# New Berner



## Cicitina (Feb 28, 2021)

I am a very proud new puppy mom. After losing all 3 of my previous dogs to old age in the span of a year (minus a few days) we finally decided to bring home a new puppy. The last 7 months have been the longest and only time in my life I have lived without a dog. This has been my dream breed and I have never loved a puppy more. 
Meet Stanley!


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## Blackdog1714 (Feb 28, 2021)

Goodluck they are lovely breed My boy Jackson is my 2nd Newf at at 165 pounds he is a big goof.


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## Cicitina (Feb 28, 2021)

Blackdog1714 said:


> Goodluck they are lovely breed My boy Jackson is my 2nd Newf at at 165 pounds he is a big goof.



My aunt had a Newfie many years ago and she was a big sweet bear. 
We just had 3 small breed dogs, I’ve always been a big breed lover but my family never wanted one until now. The biggest dog I had previously was a beagle so I am very excited for him to be fully grown


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## Blackdog1714 (Feb 28, 2021)

Cicitina said:


> My aunt had a Newfie many years ago and she was a big sweet bear.
> We just had 3 small breed dogs, I’ve always been a big breed lover but my family never wanted one until now. The biggest dog I had previously was a beagle so I am very excited for him to be fully grown


I am 50 now and may have it in me to get one more big dog then back to little monsters. We had a Pomeranian/Papillion mix that was the best dog I ever owned. He would out walk the big dogs and was asleep before we got on the highway for long trips


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## Cicitina (Feb 28, 2021)

Blackdog1714 said:


> I am 50 now and may have it in me to get one more big dog then back to little monsters. We had a Pomeranian/Papillion mix that was the best dog I ever owned. He would out walk the big dogs and was asleep before we got on the highway for long trips



My last dog was a Pomeranian. She was a good dog but a very big barker. My parents had a shih tzu and cocker and they were little monsters and chased my and attacked my cats. The cocker was very dominant. 
My beagle was the best dog I ever owned. He was pretty much perfect in every way. My parents got him for my brother while pregnant with me so we grew up together. 
I don’t think I’ll ever go back to small breeds


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## Blackdog1714 (Feb 28, 2021)

Cicitina said:


> My last dog was a Pomeranian. She was a good dog but a very big barker. My parents had a shih tzu and cocker and they were little monsters and chased my and attacked my cats. The cocker was very dominant.
> My beagle was the best dog I ever owned. He was pretty much perfect in every way. My parents got him for my brother while pregnant with me so we grew up together.
> I don’t think I’ll ever go back to small breeds


Yapping is a no no. I work with mine to let people walk by on the very near sidewalk and reward them greatly when they bark at someone knocking! The NO Solicitors/No Trespassing gets ignored but thre big dogs DON'T!


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## Krista S (Feb 28, 2021)

Stanley is one handsome little pup! Congrats on your new family member.


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## Maggie3fan (Feb 28, 2021)

Cicitina said:


> I am a very proud new puppy mom. After losing all 3 of my previous dogs to old age in the span of a year (minus a few days) we finally decided to bring home a new puppy. The last 7 months have been the longest and only time in my life I have lived without a dog. This has been my dream breed and I have never loved a puppy more.
> Meet Stanley!
> View attachment 319571
> View attachment 319572
> View attachment 319573


Oh so cute! Gonna be as big as an Aldab


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## Tom (Feb 28, 2021)

Wonderful breed. I have two of them right now:


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## Cicitina (Feb 28, 2021)

Tom said:


> Wonderful breed. I have two of them right now:
> View attachment 319580



Stunning ?


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## Tom (Feb 28, 2021)

Cicitina said:


> Stunning ?


Want puppy raising tips? I'm a dog trainer by profession and a tortoise keeper by hobby.


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## Yvonne G (Feb 28, 2021)

I'm confused why Blackdog talked about his Newfie. Your puppy is a Bernese Mountain dog, right?


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## Cicitina (Feb 28, 2021)

Tom said:


> Want puppy raising tips? I'm a dog trainer by profession and a tortoise keeper by hobby.



Now I know who to come to when I need advice! This is our 5th dog but first bernese. So far he has been the perfect puppy especially in comparison to our last 4 that were all nightmares as puppies and as adult dogs (minus our beagle that was a dream dog) 
He’s going to the bathroom outside, slept well in his crate through the night, plays with his toys and listens and comes when called. 
Just trying to teach commands like sit and stay. 
He seems to know “down” but doesn’t jump up at all.I was worried he’d bark and chase the cats but he just watches them. Slowly walks towards them but doesn’t go after them when they hiss or run which was what our old dogs did even as senior dogs 
I’m hoping it isn’t too good to be true right now and he suddenly turns into a monster


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## Blackdog1714 (Feb 28, 2021)

Yvonne G said:


> I'm confused why Blackdog talked about his Newfie. Your puppy is a Bernese Mountain dog, right?


Big Dogs are loved almost equally by Big Dog owners. It is a 100 + kinda thing


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## Tom (Feb 28, 2021)

Cicitina said:


> Now I know who to come to when I need advice! This is our 5th dog but first bernese. So far he has been the perfect puppy especially in comparison to our last 4 that were all nightmares as puppies and as adult dogs (minus our beagle that was a dream dog)
> He’s going to the bathroom outside, slept well in his crate through the night, plays with his toys and listens and comes when called.
> Just trying to teach commands like sit and stay.
> He seems to know “down” but doesn’t jump up at all.I was worried he’d bark and chase the cats but he just watches them. Slowly walks towards them but doesn’t go after them when they hiss or run which was what our old dogs did even as senior dogs
> I’m hoping it isn’t too good to be true right now and he suddenly turns into a monster


They do tend to get more rambunctious as they get comfortable and mature a little bit, but this breed is usually pretty easy.

I don't like to do too much obedience early on because it squashes drive and creates worry and inhibition, but this is an individual choice. I like a more wild, high spirited, confident, rambunctious dog. Some people prefer a more mellow, mild mannered dog. Obedience is easily done when they are older and more mentally mature, so I wait for that. If you want a milder mannered dog, you can do more obedience early on. This applies even when done with treats and a high-pitched happy voice.

Common mistakes that all new puppy owners make:
1. Never give a command that you can't enforce. If the dog is not on leash, then don't call it to you or tell it to sit or stay. When it fails to comply, you will be teaching it to ignore your commands. Never let a dog learn that it has the choice to ignore a command. Puppy talk and coochie coo the new pup all you like, just don't give it commands yet.
2. Too much freedom too early. I'd never let a puppy loose in my house. Crate, kennel, or leash 24/7 for the first few weeks, at least. You won't have to break bad habits later on if you don't let the pup learn them.
3. Take the dog EVERYWHERE that you go every day. As much as possible. They need to get out in the world. Under 4 months, only go to dog-less areas. Grocery store and restaurant parking lots are great. No one takes a dog to these places. Your pup gets socialized and desensitized, but minimal risk of infection. Even if you are just running to the store and the dog isn't getting out of the car. Take the puppy. Many people are good about this in the first few weeks, and then slack off. Its most important in months 5-11ish. NEVER go to dog parks. Dog parks are not dog socialization. They are dogs running wild and learning dog pack mentality. Not good for a dog that we want to live and assimilate into human society.
4. Socialization. Don't ever let a stranger come up to your puppy and pet it. Always make the person stop, give them a treat or instruction, and then let the puppy go to the person for petting and treats. This is a HUGE deal in a puppies mind. Letting unfamiliar people invade their space and do dominant things like approaching them, looming over them and petting them, makes you look like a weak pack leader to them. It creates fear and insecurity about the world. By contrast, if you stop and control the stranger, and let your pup invade their space and do dominant things to an adult member of another pack, your pup sees you as the lord god king of all humans, and has no fear that anything in the world will harm him. Its an important and little known or talked about distinction. Let your puppy go to lots of people. Let no people come to your puppy. Family members at home, your own pack, is not included in this. Just when new people come over, or when meeting strangers out in public. I want my puppy to know that I can stop and control all people anytime I want, and that all people are our friends. (Unless I'm training a protection dog and I tell the dog that a given person is not a friend, but that's a different topic...)


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