What Kind of Dog is That?

This is a question that we hear often whenever we walk Adler. It's usually followed by "great dog!" or "what a beautiful dog!" In fact, I heard it twice yesterday on our afternoon walk.

Anyway, the Bernese Mountain Dog is not as common as a lab so people don't see it as often, however, they are getting more popular and are becoming part of the mainstream media - appearing in Bounty papertowel commercials; on the cover the American Girl catalog; and in the last two issues of People magazine.

Because they aren't as popular as labs, people don't know much about them so here are some fun facts about the Bernese Mountain Dog based on my knowledge of them and what we've learned from Adler:

• They are easy to train. Our breeder told us if you can't take care of a Berner, then you shouldn't have a dog - period. Adler is a quick learner and has proven to be easy.


• They are very lovable and like to be around people. Adler is almost always in the same room as us unless she gets tired of waiting for us to go to bed then she'll go to her pillow in our bedroom on her own.


• They don't necessarily like water. Now some Berners do but from what I've read, most don't and Adler is no exception. She walks around puddles and isn't all that interested in swimming in the lake when we take her to the beach.


• The female Berners can be skeptical of male humans. This came about when Adler was about one. She doesn't like all men. We thought it was an Adler thing but her breeder told us this is common in females.


• They are sensitive companions. You can't yell at them. You don't have to actually. All you need to do is change the tone of your voice and they know they've done something wrong. Adler sucks up big time when this happens by sitting on our feet and looking up at us with her puppy dog eyes.


• They are great with kids. Adler is great with Austen and has been great with my little neices. She walks well beside the stroller - isn't afraid of it and keeps pace with it.


• They like a lot of attention. Adler demands it from us and from those who come over - even if they are just visiting Austen.

There's lots more I could tell you about Adler and the Bernese Mountain Dog but you'll just have to hang out with her to find out!