Is a Bernese Mountain Dog right for you?

For me, the biggest questions of compatibility are these:

1. Will this be an indoor or outdoor dog?  If you are looking for an outdoor dog, please find a different breed.  Bernese Mountain Dogs *NEED* to be with their family.  They need to be able to be close to their people, able to see them, hear them, and be near them.  Leaving a berner alone for extended periods of time will stress them out, and create a perfect storm for bad behavior.  Crate training is a good option for when you aren't able to be home.  A crate, in a main room (such as a family room or kitchen), works very well and keeping a berner out of trouble and harm while you aren't home, especially while they are a puppy.  Also, Berners are not suited to hotter climates, so having them indoors helps them stay cooler.

2. Can you deal with shedding?  Berners DO shed.  The more you brush them out, the less hair you'll find in your house, but they do have a couple times a year when they blow out their coat, and its hard to keep up.  If dog hair has you in a panic, and you hate vacuuming, then this isn't the breed for you!

3. Can you love and lose? Bernese Mountain dogs have a shorter life expectancy than most breeds, and can have health issues.  There is a Swiss saying: "Three years a puppy, three years a good dog, three years an old dog and the rest is a gift".  However, most of us who love the breed, feel like any amount of time with a Berner is a beautiful gift.  These dogs will love you dearly for their lives, and be bonded to you always. As for health, we are working to breed out health issues, but they are still there, and can still happen to any dog, regardless of their genetic health.  To me, it is worth the shorter life span, and the health risks to be able to always have the love of a Berner in our home.

There's plenty of other considerations to think of before bringing a Bernese Mountain Dog home (or any dog!), but those are my top three.  There's a lot of compatibility quizzes online, and some of them give great input, while others put importance on items that I don't find to be as much a concern.  They are great sources of information though, and can bring up concerns that may not have been thought of.