- Primary colour white with smaller or larger clear red patches (splash-coated dogs) up to an unbroken clear to dark red mantle covering back and flanks (mantle dogs).
- A broken reddish- brown mantle is of equal value.
- Permissible: A brindle reddish-brown colour
- Permissible: Brownish-yellow
- Preferred: Dark shadings on head
- Permissible: Slight touch of black shading on body
- Required white markings: Chest, feet, tip of tail, muzzle band, blaze and patch on neck.
- Preferred: Desirable markings: White collar.
- Symmetrical dark mask
About the St. Bernard
Origin: Switzerland
- Typical life span
- 8-10 years
- Size
- Large — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 64-82 kg
- Female
- 54-64 kg
- Height
- Male
- 71-76 cm
- Female
- 66-71 cm
- FCI status
- Reconocida por la FCI
- FCI groupFCI divides this breed into varieties, and our sources don’t record which one a breeder works. Ask them which variety their line is.
- Pinscher and Schnauzer - Molossoid and Swiss Mountain and Cattledogs
- Origin
- Switzerland
- Also called
- San Bernardo
- Known hereditary risks
- 8 documented conditions, with the test for each
About
What is a St. Bernard?
A powerful, giant-sized working breed from the Swiss Alps with distinctive markings and massive head, originally bred for mountain rescue. Known for its gentle, patient nature and calm temperament.
St. Bernard history and origins
Developed by monks at the Great St. Bernard Hospice on the border of Switzerland and Italy for rescue work in treacherous Alpine conditions. Used to locate and rescue travelers lost in snow and fog of dangerous Alpine passes
St. Bernard appearance and size
Males typically weigh 64-82 kg and stand 71-76 cm at the shoulder; females 54-64 kg and 66-71 cm.
Lo que dice el estándar de la raza
- Criado para
- Companion-, watch- and farm dog
- Comportamiento y temperamento
“Friendly by nature. Temperament calm to lively; watchful”
Quoted from FCI standard n°61. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Referencia de la raza de The Dog API.
Características
- Tamaño
- Large
- Necesidad de ejercicio
- —
- Facilidad de adiestramiento
- —
- Caída de pelo
- 4 of 5
- Cuidados del pelo
- 4 of 5
- Convivencia con niños
- —
- Coste de mantenimiento
- —
- Tolera quedarse solo
- —
- Inteligencia
- —
- Salud de la raza
- 8 conditions documented
Pros & cons
Pros y contras de la raza St. Bernard
Lo que obtienes con la raza St. Bernard
- Función declarada en el estándar: «Companion-, watch- and farm dog»
- El estándar describe la raza así: «Friendly by nature. Temperament calm to lively; watchful»
Lo que asumes
- Están documentadas 7 enfermedades hereditarias graves, sobre todo en huesos y articulaciones y cerebro y nervios. La pestaña de la guía de salud tiene la prueba que hay que pedir en cada una.
- Exige muchos cuidados del pelo — la descripción del propio estándar es «Thighs with slight breeches. Tail covered with dense hair.»
Extraído de fuentes y no escrito como opinión — investigación de salud citada, el estándar del propio registro, y estudios de longevidad revisados por pares. Estándar de la raza, FCI; Saint Bernard Club of America — Breeder Referral. Los animales de un criador pueden diferir de todo esto, y una columna vacía significa que no tenemos nada de ese lado, no que no haya nada que decir.
Characteristics
Estándar de la FCI · St. Bernard
Pelo y color
Tal como lo establece el estándar de la FCI. Cada línea de abajo está en las palabras del propio estándar, etiquetada con preferred y permissible.
Coat
• Shorthaired variety (Stockhaar, double coat): Topcoat dense, smooth
close lying and coarse.
Plenty of undercoat.
Thighs with slight breeches.
Tail covered with dense hair. • Longhaired variety: Topcoat straight, 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
Color
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
«Preferred», «permissible», «undesirable» y «disqualifying» — preferido, admisible, indeseable y descalificante — son las palabras de la propia FCI sobre la raza, y quedan en inglés porque así constan en el estándar. Describen lo que el estándar pide — no son una valoración de ningún perro concreto, ni nuestra.
Resumido de FCI standard n°61 — cada etiqueta está en las palabras del propio estándar, con el veredicto pasado a la etiqueta de al lado. Lee la cláusula completa en la fuente.
Lo que dice el estándar de la raza
- Tamaño
- “Height at the withers: For males minimum 70 cm, For females minimum 65 cm. For males maximum 90 cm, For females maximum 80 cm. Dogs which exceed the maximum height will not be penalised, provided their general appearance is balanced and their movement is sound”
- La FCI da un límite solo por un lado, así que no hay intervalo que indicar.
Quoted from FCI standard n°61. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Lo que el estándar penaliza
Aquello por lo que un juez resta puntos a la raza St. Bernard, y lo que la deja fuera del ring, en las palabras del propio registro. Esto describe el estándar de la raza — no es una lista de comprobación para el animal que tienes delante, y un animal de compañía con un defecto descalificante es un perro que no puede ir a exposición, no un perro enfermo.
Defectos graves
Cuentan mucho en contra de un ejemplar en el ring.
- Too short legs in relation to size (short-legged).
- Heavy folds on head and neck.
- Crooked or severely turned out front legs.
- Poorly angulated, open-hocked or cow-hocked hindquarters
Defectos descalificantes
Dejan al animal fuera del ring por completo.
- Weak temperament
- 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 as well as flesh coloured nostrils (nostrils without pigmentation)
- Height at withers below minimum size
FCI varieties
FCI divides the St. Bernard into these varieties, listed in the registry's own words. Depending on the breed they separate colour, coat, size or line — they are not a full list of colours, which no registry we hold publishes. Ask a breeder which variety their line is.
- Short-haired
- Long-haired
Información a nivel de raza, de The Dog API. Describe la raza St. Bernard en general; cualquier animal concreto puede ser distinto.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the St. Bernard
Riesgos hereditarios conocidos en la raza St. Bernard, y la documentación concreta que hay que pedir a cualquier criador antes de pagar una señal. Un criador responsable tiene esta documentación a mano; esquivar la pregunta es mala señal.
8 enfermedades documentadasEsto es literatura a nivel de raza, no asesoramiento veterinario sobre un animal concreto — tu veterinario conoce al animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Heart & circulation
Cardiac disease
Serious
Structural or muscle disease of the heart, including dilated cardiomyopathy, is one of the hereditary defects the breed's own club asks breeders to screen for; early disease usually shows no outward signs.
Qué pedir
Cardiac evaluation (congenital, advanced or basic) by a board-certified cardiologist, on both parents, from 24 months old
Eyes
Entropion
MonitorInherente a la raza
The heavy, loose facial skin the breed standard calls for predisposes some dogs to eyelids that roll inward and rub the cornea, which is painful and sometimes needs surgical correction.
Qué pedir
No DNA test. Ask whether a vet has examined both parents' eyelids — AKC show rules already bar a St. Bernard that has had corrective entropion surgery from competing, a partial but not complete proxy.
Bones & joints
Hip and elbow dysplasia
Serious
Malformation of the hip and/or elbow joints causing pain, lameness and early arthritis; common in giant breeds and can appear anywhere from puppyhood to middle age.
Qué pedir
OFA hip evaluation (or PennHIP) and OFA elbow evaluation, on both parents, from 24 months old, under the Saint Bernard Club of America's CHIC programme
Shortened lifespan and orthopaedic strain tied to giant body size
SeriousInherente a la raza
A 2026 study of UK veterinary records found Saint Bernards among the heaviest of 29 giant breeds studied, and giant breeds as a group had a median age at death under nine years, alongside elevated joint and heart disease — a pattern tied to the size the standard itself calls for, not to a single fault a breeder can screen out.
Qué pedir
No document changes this. Ask how the breeder manages growth rate in puppyhood and what age dogs in their own lines have actually lived to.
Brain & nerves
Degenerative myelopathy
Serious
A progressive, incurable disease of the spinal cord that causes hind-limb weakness and eventual paralysis, usually from around eight years old onward.
Qué pedir
Degenerative myelopathy (SOD1) DNA test from an approved laboratory, on both parents — required for the breed's own CHIC certification
Epilepsy
Serious
Recurring seizures with no other identifiable cause are common enough in the breed that its own club lists epilepsy among the hereditary defects to watch for.
Qué pedir
No test exists. Ask for documented seizure history across the line, not only the two parents.
Digestion & liver
Gastric dilatation-volvulus (bloat)
Serious
A gas-filled, twisted stomach that is fatal within hours without emergency surgery. A large prospective study found Saint Bernards over four times more likely to develop it than the average breed studied; the risk tracks deep chest and body size rather than a single gene.
Qué pedir
No test exists. Ask whether the breeder discusses prophylactic gastropexy and feeding management (several small meals, rest around meals) rather than expecting a document.
Cancer
Osteosarcoma
Serious
An aggressive bone cancer typically treated with amputation and chemotherapy, with a guarded prognosis even then. Saint Bernard is named among the giant breeds at consistently elevated risk.
Qué pedir
No test exists. Ask about bone cancer in the line, particularly in dogs that died before ten years old.
Cuánto vive la raza St. Bernard, en los registros
Supervivencia mediana de 9,3 años
Intervalo de confianza al 95% de 9,0–9,8 años, a partir de 509 muertes registradas entre 1112 perros
Riesgo de mortalidad de 1.66 (1.52, 1.81) respecto a perros mestizos, cuya mediana es de 12,0 años.
Medido en el Reino Unido a partir de 584.734 perros. La supervivencia mediana no es una predicción para un perro concreto.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.
Gallery
Todavía sin fotografías
Aquí es donde irán las fotografías de los propios dueños de St. Bernard, desde los perfiles de sus animales que mantienen aquí. Nadie ha añadido ninguna a una página pública todavía.
Una fotografía en un perfil de animal queda privada de su dueño. No pondremos ninguna aquí a menos que nos lo pidan.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No St. Bernard breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.