Bernese Mountain Dog
Excellent with children, poor at time alone, and a first-dog rating our references dispute: the Bernese sheet, plainly read.
A tri-coloured Swiss farm dog that once pulled carts through Alpine villages, says the one-line entry — and on today’s sheet, a family dog with one rating every reader should stop at.
The temperament sheet
The line to stop at is time alone, rated poor — the lowest mark anywhere on this page. A Bernese belongs in a household where somebody is usually about; arrange your days around that before anything else.
Energy is moderate: purposeful daily exercise without sporting-page extremes. With children the rating is excellent, our top mark. Space is needs-garden. On first-dog fit the sheet prints no verdict — see the section below.
The practical side
Size is large. Grooming is moderate — a regular brushing habit — but shedding is heavy, and the two lines together mean hair is simply part of the household from now on. Barking is moderate.
Where our references disagree
On first-dog fit our two references parted company: one recorded a plain yes, the other declined to commit either way. Both agreed on the large size. We print the disagreement instead of choosing a side. Treat the question as unsettled, and let the rest of the sheet — the poor mark for time alone above all — carry the weight in your own decision.
The dog in front of you
The sheet is a starting point and nothing grander. Individual dogs outrank their breed sheet, and meeting the dog itself outranks everything we have printed.