Grooming
Bernese have a dense double coat, which whilst beautiful takes care to maintain. Bernese tend to have several big moults a year where they drop most of their coat, and it gets everywhere. Outside of the moulting period, Bernese can still lose a little hair but nothing like the moulting weeks. On a daily basis, Bernese still need to be kept clean and tidy, and should have a regular grooming routine.
We always try the natural approach - it’s healthy, kind, great for the environment and best of for your Bernese; this is why we have proudly joined forces with WildWash.
Jane and Andrew Cooper, the founders of WildWash, have developed their own range of natural products & their passionate for creating a brilliantly effective range, that would be as good in every way as the highest quality human products available, and we are delighted to partner with them.
WildWash believes that animals and humans deserve the same quality cosmetics and they pride themselves on being as transparent as possible. For every product, they provide a full ingredients list, which confirms that the products contain no parabens, phthalates, phosphates, petrochemicals, sulphates, palm oils, or PEGs. They use 100% pure essential oils and guarantee that none of their products have been tested on animals. This consideration and strong moral compass have earned WildWash ethical accreditation and created countless satisfied customers.
WildWash is our trusted, go-to natural brand and we maintain our dogs coats using these products, both at home and for show preparation.
Grooming Products and Tools
Tools:
There are lots of grooming tools and brushes on the market, but really you only need 3-4 brushes/combs for different purposes and then a pair of straight grooming scissors for tidying their feet and ears. Our recommended brushes include: Soft Slicker Brush, Metal Comb, Undercoat Rake. A Bernese coat should never be shaved or trimmed, we strongly advise staying away from Furminators or any deshedding brush that cuts the coat.
Products
Having tried many products over the years we are really happy with the WildWash range as it ticks all the boxes for us being 100% natural and doesn’t leave any residue in the coats. All the products smell amazing; even after bathing, I keep burying my face into their coats, I just love how delicious they smell!
My personal recommendations;
- For puppies – Puppy Love Shampoo and Conditioner
- For an everyday, general-purpose shampoo – Coat Enhancing Shampoo Fragrance no.3
- For a more challenging coat that is curlier or coarser in texture – Hydrating Shampoo
- For colour enhancing and brightening the white chest – Dark Coat and Light Coat Shampoo
- To maintain high quality coat it is always worth using a high quality conditioner – Nourishing Conditioner it is really great for those coats that are moulting, in water/mud a lot, or naturally more porous and suffer from staining.
For 20% discount on the WildWash website please use voucher code ‘Waldershelf20’.
Frequency and Maintenance
Maintenance Schedule
When maintaining a Bernese Mountain Dog's coat, you need to keep them on a regular grooming schedule at home. We always suggest brushing puppies daily to get used to accepting being brushed and handled in small regular sessions.
Depending on coat condition, and how much they like mud, we would recommend a full groom, including a bath, blow dry and trim, every 4-8 weeks but weekly brushing is essential to keep on top of matting and coat condition. A dog that's groomed regularly won't blow coat nearly as much as a dog that hasn't had a bath in a long time.
Collars
When at home, we do not put collars on our dogs, if you choose to, you really have to be careful what type of collar they're wearing around the house. When a dog regularly wears a collar you will be able to see a line around the neck, where the collar lays, where the collar has damaged the coat. It can also be a safety concern - they are easily caught on low level areas around the home or garden therefore, we don't recommend keeping a collar on them whilst at home.
Get them dry
It is worth noting that due to their coats when they get wet and muddy it can take a long time for them to dry naturally and leaves your house damp, dirty with an eau de dog. Even when not wet, dust from the coats is a constant occurrence. It is important to ensure Bernese are fully dry to help reduce the instances of hot spots.
There are several products that help with drying your Bernese, from a drying coat to a dog blaster both are worth the initial investment and will save you so much time when drying.
Additional Resources
WildWash have some great blog posts which will answer all your dog grooming questions covering a range of interesting topics.
There is also a really informative YouTube channel ‘SitStay with Stacey Slade’ who a Bernese breeder, owner and exhibitor for great grooming advice.