Understanding Your Saint Bernard's Coat: Two Types, One Legendary Breed
Understanding Your Saint Bernard's Coat: Two Types, One Legendary Breed
The Saint Bernard is one of the few popular breeds that comes in two distinctly different coat types, and understanding which you have -- and how it works -- makes all the difference in managing your gentle giant's grooming needs.
Whether your Saint rocks the smooth, close-fitting short coat or the flowing, feathered long coat, there's more to the Saint Bernard coat than meets the eye.
Saint Bernard Coat Types: A Side-by-Side Comparison
Short-Haired (Smooth Coat)
The short-haired Saint Bernard has a dense, close-lying outer coat that's smooth and tough to the touch, with a thick undercoat.
Characteristics:
- Outer coat length: 1-2 inches
- Texture: Smooth, dense, and slightly coarse
- Undercoat: Dense and insulating
- Feathering: Minimal to none
- Matting risk: Low (but undercoat tangles can occur)
- Shedding: Heavy (don't let "short" fool you)
- Grooming time: 2-3.5 hours professional
Long-Haired (Rough Coat)
The long-haired Saint Bernard has a medium-to-long outer coat that's slightly wavy (never curly), with pronounced feathering and a bushy tail.
Characteristics:
- Outer coat length: 3-6 inches on the body, longer on feathering
- Texture: Slightly wavy, soft to medium coarseness
- Undercoat: Dense and woolly
- Feathering: Prominent on legs, tail, chest (ruff), and ears
- Matting risk: High (especially feathering)
- Shedding: Very heavy
- Grooming time: 3-5 hours professional
Historical Context
Here's a fact most people don't know: the original Saint Bernards were short-haired. The long-haired variety was developed in the 1800s through crosses with Newfoundlands after the breed's numbers dropped dangerously low from avalanche rescue losses and disease outbreaks.
The monks at the Great St. Bernard Hospice actually preferred the short-haired variety because the long coat would accumulate ice and snow during rescue missions, weighing the dog down. The long-haired Saints were given away to valley families as companions, while the short-haired dogs continued working.
This history explains why both coat types exist in the same breed -- and why the long-haired Saint Bernard actually has Newfoundland DNA in its coat heritage.
Saint Bernard Coat Colors
Both coat types come in the same color patterns:
Red and white: The most common pattern. Red ranges from light rust to deep mahogany. The red can appear as a mantle (large patches) or splash pattern.
Mahogany and white: Deeper, darker red-brown tones.
Orange and white: Lighter, warmer tones.
Brindle and white: Red-brown with darker striping.
Required markings (per breed standard):
- White chest, feet, tail tip, and nose band
- White blaze up the face
- Dark mask and ears
Coat color doesn't significantly affect grooming needs. The one exception: white areas can show staining from drool, tears, and dirt more visibly than darker areas, which may require more frequent cleaning.
How Saint Bernards Shed
Both coat types shed heavily. The Saint Bernard sheds at a volume that matches its body size -- which is to say, enormously.
Year-round shedding: Moderate to heavy, consistent throughout the year. You will always find Saint Bernard hair on your belongings. This is a lifestyle acceptance, not a problem to solve.
Seasonal coat blow: Heavy shedding in spring and fall as the undercoat turns over. These periods last 4-8 weeks and produce staggering volumes of loose fur.
Volume comparison: A Saint Bernard in full coat blow can produce 12-18 pounds of loose fur over the course of a shedding season. That is not a typo. Twelve to eighteen pounds. That's the weight of a large bowling ball -- in fur.
Short vs. long coat shedding: Short-haired Saints actually shed nearly as much as long-haired Saints in terms of volume. The short coat sheds more individual hairs (shorter growth cycle), while the long coat sheds fewer but longer hairs. The net fur volume is remarkably similar.
The difference? Long-haired Saint Bernard shed fur tends to clump and collect in tumbleweeds. Short-haired Saint Bernard shed fur embeds in fabric like tiny needles. Neither is pleasant. Both are unavoidable.
Common Saint Bernard Coat and Skin Issues
Hot Spots
Saint Bernards are highly susceptible to hot spots due to their dense undercoat and tendency toward skin moisture. The drool compounds this by keeping the chest and chin perpetually damp.Drool-Related Dermatitis
Chronic moisture from drool causes skin irritation, bacterial growth, and hair loss around the mouth, chin, and chest. Daily wiping and drying is the only effective prevention.Allergic Dermatitis
Saint Bernards have moderate predisposition to environmental allergies. The large body surface area means more skin exposed to allergens, and symptoms show up as itching, redness, and coat quality changes.Pyoderma
Bacterial skin infections are relatively common in Saint Bernards, often starting in the facial folds, between skin wrinkles, or under areas where the dense coat traps moisture.Hypothyroidism
Saint Bernards have elevated rates of hypothyroidism, which directly impacts coat quality:- Thin, patchy coat
- Excessive shedding
- Dull, dry texture
- Slow coat regrowth
- Recurrent skin infections
Caring for Your Saint Bernard's Coat
Short-Haired Saints: Home Routine
2-3 times per week (15-20 minutes):
- Rubber curry mitt over the entire body to remove loose hair
- Undercoat rake through the denser areas (neck, chest, thighs)
- Wipe face and jowls with a dry cloth
- Quick check for hot spots or irritation
- Drool wipe-down (face, chest, chin)
- Quick body scan for debris or parasites
Long-Haired Saints: Home Routine
3-4 times per week (20-30 minutes):
- Pin brush through the entire coat, working from skin outward
- Pay special attention to feathering areas (behind ears, legs, ruff)
- Undercoat rake through dense zones
- Metal comb through feathering to check for developing mats
- Wipe face and jowls
- Drool wipe-down
- Quick check of high-mat zones
- Body scan
Professional Grooming
Short-haired (every 6-8 weeks):
- Bath with appropriate shampoo
- High-velocity drying
- Deshedding treatment
- Facial/jowl cleaning
- Nail trim, ear clean, teeth
- Pre-bath dematting
- Full bath and conditioning
- High-velocity drying (extended)
- Deshedding and undercoat removal
- Feathering trim and shaping
- Facial/jowl care
- Nail trim, ear clean, teeth
Products for Saint Bernards
Use:
- Rubber curry mitt (short-haired) or pin brush (long-haired)
- Undercoat rake with rotating teeth
- Deodorizing shampoo (helps with the Saint Bernard aroma)
- Drool cloths or bibs (stock up)
- Waterless shampoo for spot cleaning between baths
- Furminator-style tools used aggressively on the outer coat (damages guard hairs)
- Heavy fragranced products (skin sensitivity)
- Over-bathing (strips natural coat oils, worsens dryness)
Nutrition and the Saint Bernard Coat
Giant breed nutrition has an outsized impact on coat quality:
- Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids -- Critical for skin health and coat luster in a breed prone to skin issues
- High-quality protein -- Supports the enormous volume of coat the body produces
- Glucosamine and chondroitin -- While primarily for joint health, overall systemic health (including skin/coat) improves when joint inflammation is managed
- Probiotics -- Emerging evidence shows improved skin health in giant breeds on probiotic supplementation
The Saint Bernard Coat Life
Owning a Saint Bernard means living with fur. Lots of it. And drool. Lots of that too. There's no getting around the maintenance demands of a breed that weighs more than most adult humans and carries a coat designed for Alpine rescue work.
But there's also nothing quite like running your hands through a well-maintained Saint Bernard coat -- thick, warm, and impossibly soft. When that coat is healthy and cared for, it's one of the most satisfying tactile experiences in the dog world.
The maintenance is real. The commitment is significant. But every Saint Bernard owner will tell you: it's worth every brushstroke, every grooming appointment, and every tumblewing of fur on the floor.
Because what's under all that coat is the gentlest, most devoted giant you'll ever meet.
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