CARE
A good daily care is very important for your dog! A good cared dog has less change getting sick. You have to know that caring is not only necessary but also a moment between the dog and his boss to get some attention or even to play with each other. Make fun and let your dog enjoy the necessary care! Underneath a few things where you have to think of.
Coat: When you get your Bernese puppy he will be around 8 weeks and look like a little bear with his fluffy hair. This puppy coat will be replaced for his adult coat in a short time starting from the tail and slowly moves to his head. When you want to take good care of his coat you have to brush your dog frequently. You need to get your young puppy used to being brushed so he will think it a nice feeling. Taking care of the coat will keep the coat and the skin in a good condition. A nice side effect : you do not have that much loose dog hair in your house. Choose a brush of natural hair or made of rubber, a coomb must not be to sharp. When your dog is shedding a double rake is preferred to get the undercoat out. Brush always from head to tail in the direction of the hairs. Use a hard brush for getting rid of the loose hair and use a soft brush for getting a shining coat. When your dog is shedding it is recommended to daily brush teh dead hairs out because the loose hair is itchy to the dog so he will scratch and bite him self. The rest of the year you can brush your dog once or twice a week.
Teeth: A dog has to eat well to stay in a good condition. Therefore he needs a good set of teeth. Control his teeth frequently. Eating kibble or chewing on bones keep the teeth in good condition. Your dog must allow you to control his teeth. When he is a puppy you can turn this into a game and make it fun for your dog. Reward him often when he is doing good! Raw dogbones when teething is over are preferred to maintain a good set of strong teeth!
Nails: If your dogs walks on a hard floor most of the time, his nails will wear off naturally. In that case it is most of the time not necessary to cut off his nails. You can control of the length of the nails are correct by getting a piece of paper and see if you can shove it between his nails and the floor where he is standing on. If you can do that his nails have a good length. When the nails are to long they can obstruct your dog when walking, you will have to cut them. There are special dog nail scissors which you can buy online or at any pet store. You have to be careful because you do not want to cut in the life of the nail. This can bleed seriously. If you are not certain about doing this yourself you can get it done by your veterinarian clinic or a groomer.
Eyes: De eyes of your dog must be looked after every day. In the corner of the eyes there’s often some dried moisture. You can remove it easily with a downwards movement of your thumb. Keeping the eyes of your dog clean will take you only a few seconds per day and it will protect him from an infection. Don’t skip it! If your dog has an infection most of the times the dried moisture will be yellow and slimy. If so, you can get some eye drops from your vet and usually the infection will go away. Cleaning teh eyes with clean water or a saline solution is ok never put eyedrops in your dogs eyes without consulting a vet!
Ears: While taking care of your dog the ears are most of the time forgotten. They need to be inspected regurlarly but only cleaned when needed. To much cleaning will also remove the wax from the ear and the wax is needed to protect the ear! Use a clean cotton make up pad which you can make wet with some not to cold and not to warm water or an earcleaner. Never use an object to enter the ears. Don’t use any cotton swabs. When you inspect the ears weekly and clean them when necessary it will protect your dog from getting an infection. When your dog has an infection he may scratch his ears many times and you will have to go to the vet.
Washing your dog: A Bernese Mountain Dog has a self-cleaning coat. This means that dirt like sand will fall of the dog when he dries. It doesnt mean that a dirty smelly coat will magically dissapear! Giving your dog a bath is ok as long as it is not done too frequently and if a good shampoo (for dogs) is used. To many baths will affect the oils on the skin and coat that your dog will need to maintain a healthy looking coat. More important is to make sure your dogs coat is dry after being washed. A good blowdryer for dgs (double speed) is needed.