Bernese Mountain Dog Grooming

The Bernese Mountain Dog has a beautiful, tri-color coat that's thick, fairly long, and double-layered. Though the coats shed regularly (and profusely during shedding season), overall Bernese Mountain Dog grooming is only moderately time-consuming.

Here you'll find plenty of details on maintaining your Berner's coat, including sections with lots of info on brushing, bathing, and dealing with tangles. You'll also learn why shaving these dogs' coats is never a good idea.

Get answers to your questions about grooming a Bernese Mountain Dog in the following sections!

This breed's thick, medium- to long-haired, double-layered coat makes Bernese Mountain Dog grooming a moderately time-consuming task. These dogs shed moderately throughout they year, and heavily during the spring and fall shedding seasons, so they'll need brushing about twice per week for most of the year and daily during shedding season. (See the Brushing section for more info.) Berners require baths only when necessary, such as when the dog gets especially dirty or stinky. (The Bathing section below has more details.) And technically, these dogs don't require haircuts--though many owners have their Berners' coats clipped shorter during the warmer months because they believe doing so will keep the dog cooler. (The Styling & Haircuts section explains further.) Breeders and experts recommend consulting a professional groomer about shaving a BMD; the groomer can provide additional tips on how to groom a Bernese Mountain Dog in general.

Another aspect of maintaining a Berner's coat is the general health of the coat and skin themselves--which can be improved by caring for the dog in other ways. Despite owners' frequent brushing and bathing, many complain that their BMD has a dull-looking coat and accompanying skin issues. Veterinarians believe that a balanced diet and consistent exercise go a long way in improving dogs' coat and skin health, because diet and exercise provide needed nutrients for healthy hair and skin and increase circulation to those areas. Vets also recommend giving a Berner Omega-3 supplements (either in "chew" or liquid form added to meals) to further improve the health of the dog's coat skin.

Several tools are needed when brushing a dog of this breed: for everyday brushing, the best brush for a Bernese Mountain Dog is a pin brush--and having a good 2-in1 comb for working through mats and tangles is a good idea as well. You'll also want to have an undercoat rake for removing dead hairs, particularly during shedding season.

To brush your Berner: first wet the coat with mist from a spray bottle, then starting at the shoulders, brush the coat section by section with the pin brush, moving in the direction of hair growth. If you encounter a tangle or mat, first try to work through it with your fingers, then continue working it out with the 2-in-1 comb. once every couple of weeks, also go through the coat with the undercoat rake, applying enough pressure to reach the inside layer of hair (but not so much pressure that you scrape your Berner's skin).

It's recommended that you brush your Berner twice per week for most of the year, and daily during shedding season; use the undercoat rake once every two weeks (but twice per week during shedding season).

Unfortunately, tangles and mats can be a common issue in the Bernese Mountain Dog's coat. This is particularly a problem during shedding season, when dead hairs from the undercoat fuse with the outer coat. The best defense against tangles, of course, is consistent brushing! Using the undercoat rake (or a de-shedding tool like a Furminator) on Bernese Mountain Dog coats will help, too, because the tools remove dead hairs and reduce shedding--and in turn, they minimize the chances of tangles or mats.

The problem with using these tool is that they often remove healthy hairs along with the dead ones, which leaves the coat looking uneven. So the best way of removing tangles is to simply use your fingers. This method requires more time and patience, but it's the preferred one because it's less damaging to the coat.

When you locate a tangle, use your thumbs and forefingers to separate the hairs, going strand by strand if necessary. If you like you can spray the snarl with de-tangling solution beforehand to lubricate the hairs. For extra-stubborn tangles or mats, use scissors to cut them in half (or even fourths) to get the untangling process started.

If a tangle or mat is impossible to undo, the only option left is to use scissors to cut it out--but this should be a last resort.

These dogs don't require bathing often. "Do Bernese Mountain Dogs smell?" is a frequent question from potential owners. The answer: not as much as you'd think! Unless they roll in something stinky, these dogs usually only get the well-known "doggy odor" if they get wet often and dry naturally. So bathing a BMD is typically at the owner's discretion.

To bathe your Berner: make sure to give the dog a thorough brushing first. Your best bet is to use an outdoor kiddie pool and a garden hose, but if you must be indoors, a walk-in shower works. Also be sure to use canine shampoo, as the kind made for humans will irritate your BMD's skin; owners say a canine shampoo with oatmeal works very well on these dogs. First wet the coat thoroughly, then apply a silver dollar-sized amount of shampoo to the dog's back. Lather well, working downward and outward as you go. Make sure you lather the belly, insides of the legs, and tail as well; finish with the chest and neck, then use a washcloth to clean the head, ears, and face.

Once you're done with that, rinse thoroughly. (And with the Berner's thick coat, rinsing all the shampoo may take a while!) Once the water runs clear through the dog's coat, squeeze any excess water out with your hands, then towel- or blow-dry (or both); just make sure the coat is as dry as possible, or you run the risk of it developing the dreaded "doggy odor."

Finish with another quick brush-through to make the coat look fluffy and clean.

Can you shave a Bernese Mountain Dog? Technically, you can--and some owners do, as evidenced by the people who believe giving their Bernese Mountain Dog a Summer Cut (in which the entire coat is clipped short) will keep the dog cool on hot days. Most groomers will tell you, though, that this idea is simply false.

Here's why: double coats on dogs act as natural insulation, and serve to regulate the animal's body temperature. In cold temperatures, warm air is trapped between the two layers to keep the dog from freezing--and the layers hold cool air on hot days. So a shaved Bernese Mountain Dog won't have that natural climate control system! A shaved Berner will be more susceptible to heatstroke and sunburn, and it'll get cold very easily.

Neither will shaving a Bernese Mountain Dog reduce shedding. Since it's the undercoat that sheds, unless the dog is shaved bald--which is never a good idea!--the undercoat still remains, and shedding still occurs. The only difference is that the shed hairs would be shorter.

So to anyone thinking of giving their Bernese Mountain Dog a haircut or shave: put those clippers away!