Saint Bernard

It is thought that the breed was created when dogs native to the Alps were crossed with Mastiff type dogs that the Roman army brought with them during the reign of emperor Augustus. The Saint Bernard Pass is a well-known treacherous alpine path, and the remnants of the Great Roman Road can still be seen, a true piece of history that is evidence of Napoleon’s crossing. The name Saint Bernard came from their founder St. Bernard de Menthon and the monks who established the breed. The Switzerland Hospice St. Bernard used these great dogs to assist travellers who were going through the dangerous Alpine pass that lay between Switzerland and Italy. The first Saint Bernard’s were of the short haired variety, as they found the longer haired dogs tended to collect icicles. In the mid seventeenth century, they became the go to dog for rescue work, with their ability to smell a person buried under many feet of snow after an avalanche. These amazing dogs worked in teams, and when one found a victim, they would lie down with them to keep them warm while another dog alerted the rescue team. They can also predict storms and avalanches which have been attributed to their ability to hear very low frequency sounds. A hospice dog named Barry became famous in 1800 to 1810 for finding more than 40 rescues; he became the most famous dog ever and often the Saint Bernard was referred to as Barryhunden in his honour. The Swiss Kennel Club officially recognized the breed in 1889, and in 1887 the International Congress of Zurich produced the first breed standard, and all countries except England accepted it.