eli5: how are st. Bernhards trained to go out and find lost Wanderers?
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So St. Bernards have an interesting history. They are an old breed, bred for the express purpose of mountain rescue. Thing is, we don’t know how the training started. Younger dogs learned the behavior from older dogs so the monks that raised them didn’t really do the training.
Sadly, that’s in the past so we may never know. Bernards aren’t used for rescue dogs as they are no longer suited. Their work and location was a dangerous one so much of the breeding stock died, leading to cross breeding with other breeds to preserve them. Combined with later visual standards as show dogs and you get a breed with a deep history of work that it’s no longer suited for. The original St. Bernards were smaller and had shorter fur.
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