Thursday, 29 September 2011

ST. BERNARD DOG

I visited my friend last week who I haven't met for years. Little did I know I was in for a pleasantly huge surprise, beside the joy of meeting a friend who my colleague way back in the mid 80's and the memories of many a good times spent together remain fresh in my mind.

And who greeted us besides my friend, was a huge, well gigantic, St. Bernard dog !. He was so excited and curious to see us. I must admit, I am not used to big strong dogs and this is the first time I got to interact with a St. Bernard dog. My husband is a total dog lover. They both bonded immediately. Though Tyler, the St. Bernard dog is just over a year old, he is quite  big. My friend told me, 'He will grower even bigger'. My husband had a wonderful time with Tyler. They played together and Tyler was all over him.  I don't see much dogs out here. While I was in UK, I noticed, there are lots of people who own dogs and it's a very normal sight to see people walking their dogs, especially residential areas.

Tyler
A bit about St.Bernard, the breed.  It's a very large dog from the Italian and Swiss Alps, originally bred for rescue. Its average life span is 8 to 10 years. It needs proper food and plenty of exercise or else the dog would suffer deterioration of the bones. Due to its large adult size, it is important that proper training,  and socialization must be imparted while the St. Bernard is still a puppy, so as to avoid the difficulties and lack of control it would pose later on.  It's an absolutely loving dog and hey,  their size is actually an advantage that would deter intruders. 

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