Talk:St. Bernard (dog)
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[edit] St. vs. Saint
I have seen both St. and Saint used to refer to the dog, but St. seems to be the only used spelling on this page. Is it officially St., or spelled out? Or are both acceptable? I know that on the wikipedia pages of real saints, the first and formal writing of their name is always spelled out S-A-I-N-T, but I'm not sure if it applies to our canine companions as well. 69.81.181.107 (talk) 00:55, 23 May 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Osteosarcoma Reference
I put in the osteosarcome reference (to be seen in the source test), but strangely, it is not displayed in the article. Can somebody with better HTML knowledge than myself please correct this? 130.92.9.58 13:59, 16 January 2007 (UTC)
- Done. --84.72.116.77 11:04, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Bad news: the dogs are out of job
- This Time, It's the Faithful Hero That Needs the Rescue
- By Ian Fisher
- Great St. Bernard Pass, Switzerland, Oct. 27 - The only dog right now at the 950-year-old hospice of St. Bernard is a very nice golden retriever named Justy.
- [Rev. Frédéric Gaillard:] "... This is not the 1800's. This is not the 1900's. Since then, helicopters and other fast ways to save people have been introduced."
- ... According to the [dog-selling] plan, the monks and dogs will go on as they have for decades, with the dogs still spending summers up here - still on view for thousands of tourists.
- ... [Dog breeder:] "The people around the world think how nice a story - monks, dogs, avalanches," he said. "But if you think, 'Monks and dogs, how nice,' it's not true. The monks don't like the dogs. They don't caress them. No, no."
- [Father Gaillard:] "We think it's better to spend more of our time listening to people and not just [the dogs]." ... "They take up too much energy. It's people that need us, and that's not well understood."
- [A guy admitted], in some ways, technology has outstripped the need for the dogs. ... [T]hey have not actively worked in rescues for at least 50 years.
I think the dogs are out of job. And this page may need an update. -- Toytoy 16:45, Oct 31, 2004 (UTC)
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- For one thing this date is not very up to date. You people need to look at your calendars and get with the program. This is 2006!
- No offense to Golden Retrievers but they are kind of sissy dogs.(Just my opinion) You need a nice strong boy to do the job. St.Bernards are your dogs.
- ok you have a point here but who really cares! Yes helicopters are great and all but these dogs have been doing this job longer and they definately are good at it. I have to go right now but i will try and write some more later. If any people that read this and agree with me can you write some on here and let me know. I appreciate it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.174.244.2 (talk • contribs) .
To clarify, this is the talk/discussion page about the article, not the article itself. What the previous user posted here was a correctly dated & referenced piece of information about what's going on out there now and suggested that the article should be updated to reflect a more current status. If you can also cite a source that's more recent that says that this information is not correct, please do so. Elf | Talk 22:28, 13 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Famous St. Bernard
What about (Bernie Winters's dog) Schnorbitz? :) 81.31.97.129 19:25, 1 September 2007 (UTC)
[edit] heaviest dog?
Recently added: "however, it holds the world record for world's heaviest dog (310lbs". I can't find an item for this on the web; all I find are Mastiffs that top out around 282 lbs. Can someone corroborate? Elf | Talk 21:04, 17 February 2006 (UTC)
- I cannot confirm that this weight is or is not a record for this breed, however the world record for the heavist dog ever recorded to date is held by Zorba an English Mastiff or Mastiff at 343lbs per the 1989 Guniess Book of World Records Charon9
OK, I've removed it from the article. Elf | Talk 15:37, 1 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Heaviest dog?!?
The St.Bernard isn't the heaviest dog breed. Tallest would be the Irish Wolfhound, heaviest would be the English Mastiff. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Mastifflvr (talk • contribs) 06:29, 4 February 2007 (UTC).
As I can see from your nick you are a mastiff lover. However, it does not change reality. The St Bernard dogs are the heaviest dog breed as well known by public. Even Benedictine was heavier than Zorba that you may reference. Please note, even you may consider Zorba (for 1989 only) was heaviest it does not make his breed is heaviest.
On the other hand, making a dog very heavy is not a good thing; it is obesity and a sickness. We should not be happy because our dog is a FAT dog.
Please note that heaviest breed is a completely a different subject than heaviest dog.
Mastifflvr is correct. The English Mastiff, on average, is the largest/heaviest breed. I have been around both; and I have--but not with me--two books citing the the normal sizes of both breeds. However, a quick check with the American Kennel Club's website lists a standard male St. Bernard's minimum shoulder height as 27.5 inches and an English Mastiff's as 30 inches minimum. For bitches, 25.5 and 27.5, respectively. Both dogs have the same build. So, common sense alone would tell someone that a typical Mastiff is going to weigh in heavier as well.
That statement needs to be omitted from the article. If there are other credible published sources saying otherwise, they should, at the very least, be referenced. Melnium 13:31, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
AKC Mastiff link for shoulder height: http://www.akc.org/breeds/mastiff/index.cfm AKC Saint Bernard link for shoulder height: http://www.akc.org/breeds/saint_bernard/index.cfm
Also, I looked again. I cannot find any expert organization on the internet stating what is the largest/heaviest breed (i.e. American Kennel Club). However, the Westminster Kennel Club did state that the Saint Bernard was, "Neither the tallest nor heaviest of breeds..." So, unless it can be documented that an expert organization, such as the AKC, etc., does in fact define the Saint Bernard as the largest/heaviest breed, then the comment should be stricken from the article in light of this expert documentation.
Link to Westminster Kennel Club Saint Bernard article: http://westminsterkennelclub.org/breedinformation/working/stbern.html Melnium 14:28, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
No, Mastifflvr is not correct. There are official club sites shows St Bernard is larger size. There is no official record shows English Mastiffs are higher or larger. Even Guinness does not have a record for heaviest dog anymore and no record shows Zorba was heavier than 314 pounds.
http://www.bernhardiner.de/index.php?section=link5_2&menu=menu5&change=eng http://www.bernhardiner-club.ch/engl/Pages/Standard/standard.htm
These sites show official standard for St Bernard height is over 35 inches and I remember another one shows over 95 cm, which is higher. I will find it and provide here later. There is no official record shows Mastiff has over 35 inches, instead they show 30 – 32 inches.
[edit] Avalanche: the demise of the traditional breed ??
I was told, by the gnarly old brother, when I stopped at St Bernards Pass in the 1980s that the avalanche tale was one told to visitors as the real reason was sadder and less dramatic.
The classic St. Bernard looked very different from the St. Bernard of today, because an avalanche killed off many of the dogs used for breeding
Most of the breed simply succumbed to distemper brought up from the valley by the increased numbers of people and animals using the pass in the 19th century. Many travellers would simply ignore the monks' quarantine attempts and visit the famous dogs in their kennels thus exsacerbating the spread of distemper. By the 1900s the traditional breed was extinct and the breed today is an invented one. A cross created from the Newfoundland and the Pyrenean sheepdog. Historically speaking disease is a much more efficient killer than most natural disasters. Making the avalanche tale just a sad addendum in the demise of the ancient breed.
