Bernese mountain dog draft trial set for Saturday, Sunday

WASILLA — This weekend will give local working dogs a chance to do what they do best, and what they enjoy most in life.

If your family pooch is a Bernese mountain dog, then what they love to do best is pull. Specifically, they love to pull carts, or what is known in Bernese circles as “drafting.”

“It’s really quite funny,” said test draft secretary Barbara Welte, who owns two of the large (sometimes 100-pound) dogs and was baby-sitting a third. “It’s really inherent. They get in the harness, and all of the sudden it changes. It’s like ‘This is my work.’”

Bernese mountain dogs (Bernese is derived from the Swiss city of Bern) were bred specifically with drafting in mind. They have been known to pull up to three times their weight (in the form of milk jugs). The dogs this weekend will only be called on to pull their weight, though they will do it for half a mile.

The Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Alaska has held test drafts twice a year since at least 2003. The event consists of a basic obedience test, where dogs are required to navigate various obstacles and distractions while drafting an empty cart, and a half-mile cart-pull. The second test draft involves two levels of ability: the novice level, where dogs pull 20 pound-carts while wearing a leash, and the open level, where dogs pull their body weight and don’t use a leash, according to club members. The club flies one judge in from the Lower 48, while a local judge from Palmer joins those officiating.

Alaska chapter president Tracy Corneliussen owns four of the dogs: Kira, Kiana, Kimber and Kinley.

“This goes back to the heritage of this breed,” she said.

If dogs pulling carts isn’t enough of a novelty, a separate breed of dog will join drafting circles this year. While the Bernese Swiss were breeding a cart-pulling dog, the Dutch also were breeding a cart-pulling dog in the form of the Beuvais de Flanders, one of which will participate this year.

The newcomer stems from a desire for inclusivity by the Bernese Mountain Dog Association of America, Corneliussen said.

“They opened this up to all breeds,” she said. “They wanted to allow more breeds to come in. That’s where you you’ll see the Beuvais.”

Bernese ownership in Alaska is widespread, in part because the dogs don’t mind the cold, Welte said.

“They love the cold,” she said. “They fight for that last patch of snow.”

Welte lost her cocker spaniel about a decade ago, and was hesitant to get a new dog in the intervening years.

“I didn’t want another one,” she said. “Then I saw them on the American Kennel Club dog show, and I was talking with this lady at work who happened to own one.”

When they met, the dog very gently gripped her hand in its teeth and led her to her owner.

“I thought ‘this is my dog,’” she said.

Though the Alaska event initially started because travelling with large dog and a cart can be difficult, the overall goal is to showcase the ability of the dogs to work their owners, Corneliussen said.

“I’ve been to a lot of obedience tests,” she said. “Drafting is by far my favorite thing to do. They’re not going to pull a cart if they don’t want to.”

“You’ll see lots of tail wagging this weekend,” Corneliussen added.