The Golden Retriever St Bernard Mix is a mixed breed dog resulting from breeding the Golden Retriever and the Saint Bernard. This is going to be a large and friendly dog. This is obviously going to be a pretty big dog. They should be good with the family and other pets - if properly socialized! Continue reading below to see pictures, videos, and learn more about the beautiful Golden Retriever Saint Bernard Mix. Note that this hybrid can consist of the brindle or other iterations.
While we really recommend that you acquire all animals through a rescue, we understand that some people might go through a breeder to get their Golden Retriever Saint Bernard Mix puppy. That is, if they have any Golden Retriever Saint Bernard Mix puppies for sale.
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All hybrid or designer dogs are tough to get a good read on as there isn’t much history to them. Breeding specific dogs like this has become common in the last twenty years or so even though I am sure that this mixed breed found it’s share of dogs to the shelter due to accidental breeding. We will take a closer look at the history of both parent breeds below. If you are looking at breeders for new, designer dogs please beware of Puppy Mills. These are places that mass produce puppies, specifically for profit and don’t care at all about the dogs. If you have a few minutes. Please sign our petition to stop puppy mills.
Golden Retriever History:
The Golden Retriever was originally bred in Scotland in the mid-19th century. When they were initially bred and created the existing retriever dogs weren’t cutting it for the wealthy Scottish elite who liked to hunt waterfowl. The existing retriever breeds were inadequate for retrieving downed game from both water and land. Retrieving from both land and water was necessary because the hunting grounds of the time were pocketed with marshy ponds and rivers. Consequently, the best water spaniels were crossed with the existing retrievers, resulting in the establishment of the breed today known as the Golden Retriever.
Saint Bernard History:
The Saint Bernard is a very old breed of dog descending primarily from the French Alps. The ancestors of the St. Bernard have a similar history and background with the Sennenhunds. The St. Bernard is also referred to as an Alpine Mountain Dog or Alpine Cattle Dog, these were the large farm dogs of the farmers and dairymen of most notably the French Alps, livestock guardians, herding dogs, and draft dogs as well as hunting dogs, search and rescue dogs, and watchdogs. They are thought to be descendants of large breed dogs brought into the Alps by the ancient Romans.
The earliest written records of the St. Bernard breed come from monks that were living and working at a hospice at the Great St. Bernard Pass in 1707. However, paintings and drawings of the dog date back even earlier than that. There was a famous Saint Bernard, named Barry (sometimes spelled Berry), who reportedly saved somewhere between 40 and 100 lives as a search and rescue dog. There is a monument to Barry in the Cimetière des Chiens, and his body was preserved in the Natural History Museum in Berne. Another famous dog was Rutor, the faithful companion of the priest fr:Pierre Chanoux named after the peak Tête du Rutor located above the Little St Bernard pass. The classic St. Bernard looked very different from the St. Bernard of today because of cross-breeding. Severe winters from 1816 to 1818 led to increased numbers of avalanches, killing many of the dogs used for breeding while they were performing rescues. After their dwindling numbers there was an attempt to preserve the breed, the remaining St. Bernards were crossed with Newfoundlands brought from the Colony of Newfoundland in the 1850s. The Newfoundland wasn’t the best breed of dog for intense search and rescue work as their long hair would freeze and weigh them down.
The Monks trained the younger dogs for search and rescue work by letting the younger dogs watch and learn from the older dogs.
The Swiss St. Bernard Club was founded in Basel on 15 March 1884. The St. Bernard was the very first breed entered into the Swiss Stud Book in 1884, and the breed standard was finally approved in 1888. Since then, the breed has been a Swiss national dog.Golden Retriever
Height: 21 - 24 inches at the shoulder
Weight: 55 - 75 lb.
Lifespan: 10 - 12 years
Saint Bernard
Height: 28 - 35 inches at the shoulder
Weight: 140 - 120 lb.
Lifespan: 8-10 years
This mix is a very intelligent, devoted and loyal companion. Both of these dogs are very friendly and loving dogs. The Saint Bernard will probably offset some of the higher energy from the Golden Retriever. If you are a couch potato or don’t like to be active this isn’t the breed for you. She is calm, intelligent, confident and eager to please. While friendly she is wary of strangers and alert making a good watchdog. She gets along well with everyone and is quite a well mannered dog! She loves to have fun and play too and will need some outdoor space to do this in. She is loving, reliable, brave and warm.
All dogs have the potential to develop genetic health problems as all breeds are susceptible to some things more than others. However, the one positive thing about getting a puppy is that you can avoid this as much as possible. A breeder should absolutely offer a health guarantee on puppies. If they won’t do this, then look no more and don’t consider that breeder at all. A reputable breeder will be honest and open about health problems in the breed and the incidence with which they occur. Health clearances prove that a dog has been tested for and cleared of a particular condition.
The Dalmatian mixed with the Saint Bernard might be prone to Epilepsy, heart problems, bloat, OCD, Von Willebrand's Disease, cancer, Joint dysplasia, eye problems, allergies, hypothyroidism
Note that these are just common problems in both breeds.
What are the grooming requirements?
This dog is going to have a higher than average shedding amount as the Golden and the St. Bernard are both heavy shedders. Get ready to invest in a good vacuum and keep your floors clean anyways. Give them baths as needed, but not so much that you dry out their skin.
What are the exercise requirements?
Plan on taking them for extremely long walks and hikes to keep their energy level down. This mix will more than likely have a high energy level but don’t push them too hard as the Saint Bernard will not need as much exercise as the Golden. This exercise will keep them from being destructive. A tired dog is a good dog.
Plan on taking them for extremely long walks and hikes to keep their energy level down. A tired dog is a good dog.
What are the training requirements?
This is an intelligent dog that should be easy to train. The best thing you can do is break the sessions into shorter daily sessions to keep their attention span higher. So make sure to praise her when she does well. She is an intelligent dog who loves to please, and loves a physical challenge. The more exercise she gets the easier she will be to train. Proper socialization is imperative to all dogs and puppies. Make sure to take her to the park and doggy day care to get her around as many people and dogs as possible.
A lot of times diet is done on a per-dog basis. Each one is unique and has different dietary requirements. Most dogs in the U.S. are overweight. A mix like this one that is prone to hip and elbow dysplasia should really be on fish oil and glucosamine and chondroitin supplements as soon as possible.
Overfeeding any dog is not a good idea as that can really exacerbate health problems such as elbow and hip dysplasia.
A good diet to look into is Raw Food Diet. A raw food diet will be especially good for the Wolf background.