General
Powerful, proportionately tall figure, strong and muscular in every part, with powerful head and most intelligent expression. In dogs with a dark mask the expression appears more stern, but never ill-natured.

Like the whole body, very powerful and imposing. The massive skull is wide, slightly arched and the sides slope in a gentle curve into the very strongly developed, high cheek bones. Occiput only moderately developed. The supra-orbital ridge is very strongly developed and forms nearly a right angle with the long axis of the head. Deeply imbedded between the eyes and starting at the root of the muzzle, a furrow runs over the whole skull. It is strongly marked in the first half, gradually disappearing toward the base of the occiput. The lines at the sides of the head diverge considerably from the outer corner of the eyes toward the back of the head. The skin of the forehead, above the eyes, forms rather noticeable wrinkles, more or less pronounced, which converge toward the furrow. Especially when the dog is alert or at attention the wrinkles are more visible without in the least giving the impression of morosity. Too strongly developed wrinkles are not desired. The slope from the skull to the muzzle is sudden and rather steep.
The muzzle is short, does not taper, and the vertical depth at the root of the muzzle must be greater than the length of the muzzle. The bridge of the muzzle is not arched, but straight; in some dogs, occasionally, slightly broken. A rather wide, well-marked, shallow furrow runs from the root of the muzzle over the entire bridge of the muzzle to the nose. The flews of the upper jaw are strongly developed, not sharply cut, but turning in a beautiful curve into the lower edge, and slightly overhanging. The flews of the lower jaw must not be deeply pendant. The teeth should be sound and strong and should meet in either a scissors or an even bite; the scissors bite being preferable. The undershot bite, although sometimes found with good specimens, is not desirable. The overshot bite is a fault. A black roof to the mouth is desirable.

Very substantial, broad, with wide open nostrils, and, like the lips, always black.

Of medium size, rather high set, with very strongly developed burr (Muschel) at the base. They stand slightly away from the head at the base, then drop with a sharp bend to the side and cling to the head without a turn. The flap is tender and forms a rounded triangle, slightly elongated toward the point, the front edge lying firmly to the head, whereas the back edge may stand somewhat away from the head, especially when the dog is at attention. Lightly set ears, which at the base immediately cling to the head, give it an oval and too little marked exterior, whereas a strongly developed base gives the skull a squarer, broader and much more expressive appearance.

Set more to the front than the sides, are of medium size, dark brown, with intelligent, friendly expression, set moderately deep. The lower eyelids, as a rule, do not close completely and, if that is the case, form an angular wrinkle toward the inner corner of the eye. Eyelids which are too deeply pendant and show conspicuously the lachrymal glands, or a very red, thick haw, and eyes that are too light, are objectionable.

Set high, very strong and when alert or at attention is carried erect. Otherwise horizontally or slightly downward. The junction of head and neck is distinctly marked by an indentation. The nape of the neck is very muscular and rounded at the sides which makes the neck appear rather short. The dewlap of throat and neck is well pronounced: too strong development, however, is not desirable.

Sloping and broad, very muscular and powerful. The withers are strongly pronounced.

Very well arched, moderately deep, not reaching below the elbows.

Very broad, perfectly straight as far as the haunches, from there gently sloping to the rump, and merging imperceptibly into the root of the tail.

Well-developed. Legs very muscular

Distinctly set off from the very powerful loin section, only little drawn up.

Starting broad and powerful directly from the rump is long, very heavy, ending in a powerful tip. In repose it hangs straight down, turning gently upward in the lower third only, which is not considered a fault. In a great many specimens the tail is carried with the end slightly bent and therefore hangs down in the shape of an "f". In action all dogs carry the tail more or less turned upward. However it may not be carried too erect or by any means rolled over the back. A slight curling of the tip is sooner admissible.

Very powerful and extraordinarily muscular.

Straight, strong..

Hocks of moderate angulation. Dewclaws are not desired; if present, they must not obstruct gait.

Broad, with strong toes, moderately closed, and with rather high knuckles. The so-called dewclaws which sometimes occur on the inside of the hind legs are imperfectly developed toes. They are of no use to the dog and are not taken into consideration in judging. They may be removed by surgery.

Very dense, short-haired (stockhaarig), lying smooth, tough, without however feeling rough to the touch. The thighs are slightly bushy. The tail at the root has longer and denser hair which gradually becomes shorter toward the tip. The tail appears bushy, not forming a flag.

White with red or red with white, the red in its various shades; brindle patches with white markings. The colours red and brown-yellow are of entirely equal value. Necessary markings are: white chest, feet and tip of tail, noseband, collar or spot on the nape; the latter and blaze are very desirable. Never of one color or without white. Faulty are all other colours, except the favorite dark shadings on the head (mask) and ears. One distinguishes between mantle dogs and splash-coated dogs.

In the dog should be 27½ inches minimum, in the bitch 25½ inches. Female animals are of finer and more delicate build.

Are all deviations from the Standard, as for instance a swayback and a disproportionately long back, hocks too much bent, straight hindquarters, upward growing hair in spaces between the toes, out at elbows, cowhocks and weak pasterns.

The longhaired type completely resembles the shorthaired type except for the coat which is not shorthaired (stockhaarig) but of medium length plain to slightly wavy, never rolled or curly and not shaggy either. Usually, on the back, especially from the region of the haunches to the rump, the hair is more wavy, a condition, by the way, that is slightly indicated in the shorthaired dogs. The tail is bushy with dense hair of moderate length. Rolled or curly hair, or a flag tail, is faulty. Face and ears are covered with short and soft hair; longer hair at the base of the ear is permissible. Forelegs only slightly feathered; thighs very bushy.

Approved April 13, 1998
Effective May 31, 1998

Origin: Switzerland.
Date of publication of the valid original Standard: 29.10.2003.
Utilization : Companion-, watch- and farmdog.
Classification F.C.I.: Group 2 Pinscher and Schnauzer type, Molossians, Swiss Mountain-and Cattledogs and other breeds.
Section 2.2 Molossian type, Mountain type. Without working trial.

Brief historical survey
At the height of the Great St. Bernard Pass, 2469 metres above sea level, a hospice was founded by monks in the 11th century as a place of refuge for travellers and pilgrims. There, large mountain dogs have been kept since the middle of the 17th century for guarding and protection. The existence of such dogs has been documented pictorially since 1695 and in a written document at the hospice in the year 1707. The dogs were soon in use as companion dogs and especially as rescue dogs for travellers lost in snow and fog. The chronicles about the numerous human lives saved by these dogs from the " white death ", published in many languages, and the verbal reports of the soldiers who crossed the pass with Bonaparte’s army in 1800, spread the fame of the St. Bernard, called Barry-dog at that time, throughout Europe during the 19th century. The legendary dog " Barry " became the epitome of the rescue dog. The direct ancestors of the St. Bernard were the large farm dogs common in that region. Within a few generations and aiming to a defined ideal type, these dogs were developed to the present day type of breed. Heinrich Schumacher from Holligen near Bern was the first who began to issue genealogical documents for his dogs in 1867. In February 1884 the "Schweizerisches Hundestammbuch"(SHSB), the Swiss Dog Stud Book, was started. The very first entry was the St.Bernard "Leon", and the following 28 registrations also concerned St.Bernards. On the 15th March 1884, the Swiss St.Bernards-Club was founded in Basel. On the occasion of an international Canine Congress on June 2nd 1887, the St. Bernard dog was officially recognized as a Swiss breed and the breed standard was declared as binding. Since then , the St.Bernard has been regarded as the Swiss national dog.

General appearance
There are two varieties of the St.Bernard :
- Short-haired variety (double coat, "Stockhaar");
- Long-haired variety.
Both varieties are of considerable size and of impressive general apperance. They have a balanced, powerful, sturdy, muscular body with impressive head and an alert facial expression.

Friendly by nature. Temperament calm to lively; watchful

- Ideal relation of height at withers to length of body (measured from the point of the shoulder to the point of buttocks) = 9 : 10.
- Ideal relation of height at withers to depth of chest see sketch below.
- The total length of the head is slightly more than one third of the height at withers.
- The relation of depth of muzzle (measured at its root) to length of muzzle is almost 2:1.
- Length of muzzle slightly longer than one third of the total length of the head.

General : Powerful, imposing and very expressive.

Strong, broad, seen in profile and from the front slightly rounded. When the dog is alert, the set-on of the ears and the top of the skull form a straight line which slopes at the sides in a gentle curve to the strongly developed high cheek bones. Forehead falling away steeply towards the muzzle. Occipital bone only moderately developed, superciliary ridges strongly developed. The frontal furrow, which starts at the base of the forehead, is distinctly developed and runs up right in the middle of the skull. The skin of the forehead forms slight wrinkles above the eyes that converge towards the frontal furrow. When the dog is at attention, they are moderately visible; otherwise they are rather inconspicuous.

Black, broad and square. Nostrils well opened.

Of even width. Nasal bridge straight, with slight groove

Strong and of sufficient length. Dewlap and loose skin on the neck moderately developed.

Dinstinctly pronounced.

Edge of lips black pigmented. Flews of upper jaw strongly developed, firm and not too pendulous, forming a wide curve towards the nose. Corners of mouth remain visible.

Upper and lower jaw strong, broad, equal in length. Well developed, regular and complete scissor or pincer bite. Close fitting undershot mouth without any space between the lower and the upper incisors acceptable. Absence of PM 1 (premolar 1) and M3 tolerated.

Of medium size. Colour dark brown to nut-brown. Moderately deep set with a friendly expression. Natural tightness of lids desired. A small angular fold on the lower lids with the haws only slightly visible as well as a small fold on the upper lids are permitted. Eyerims completely pigmented.

Of medium size, set on high and wide. Strongly developed burrs. Flaps pliable, triangular with rounded tips. The rear edges slightly standing off, the front edges lying closely to the cheeks.

General appearance imposing, balanced, impressive and well muscled.
Withers: Well defined.
Back: Broad, strong, firm. Topline straight and horizontal up to the loins.
Croup: Long, hardly sloping, merging gently with the root of the tail.
Chest: Brisket moderately deep with well sprung ribs, but not barrel-shaped. Not projecting below elbow level.
Belly and underline: Slight tuck up towards rear.

Set-on broad and strong. Tail long and heavy. The last vertebra reaching at least to the hock joint. When in repose, the tail hangs straight down or slightly upturned in the lower third. When animated, it is carried higher.

FOREQUARTERS
General: Forelegs straight and parallel seen from the front. Standing moderately broad.
Shoulders: Shoulder blades oblique, muscular and well attached to the chest wall.
Upper arm: Longer than the shoulder blade. Angle between shoulder blade and upper arm not too blunt.
Elbow: Close fitting.
Forearm: Straight, strong in bone, with lean musculature.
Pasterns: Seen from the front vertical in prolongation of the forearms; slightly oblique seen from the side.
Forefeet: Broad, with strong, tight, well arched toes.


HINDQUARTERS
General: Muscular with moderate angulation. Seen from the back, hind legs are parallel, not standing closely together.
Upper thigh: Strong, muscular, broad.
Stifle: Well angulated, turning neither in nor out.
Lower thigh: Slanting and rather long.
Hock joints: Slightly angulated, firm.
Metatarsus: Straight and parallel when seen from behind.
Hind feet: Broad, with strong, tight, well arched toes. Dewclaws tolerated if they do not hinder the movement.

Gait/movement: Harmonious far reaching movement with good drive from the hindquarters, the back remaining stable and firm. Front and hind feet move forward in a straight line.

HAIR
Short-haired variety (Stockhaar, double coat) : Topcoat dense, smooth; close-lying and coarse. Plenty of undercoat. Thighs with slight breeches. Tail covered with dense hair.
Long-haired variety : Topcoat plain, of medium length with plenty of undercoat. Short hair on face and ear; hair over the haunches and the croup usually somewhat wavy. Front legs feathered. Thighs with good breeches. Bushy tail. COLOUR
Primary colour white with smaller or larger reddish-brown patches (splash-coated dogs) up to an unbroken reddish-brown mantle covering back and flanks (mantle dogs). A broken reddish-brown mantle is of equal value. A brindle reddish-brown colour permissible. Brownish-yellow tolerated. Dark shadings on head desirable. Slight touch of black on body tolerated. Required white markings : Chest, feet, tip of tail, muzzle band, blaze and patch on neck.
Desirable markings : White collar. Symmetrical dark mask.

Size
Height at withers :
For dogs minimum 70 cm,
For bitches minimum 65 cm.
For dogs maximum 90 cm,
For bitches maximum 80 cm.
Dogs which exceed the maximum height will not be penalised, provided their general appearance is balanced and their movement is correct.

Any departure from the points listed below should be considered a fault and the seriousness, with which the fault should be regarded, should be in exact proportion to its degree.
- Lack of sexual characteristics.
- Unbalanced general appearance.
- Too short legs in relation to size (short-legged).
- Heavy folds on head and neck.
- Muzzle too short or too long.
- Flews of the lower jaw turning outwards.
- Missing teeth other than PM 1 (premolar 1) and M3. Small teeth (especially incisors).
- Slightly undershot mouth.
- Light eyes.
- Eyelids too loose.
- Sway back or roach back.
- Croup higher than withers or falling away.
- Tail carried curled on the back.
- Absence of required markings.
- Crooked or severely turned out front legs.
- Poorly angulated, open-hocked or cow-hocked hindquarters.
- Faulty movement.
- Curly coat.
- Incomplete or totally absent pigmentation on nose leather, around the nose, on the lips or the eyelids.
- Faulty primary colour e.g. reddish-brown dots or ticks in the white.


Eliminating faults
- Weak temperament, aggressiveness.
- Overshot mouth, distinctly undershot mouth.
- Wall eye.
- Ectropion, entropion.
- Solid white or solid reddish-brown coat (absence of the primary colour).
- Coat of any other colour.
- Height at withers below minimum size.
Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

N.B.: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
This amended breed standard will become effective from April 2004


Brief comment
It is right to applaud the effort made by the compilers of the new standard who managed to summarize the old standard adding data of great importance to the breed. All of this could have been done however with more cynotechnical rigor and by bearing in mind the progress zoognostics have made in the last century. When, for instance, it is listed among faults a muzzle "not too long nor too short" there is a lack of specification of what the relation between skull and muzzle should be. We learned through cynognostic studies on the Saint Bernard dog, that the muzzle should be 3,5/10 of the total head length, hence measures that exceed or don’t reach that proportion are to be considered grounds for either a too long or too short muzzle. Unfortunately the Standard doesn’t give this information. In the introduction, through a brief historical survey, the Saint Bernard dog is traced back to his origins as a farmers’ dog (of the type of the Grosser Schweizer Sennenhunde), a theory not shared by the major researches of the breed. Now, it is certain the Saint Bernard has some blood derived to him from the huge cabine dogs the monks found on the mountains (as it is certain he also had Terranova and Pyrenean-dog blood in him for the crossings made about the 1830s) but the basis is beyond question the roman heavy molossus that monks received as a gift from Swiss noblemen. As we see, Swiss aristocracy was proud to keep in their castles a large number of these huge dogs (see the statues of the castle of Belp near Bern). And the 1695 paintings by Salvator Rosa clearly show the image of heavy molosses, who already present a very well-defined covergency of cranio-facial axis, which, as far as we know, never was and still isn’t an attribute of the Sennenhunde. A few reserve persist on height at withers and trunk length. It seems to us that 5:6 (5 for height and 6 for length) is an excess because trunk length exceeds from 12 to a maximum 15% the heigth at withers and not the 20% as stated by the new standard (5:6=20%). Even the rottweiler never supercedes 15% of height at withers and neither does the terranova. Speaking of the eyes, we don’t understand the meaning of "natural eyelid opening" since all molossoid have a rhomboidal-shaped eye and the small folds (superior and inferior) are its characteristic trait. That folds should barely show and the eyes should be tight is a matter of fact. As far as the upper arm is concerned, which should be as long as the shoulder blade or even shorter than the shoulder blade (measured top of the withers - top of shoulder), we can’t agree on that because only a sprinter galloper such as the greyhound, for his particular constitution, can have the upper arm the same length as the shoulder, but even the greyhounds don’t have a shorter upper arm. A trotter or galloper dog with an upper arm shorter than the shoulder isn’t even able to stand up straight. It is true, as we saw, that the soulder has to be long, but the upper arm has to be longer than the shoulder, and the upper arm even longer still than the lower leg. That is the rule. More problems emerge from the list of faults: it is inconceivable to associate in the same paragraph prognatism with enognatism, because the latter one is a degenerative defect (therefore leading to elimination) while the former isn’t. It is our opinion a list of eliminating faults should be compiled, without mixing faults to commonplace defects: whereas a pigment deficency leads to elimination, flecks only imply declassification. As for the drafts that complete the standard, the one of the whole figure in a lateral prospective, shows a dog with flat skull, receding stop, trunk way too long, slant croup, tail held diverted to the side and vaccine hindquarters. In a show that kind of dog couldn’t do better than "fair ". The draft showing the relation between chest height and lower-arm height to the elbow is fine, but has been copied from a draft of ours (besides without asking the author’s permission and by deleting his signature). Dulcis in fundo, the illustration of the head (from Ràber’s book) displays a subject with wide sub-orbital embedding, delved under the cheeks bones, eyes wide open, ears badly set and faulty held, roundish nose, and the platform of the bridge of the muzzle not at all square.
In a show, a subject like that couldn’t be assessed better than "fairly good".

Well proportioned and of great substance.

Distinctly marked, large-sized, mountain-rescue dog.

Steady, kindly, intelligent, courageous, trustworthy and benevolent.

Large, circumference of skull being more than double its length. Muzzle short, full in front of eye and square at nose end. Cheeks flat, great depth from eye to lower jaw. Lips deep but not too pendulous. From nose to stop perfectly straight and broad. Stop somewhat abrupt and well defined. Skull broad, slightly rounded at top, with fairly prominent brow. Nose large and black with well developed nostrils.

Of medium size, neither deep set nor prominent, eyelids should be reasonably tight. Excessive haw must be heavily penalised. Dark in colour and not staring. There should be no excessive loose wrinkle on brow which would detract from a healthy eye. Free from obvious eye problems.

Medium size, lying close to cheeks, not heavily feathered.

Jaws strong with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Well developed teeth of good size.

Long, thick, muscular, slightly arched, dewlap well developed.

Shoulders broad and sloping, well up at withers. Legs straight, strong in bone, of good length.

Back broad, level, ribs well rounded. Loin wide, very muscular. Broad croup sloping slightly to set on of tail. Chest wide and deep, but never projecting below elbows.

Broad, strong and well muscled. Legs heavy in bone. Moderate bend of stifle with firm, moderately bent hocks. Well developed first and second thighs. When viewed from the rear the hindlegs are perfectly straight, turning neither in nor out and not too close together.

Large, compact with well arched toes. Dewclaws removed.

Set on rather high, long, carried low when in repose, when excited or in motion should not curl over back.

Easy extension, unhurried and smooth, with power from the hindquarters. Back remaining level and firm. The feet should move along straight lines with the rear feet tracking the fore. Capable of covering difficult terrain. Absolute soundness essential.

Roughs: dense and flat, rather fuller round neck, thighs and tail well feathered. Smooths: close and hound-like, slight feathering on thighs and tail.
Colour Orange, mahogany-brindle, red-brindle, white with patches on body of any of the above named colours. Markings as follows: White muzzle, white blaze on face, white collar, white chest, white forelegs, feet and end of tail, black shadings on face and ears.

Taller the better. Whilst size is important, it is essential that balance and soundness are maintained. Minimum height: dogs 75 cms (30 ins), bitches 70 cms (28 ins).

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Note: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

Last Updated - April 2007

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