PLEASE !!!! Study this Diagram of the Skeleton, (bone structure) of a St. Bernard, after studying the above outline and parts that are labeled. This drawing should allow you to know what is wrong with some of today's dog's being so Out of Balance with their structure. None of their parts fit, with their chest lower than their elbows, too heavy a bones for the bones to fit this structure, or the shpae of this bone structure. Many of today's Saints are too short legged, too long in back, and many other structural problems that don't even come close to the St. Bernard Breed Standard, and the words that describe what a St. Bernard is supposed to look like for all the parts to fit correctly, to enable this giant size dog to be a functional Working Dog.

Thanks for caring enough to study this Breed.

Here is a drawing or outline of a St. Bernard, giving you the names of the particular parts of the dog. It is important to learn all the Dog terms and particular parts of a dog, so you can learn for yourself how to evaluate a grown dog now this drawing does not apply to puppies, because puppies are not finished growing, but this drawing should apply to any Grown St. Bernard Dog.  Puppies while still growing will go through many different changes, and at times will not look or resemble this drawing as most puppies will at some ages get down in their pasterns, or maybe they will go higher in the rear end than they are in the front end. And most puppies will not have what their Head Type will end up until they are finished maturing. But, this should give you some idea if you are a beginner, or Novice what and where the particular parts of the St. Bernard are.

If you contact a Breeder and they do not know the parts of the dog then If I were you I would look for another Breeder. Any experienced Breeder should know how to evaluate the quality of a St. Bernards Anatomy, it's good points and it's short-comings.

I sincerely hope that this will be used as a tool in learning what is correct for this breed and what is not correct for this particular breed.

Also, now that you have studied this page and know the Dog terms for all the parts then go and study The St. Bernard Breed Standard

You should be able to see how so many of the Saints you see these days do not remotely resemble this type structure.

Thank you for trying to Learn The Great St. Bernard Dog.

Cheryl Ricketts

Here is our Ch. Healy's Unforgetable In Time, "Ch. Tanja" She had exceptional structure, as you can see in this photo. She absolutely could not stand, walk, or move incorrectly due to her superior structure. Saints like Ch. Tanja are very rare. Her front, rear, and topline all were as perfect as a St. Bernard can be. Of course she finished her championship very quickly. She would move so effortlessly around a show ring.