners. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Yes, the Bernese breed is well known for a stable, loyal and gentle
nature. However, like any other dog, a Bernese needs to be trained to
have good manners. The good news is that many Berners are quick
learners. Its important to point out that many Berner people believe
that gender does not affect a Berner's ability to learn quickly.
Obedience Classes offer a solid training ground for both human and
Berner. Its usually the best idea to begin Obedience training while
your Berner is still a puppy. Like a human child does in school, a
puppy can go through Obedience Kindergarten and then graduate up
through Elementary School and beyond.
These classes are often part of the local community education effort
of local all breed dog clubs, performance dog clubs and/or local
Berner clubs. So those clubs are the best resources to find classes
being offered in your area.
Usually, Obedience Classes cost a small fee (or are free), and can
last between 4 to 10 weeks. Most classes convene only one time per
week. The rest of the week allows time for homework on tasks taught in
the class.
Routinely, these classes offer instruction on basic manners and tasks.
Some tasks covered may be Walking, Heeling (sitting), Stay, Lay,
Retreive, Ignore Distractions and more. Once a Berner learns to do
these tasks on a leash, the Berner is then taught to perform
off-leash.
Importantly, be aware that class time is not training time for your
Berner. Class is where you display what you and your Berner have been
working on all week, and it's where you learn new tasks to practice.
The majority of training is actually done outside of class, at home.
While Obedience Classes are a good rule of thumb for every Berner and
their human, some Berners (and their people) can excel at this. So
there have emerged performance events where people and their Berners
compete in Obedience.
Obedience Events often coincide with Conformation Dog Shows, being
held at the same place on the same dates but in different rings.
Sometimes Obedience Events are not coordinated with other events.
Agility:
Some Berners (and their people) excel at Obedience, and show a
propensity for a higher level of tasks. These people usually gravitate
toward Berner Agility.
An agility course includes things like a tunnel, several broad jumps,
a weave between multiple poles, a teeter-totter, a loop-jump and more.
Like Obedience, Agility Events are generally done by local all breed
dog clubs, performance dog clubs and breed specific clubs (like Berner
clubs).
Draft:
Bernese Mountain Dogs are primarily Working Dogs and were used in the
mid-1900's for draught work. They replaced horses and vehicles, and
pulled heavy carts for Swiss dairy farmers, butchers and other
craftsmen.
Today, Drafting is a performance event which duplicates the sort of
draught work Berners were originally bred to peform.
Like Obedience and Agility, Drafting requires a lot of training for
both human and Berner. And it entails lots of obstacles and tasks.
There are many Berner Drafting communities which offer help and
instruction about this event. These people will gladly help you learn
how and where to acquire/build a cart, understand the rules of the
event, and connect you with classes and draft events.
If you'd like more information about INWBMDC Drafting
Events, email
draft@inwbmdc.com.
Herding:
One task that Swiss dairy farmers gave Berners was cattle-droving
(herding).
Today, some Berners may exhibit this behavior in the form of 'prey
drive'. These Berners may have the 'instinct' necessary to become an
excellent stock dog. While Berners don't generally have the predator's
eye to stare down a cow or sheep (in the way that an Aussie or Kelpie
may have), they can still be very agile and commanding enough to move
livestock around.
There are performance events called 'Herding', which seeks to
duplicate some of the cattle-droving work that Berners did in
generations past.
If you'd like more information about INWBMDC Herding
Events, email
draft@inwbmdc.com.
Copyright © 2004
Inland Northwest Bernese Mountain Dog Club |
