Judge's Overview
The general impression of the type of Bernese Mountain Dogs I saw in Australia were many different types.
The things I found most in my judging were the lack of typical chest, needing more shoulder angulation, more breadth, and deepness and better length from the wither to point of shoulder, and point of shoulder to elbow should be equal, and equal in forearm,. The croup should not be too flat, but prefer slightly rounded , we need hindquarters more under the buttock not extended far behind otherwise we will lose the typical silhouette of the Bernese Mountain Dog.
I would like to see the coat more as per the Standard, “long” not medium nor short.
I like to see the dog shown naturally, to see his natural temperament with confidence friendly and free in the movement, not strung up.
This confirms for me that we have to clear up the idea of breeders and exhibitors and judges so we all concentrate on the Breed Standard, this is the “Holy Book” for breeding and judging.
Fit for Function, the function is described in the standard. We need the correct chest and hindquarters to be able to pull a cart and perform all the multi function purpose of this beautiful breed.
We all have to think and breed and judge according to the standard not to a current fashion and be able to recognise our own faults in our own dogs to be able to improve type.
Everyone has the ability to breed the type they want, however one must then carry the consequence in the ring under a judge with a view to following the standard.
There should not be an Australian type, American type, or European type they should all follow the original type the country of origin the Swiss Bernese Mountain Dog.
I find similar problems all over the World. I hope we can all follow the same ideal.