How much do Bernese Mountain Dogs weigh?
A grown male Bernese Mountain Dog weighs 80 to 115 pounds and a female weighs 70 to 95 pounds, according to AKC.
That is a wide range for each sex, so where a particular puppy will land depends a great deal on its parents.
How tall is a Bernese Mountain Dog?
The AKC breed standard measures height at the withers and sets males at 25 to 27½ inches and females at 23 to 26 inches. It describes a dog that looks square but is slightly longer in body than tall, with sturdy bone and a full body. The standard gives height only, so the weights above come from AKC's breed profile.
Why is the weight range so wide?
The standard's height ranges span two and a half inches for males and three for females, and AKC's weight figures span 35 pounds for males and 25 for females. A dog anywhere in those ranges is typical of the breed, so the parents of a given puppy tell you far more than the breed figures do.
How can you estimate a Berner puppy's adult weight?
Ask the breeder for both parents' adult weights and heights and how old each parent is. A puppy's frame comes from those two dogs, so a mother at the light end of the female range and a father near the middle of the male range give you a rough span for the litter. If the same pair has had an earlier litter, ask what those dogs weigh as adults, since that is the closest match to your puppy.
Expect males to finish larger, because AKC's figures put the male range ten to twenty pounds above the female range, and the standard sets males about two inches taller.
How long does a Bernese Mountain Dog keep growing?
VCA Animal Hospitals says most large-breed dogs reach their adult size between 12 and 18 months of age, and that large and giant breeds can take closer to 18 to 24 months to become adults. Ask your vet how to feed a Berner puppy through that period, and have it weighed at each visit.
Does size affect a Berner's health?
AKC says all large breeds are susceptible to bloat, a sudden, life-threatening stomach condition, and that Berner owners should learn its signs and what to do. Responsible Berner breeders, the same page says, check breeding dogs for dysplasia of the hips and elbows, blood disorders, certain cancers and progressive retinal atrophy. AKC gives the breed a life expectancy of 7 to 10 years.
For Berners used in breeding, the national breed club's list runs to hips, elbows, heart and eyes, the eyes checked by a veterinary ophthalmologist, plus DNA tests for the common and the Bernese variants of degenerative myelopathy and an AKC DNA profile. Ask to see each parent's results.
Is there a smaller Bernese?
Not within the breed, because the standard sets one height range for each sex. A Bernese Mountain Dog crossed with a Poodle is a Bernedoodle, which is a different dog with no breed standard, and its size depends on which Poodle and which parents were used.
See Bernese Mountain Dog puppies
The Bernese Mountain Dog puppies listed on Puppy Connection come from the breeders named on each listing. Open one to see the litter, and contact the breeder to ask what the parents weigh.