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50 free Bernese Mountain Dog trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Bernese Mountain Dog trivia quiz covers the tricoloured farm dog of the canton of Bern from its Roman-mastiff roots and 'Cheese Dog' cart-pulling days to the 1907 Dürrbach club, Albert Heim's rescue of the Sennenhund breeds and AKC recognition in 1937. Questions cover the standard in detail: the long coat that sets it apart from its three cousins, the Swiss cross and Swiss kiss, the black nose, blue-eye disqualification, heights, weights, dry mouth, dewclaws and tail. Health is handled honestly, from the cancer figures and malignant histiocytosis to the SOD1 allele, kidney disease and the lifespan studies that trouble the breed. There are questions on carting, herding eligibility, police work and temperament, plus the wider family: the Greater Swiss, Entlebucher and Appenzeller, the St. Bernard's stud-book first, and the city of Bern's bear legend and UNESCO old town. Questions run from easy to expert with the difficulty shown on each one, and every answer was checked against a reference page and carries its citation. If you enjoy it, try our Dogs and Switzerland quizzes next.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Bernese Mountain Dog originates from which Swiss canton?
Bern
The German name Berner Sennenhund refers to the same area of origin.
Q 02The Bernese is one of how many Sennenhund-type breeds?
Four
All four share the same tricolour coat and the Alpine herdsman heritage.
Q 03The word Sennenhund derives from the German Senne, meaning what?
Alpine pasture
The dogs accompanied the alpine herders and dairymen called Senn.
Q 04The Bernese Mountain Dog has ancestral roots in the mastiffs of which ancient civilisation?
Roman
One writer doubts it, noting the region never had Roman roads or towns.
Q 05The breed was historically also called the Dürrbächler, after what?
A small town where the dogs were common
Dürrbach gave its name to the first breed club, the Schweizerischer Dürrbach-Klub, in 1907.
Q 06What food-related nickname did locals give the Bernese, and why?
'Cheese Dogs', for hauling milk and cheese carts
They also drove dairy cattle long distances to the alpine pastures.
Q 07The first Bernese breed club, founded in 1907, was made up of breeders from which region?
Burgdorf
It wrote the first standard defining the dogs as a separate breed, and by 1910 there were 107 registered.
Q 08How many Bernese Mountain Dogs were registered by 1910, three years after the first breed club formed?
107
The breed was formally recognised in 1912.
Q 09A photograph of a working Bernese Mountain Dog dated 1905 was taken at a rest area in which US state?
Michigan
The Fumee Fall rest area is in Quinnesec, in the Upper Peninsula.
Q 10In which year did the American Kennel Club recognise the Bernese Mountain Dog?
1937
The AKC places it in the Working Group.
Q 11Where did the Bernese Mountain Dog rank in AKC popularity in 2024?
19th
It is also very popular in German-speaking countries, ranking 11th by live births in Germany in 2014.
Q 12What sets the Bernese apart from the other three Sennenhund breeds?
It is the only one with a long coat
All four share the black, white and rust tricolour.
Q 13The white marking on a Bernese Mountain Dog's chest is known as what?
The Swiss cross
A perfectly marked dog also shows a white horseshoe around the nose.
Q 21One study attributed what share of Bernese Mountain Dog deaths to cancer?
55%
The breed has a notably high frequency of neoplasia.
Q 22Which rapidly progressive cancer accounts for a quarter of all tumours in the Bernese Mountain Dog?
Malignant histiocytosis
It is familial, with a heritability value of 0.298, and linked to tumour-suppressor genes such as CDKN2A/B, PTEN and RB1.
Q 23The SOD1:c.52T allele, found only in the Bernese Mountain Dog, is associated with which condition?
Degenerative myelopathy
About 3.5 per cent of the breed carry it; another, non-exclusive mutation for the same disease is found in 38 per cent.
Q 14What is a 'Swiss kiss' on a Bernese Mountain Dog?
A white mark on the back of the neck
A full white ring around the neck would not meet the standard.
Q 15The AKC standard disqualifies a Bernese Mountain Dog for which eye colour?
Blue
Any ground colour other than black is also a disqualification.
Q 16What colour must a Bernese Mountain Dog's nose always be?
Black
The ideal white horseshoe marking surrounds it.
Q 17What is the ideal height for a male Bernese Mountain Dog under the international standard?
66 to 68 cm
Bitches should ideally stand 60 to 63 cm.
Q 18How much does a male Bernese Mountain Dog weigh?
35 to 55 kg
Bitches run 35 to 45 kg.
Q 19The Bernese is described as a 'dry-mouthed' breed. What is meant by that?
It drools very little
It is slightly longer than tall, highly muscular, with a strong wide back and a bushy tail carried low.
Q 20Which dewclaws of the Bernese Mountain Dog are often removed?
The rear ones
The legs are straight and strong with round, arched toes.
Q 24A Swiss study found Bernese Mountain Dogs' mortality from kidney disease was how many times the average?
8.2-fold
Incidence was 3.2 times average; the breed is prone to immune-mediated glomerulonephritis.
Q 25Studies put the prevalence of elbow dysplasia in the Bernese Mountain Dog at what range?
13.91% to 26%
The breed also has a high risk of high-grade mastocytoma and type I von Willebrand's disease.
Q 26A 2016 Swiss study found what life expectancy for the Bernese Mountain Dog?
8.4 years
Dutch and French studies gave 8 and 8.1 years; even for its size, the breed's lifespan is short.
Q 27A 2005 Swedish study found what share of Bernese Mountain Dogs died before age 10?
72%
A 2024 UK study was kinder, at 10.1 years, still well below the 12.7 purebred average.
Q 28The calm Bernese Mountain Dog is a natural at which activity it originally performed in Switzerland?
Pulling small carts
Regional clubs run carting workshops, and the dogs give children rides in parades such as Conway, New Hampshire's.
Q 29On July 1, 2010, the Bernese Mountain Dog became eligible to compete in which AKC discipline?
Herding
Berners showing basic herding instinct can be trained for herding trials.
Q 30How does the breed article describe the Bernese temperament?
Energetic, attentive and impetuous
They tend to attach to one person and are suspicious of strangers.