LIKA "Junior Herding Dog"

Bernese were used as an all purpose farm dog in Switzerland. This required the dogs to be gentle with other animals as well as to have enough prey drive to be able move livestock from barn to pasture, down the lane, through gates, and be able to gather up livestock in an enclosure and bring them towards the farmer. Berners are a large boned breed that as adults are on the mellow side and are not expected to perform as would a Border Collie. Bernese have their own herding style as do all individual herding breeds. Berners tend to drive livestock from behind and by wearing back and worth along the flocks side to keep the stock grouped, yet are able to run out to "fetch" an individual that breaks off from the group. There are only a limited number of Bernese who are active in herding at this time.

HERDING AND THE BERNESE MOUNTAIN DOG and List of Herding Titles and Book List

THE ALL-PURPOSE BERNER by Ann Ghiorso

The history of the Bernese Mountain Dog evidences an all-purpose farm dog. "The Bernese Mountain Dog is a farm dog of ancestral origin which was used as a guard and draught dog and for driving cattle in the pre-alpine regions and in the midland areas around Bern."1/ Even the Swiss name, "Berner Sennenhund," refers to the Berners' heritage as a herdsman's dog.

In a book which was originally published in 1925 in Germany and entitled, The German Shepherd Dog in Word & Picture, the author quotes a portion of an essay by Professor Albert Heim regarding the "Swiss dairyman dogs," which includes the Bernese Mountain Dog:  All of them are born cattle-drivers and seekers for strays. They only need opportunity and example and no special training. These dogs have lived for generations with butchers, cattle-dealers, dairymen and farmers, where they had opportunity to be exercised in these tasks until the performance of the duties became an instinct. 2/  It is apparent from this quote that the Berners at that time were used in a variety of functions, including herding. 3/ As far as how much herding the Berners actually did probably depended on the occupation of the owner of the dog and in which part of the country he or she lived. Because each of these tasks would be specific to the job at hand, the Berner must have been easily adaptable to different working tasks -- a trait that is still apparent in the Berner today. Yet, a farmer would not want a dog which was able to perform only one aspect of the job. Realistically, this would pose an economic hardship on the farmer. These dogs were developed to aid the farmer in the performance of the varied day-to-day tasks.

Vergil S. Holland, in Herding Dogs, wrote the following about the Berners: These are drover-type dogs. They may lack intensity, resulting in a lack of sustained interest in working stock. They seldom, if ever, grip and must be handled with great enthusiasm in order to encourage sustained interest. 4/

When discussing herding, the picture one typically envisions is that of a Border Collie running across a vast, seemingly endless range tending a large flock of sheep. This is not how a Berner herds. The Bernese Mountain Dog is a drover dog. 5/ The herding style for each of these breeds was developed over a very long period of time and with intervention by humans. This is not to say that a Berner cannot gather or lead stock. Indeed, it would be necessary for any herding dog to gather stock because the stock does not always stay together as can be gleaned from Professor Heim's earlier quote when he refers to the Swiss dairyman's dogs being "seekers of strays."

As one aspect of the working Berner was to drive cattle, some may suggest that if herding is recognized that it be for cattle only. While it is true that the history of the Berners shows them to have been used herding cattle, the practical aspect as well as the safety issue for all concerned - the cattle, the dog, and the handler (amateur most likely) - are factors which need to be taken into consideration. The Brown Swiss variety of cattle is not typically used in herding trials in the States, and it would probably be hard to find a dairy farmer who would avail his/her livestock to be schooled by dogs which do not usually handle cattle. Beef cattle are typically used for herding trials. Of course, it would be an exciting thing to see a Berner drive Brown Swiss cattle albeit a bit unlikely in today's environment.

In the past, other working activities have been modified to fit the changing times. One of those activities is carting. Most of the carts used today are those which can be easily transported. While some of the larger four-wheel wagons are used in parades, it is not often that you see them in the draft competition. This probably has more to do with the logistics and practicality of living in the 20th Century. However, if one were to look at the carts used by the Berners of yesteryear, the type would be similar to a large wooden four-wheel wagon or two-wheel cart capable of carrying the milk to market - something that wouldn't fit in most automobiles. If the dog has learned the proper technique and has the ability, the dog should be able to pull whatever object is behind him or her. This rationale also applies to obedience and agility. When retrieving, the dog should be able to retrieve whatever object is requested and not just a wooden or metal dumbbell. The courses in agility are not always the same yet the dog is required to take the jumps no matter how different they may look. This same reasoning should also be applied to herding. If a dog has the instinct and has had an opportunity to learn and exercise the fundamentals of herding, the dog should be able to move whatever livestock is presented. In fact, most herding books suggest starting out on sheep or ducks - livestock which is easier to move than cattle. This approach would allow more opportunities for the dog to be properly schooled should the handler decide to have the dog go beyond the herding instinct level.

It's interesting to note that in John Rogerson's book, Training Your Dog, 6/, he gives some history on the Roman cattle dogs, a predecessor of the Rottweiler and some may suggest the Berner, whose job it was to lead the cattle to market, and then when the farmer was paid for the cattle, a pouch containing the money was placed around the dog's neck for safekeeping. Another example of a working dog known to perform multiple tasks.

Today the Bernese Mountain Dog is most notably a companion dog. The majority of us do not live on farms nor are we employed as butchers or cheesemakers. We share the common objective of wishing to preserve the integrity of this breed. Even if we choose to have our Berner be a companion dog which lies at our feet, we need to ask ourselves do we wish to preserve the breed characteristics and instinct by promoting all aspects of this multi-purpose farm dog. If so, how do we know that the working abilities and instinct of our dogs has been preserved if we do not allow them an opportunity to demonstrate their skills in a manner which is practical, realistic, and safe.

1/  J. M. Paschoud, The Swiss Canine Breeds, FCI-Standards, Paul Haupt,
      Bern, 1994 (www.nmbe0.unibe.ch/abtwt/swiss_dogs.html)
2/  von Stephanitz, The German Shepherd Dog in Word & Picture, p. 93.
3/  "Herding" refers to the gathering, leading, or driving of livestock.
4/  V. Holland, Herding Dogs, p. 42.
5/  A drover-type dog generally moves the stock from behind.
6/  J. Rogerson, Training Your Dog, p. 14.

The Droving Dog  by Linda Roehm - American Herding Breed Association, Secretary

In a number of accounts of herding dogs reference is made to a breed having been used for droving or having been a drover's dog. The dog is described as being used for "driving cattle" or "driving sheep," etc.

Today the word "driving'' is used in a technical sense to mean the dog moving the stock away from or in front of the handler, either directly away or at right angles; the handler and dog will be roughly on the same side of the flock, or the dog may even be right next to the handler's side. In earlier times, however, and still today as used by some people, driving simply meant moving the stock. A dog would be described as driving the sheep or cattle to market, with the account going on to indicate that the herdsman was actually in the front, the dog at the rear (or, in the common modern terminology, "fetching). An account of working Smooth Collies in the 1920’s in Canada relates, "One man, a drover, who went from farm to farm buying cattle, had one of these smoothes. The dog brought the cattle along, held them while the drover dickered, collected the purchased cows and drove them down the road till he caught up to the drover again, who would go on ahead. At the end of the day the drover could go home ahead of the dog, telling him only to bring them home, and he would always arrive with them all, steady and unhurried, no matter how far or how late the hour."

The droving dog had to take various positions around the flock or herd as needed. It was common for the dog to have to go ahead to block side lanes, or work at the sides to keep the stock from trespassing onto fields. Droving was a demanding occupation, with stock being taken into unfamiliar areas on the road to market and often being combined in unfamiliar groups. Taken from their familiar surroundings and routine, the stock could be difficult to handle. Many droving trips were long, lasting days or weeks. Stamina and perseverance were required. The dogs also served as guard and watch dogs. In farm work as well as droving, the handler often did walk behind with the dog. This would be done in order to help provide more push when necessary and to better oversee and control the whole group. Many farmers simply used the most basic, rather unsophisticated form of training available -- indeed there often was little formal training at all. But this does not indicate the dog had some kind of particular "driving instinct". Through experience and daily routine, and because nearness to the handler helps give confidence, the dog would become habituated to working at the rear along with the handler. The task may also determine the position of the dog. The Border Collie is considered a prime example of a gathering dog; yet the numerous tourist-board and advertising photos from Scotland, when featuring flocks being moved along roads, almost invariably show the handler handlers at the rear with one or several dogs. These dogs, of course, are well able to go out and around the animals to gather them and bring them back. The drovers' dogs likewise needed -- and had -- this ability. But unlike the classic trials-bred Border Collie familiar today (which, of course, drives as well as gathers), the drovers' dogs were less "refined" workers, close-working and pushy because that was what was needed working the large groups and larger types of animals, whether the animals were being moved from pasture to pasture or being taken to market. These dogs were not used for long-distance gathering of flighty, little-handled sheep from hillsides, but gathering was nonetheless needed, even on heavy breeds of sheep and cattle in fields and paddocks. Although some breeds became associated with droving -- perhaps as much as anything because a lot of droving was done in the area where that breed was common -- for the most part drovers' dogs were simply the local dog picked up for the job. Collies, for instance, were as much drovers' dogs as any other breed. Dogs of whatever breed which displayed the necessarily qualities of stamina, strength and ability to handle livestock were employed as drover's dogs.

Today, dogs of breeds which haven't been used very much for herding for many years are now being exposed to livestock and given the opportunity to work. The dogs themselves reveal their tendencies, and those breeds often referred to as "drover's dogs" -- Rottweiler, Old English Sheepdog, Bouviers, and others -- have demonstrated definite gathering tendencies similar to most other breeds. They also tend to be close-run and pushy, but this is also typical of most herding dogs. Certainly these dogs can be trained to stay behind with the handler (rather easy to do, since all that is needed is a leash), but to base training on this will end up greatly limiting the dog's potential. Pushing from behind may move stock, but it will not control the direction of the stock. Through good, basic, all-around training, the dogs will be able to fulfill their potential as versatile helpers, adaptable to a range of tasks. This adaptability is in fact more in accord with their historic uses than only pushing from behind at the side of the handler, which, while among the common tasks, was far from being the only task.