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Saint Bernard
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A Saint Bernard dog with a medium-long brown and white coat stands in the snow with trees in the background. Short-haired Saint Bernard dog with a white and brown coat stands on grass with a blurred green background. Saint Bernard dog with a thick, white and brown coat and black markings on its face, sitting outdoors on grass. Doggie bingo Saint Bernard. Saint Bernard
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A Saint Bernard dog with a medium-long brown and white coat stands in the snow with trees in the background.
Saint Bernard Famed rescue dog and one of the largest dog breeds.

Saint Bernard

breed of dog
Also known as: Saint Bernard dog, St. Bernard
Written by
Caroline Coile
Caroline Coile is the author of the Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds and more than 30 other books.
Caroline Coile
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
Last updated
•History

Saint Bernard, working dog credited with saving hundreds of lives in centuries of service as a pathfinder and rescue dog. The breed is named after Saint Bernard, 11th-century Catholic archdeacon of the Aosta diocese (northwestern Italy on the border with Switzerland) and a patron saint of hospices at the summits of two Alpine mountain passes, which were later named the Great and Little St. Bernard passes; the passes are located in the Pennine Alps, a segment...

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