I will give another vote for the Saint Bernard. Saints are truely wonderful, but instead of telling you how great they are I will tell you why you might not want one.
1. They are HUGE. Only second to the OEM in largest dog size. At 33 inches and 190lbs, Hutch is BIG. So with their monsterous size comes all of the monsterous vet bills. Antibiotics for a 190lb dog are not cheap. A car will not comfortably fit 2 giant breed dogs. They do think that they are lap dogs, and they will find a way to fit part of their body onto your lap, so be prepared for legs that lose all feeling.
2. DROOL!! If anyone tells you that they have a Saint that does not drool, then they do not have a Saint. I wipe drool from my walls, drool from my ceiling, drool from the floor, drool off of the television. We have drool rags everywhere. Oh, and most of all they love to drool on your guests.
3. They do shed. Not outrageous amounts, but a male weighing on average 175lbs has a very big body. Big body means lots of fur to cover it. I guess now is the time to mention the rough and smooth coats that Saints can have. A rough will leave more of a shedding mess behind than the smooth, but they do both shed! Black is not a color that we wear inside of our house. I have some of my favorite black things in plastic bags to protect them from the fur!
4. Especially important because you are wanting to rescue. There have been many BYB's for Saints because of all of the Beethoven movies. We all know that BYB=Problems. Saints do have a variety of health problems typical to the breed. Not only are their a multitude of joint problems, but eye, heart, bloat, and many more, and very important to note, temperment problems. SAints should be bred with temperment in mind, They are suppose to be gentle giants, but irresponsible breeding has lead to temperment problems wothy of considering. It is not uncommon for Saints to be same sex aggressive, and especially because you have an intact male already another male might not suit you so well. This is important to consider especially if you were to adopt an adolescent Saint who has not fully matures and come into their own yet! The temperment differences between a year old Saint and a 2 year old can be noticed. What was once your happy-go-lucky year old may now bark when a stranger comes to the door, or not like other dogs of the same sex. Not all Saints are like this by a long shot, but it is important to remember that BYB's have played a huge role in the surge of Saints in shelters and rescues and that Saint Bernards are on the list of top ten dog bite fatalities measured by the Center for Disease and Control.
5. They are very much people dogs. They don't have to be right on top of you all of the time, but they do have to be included in the family. They thrive because of the love their family gives them! Because of this can be known to have seperation anxiety, luckily a problem I don't have. It doesn't take long for an anxious Saint to destroy a couch.
Saints take a special kind of owner, like all of the giant breeds do. But the thing that keeps me coming back to the Saint Bernard is the goofy, loving, noble, companionship that they provide.
