The Saint Bernard is the legendary gentle giant of the Swiss Alps, bred by monks at the Great St Bernard Pass to find and rescue travelers lost in the snow. Massive, calm, and famously kind, the breed became a symbol of devotion and rescue, and that heritage is written into its temperament: the Saint Bernard is patient, affectionate, wonderful with children, and remarkably mellow for such an enormous dog. Behind the huge head and the soulful expression is one of the most good-natured temperaments in the dog world, paired with a body that can top 140 pounds.
The defining factors in training a Saint Bernard are its size and its sweet, sometimes stubborn nature. The breed is intelligent and willing, which makes obedience achievable, but it grows enormous, so anything you allow in a fluffy puppy becomes a serious matter in a giant adult. Saints also mature slowly, can be a touch stubborn, drool heavily, and are sensitive, so harsh methods backfire. Install manners early while the dog is liftable, protect those slow-growing joints, lead with calm patience, and you get a magnificent, gentle, devoted companion. Wait too long, and you get an immovable, if loving, giant.
This guide covers what works with a Saint Bernard, week by week, built around how a calm, sensitive, slow-maturing giant actually learns.
What Makes Training a Saint Bernard Different
Four breed traits shape your approach.
1. Size makes manners urgent. A behavior that is cute in a 30-pound puppy, like jumping up or leaning, is overwhelming and even dangerous in a 140-pound adult. You have a short window to install polite greetings, loose-leash walking, and calm behavior while the dog is still manageable. This urgency is the breed's central training challenge.
2. Intelligent and willing, but slow and a touch stubborn. Saints are cooperative and want to please, but they mature slowly and can show a stubborn streak, doing things at their own unhurried pace. Patience and consistency over a long timeline matter, and you should not expect quick, snappy responses.
3. Calm but sensitive. The Saint Bernard is mellow and low-energy, but it is also a sensitive, soft dog that shuts down under harsh handling. Calm, patient, reward-based training is essential, and the breed thrives on being part of the family rather than isolated.
4. Slow-growing joints and heavy drool. Giant breeds grow for a long time, so high-impact exercise and jumping should be limited until the dog matures, to protect the joints. The Saint also drools heavily and needs heat care, given its heavy coat and bulk, so handling tolerance and sensible management matter.
Week-by-Week Training Plan for Your Saint Bernard
Below is the framework we use at TailorPup for a Saint Bernard-specific 12-week plan. Run it at home; the order and emphasis are the point.
Weeks 1 and 2 : Foundation and Socialization
Build engagement with high-value rewards and socialize broadly while the puppy is small and impressionable. Run three to four five-minute sessions a day: name, mark eye contact, reward. Introduce calm handling and grooming early, because a giant dog must accept being touched and examined. Our puppy basics guide covers the foundations.
Weeks 3 and 4 : Core Commands
Lure sit and down, mark, reward, and add cues once reliable, expecting a willing but slow-maturing, sometimes stubborn learner. Prioritize a solid settle and a polite greeting, the manners that matter most in a future giant. Keep sessions gentle and upbeat.
Weeks 5 and 6 : Loose Leash Walking (While It Is Easy)
This is critical. Teach loose-leash walking now, while you can still physically manage the dog, because a pulling adult Saint Bernard is genuinely hard to hold. Use stop-and-stand: stop the instant the leash tightens, advance only when it loosens. A front-clip harness helps, and keep walks low-impact to protect joints.
Weeks 7 and 8 : Recall and Greetings
Build recall on a long line, paying every success generously, and never call the dog for anything it dislikes. Work hard on greetings: reward four-on-the-floor and calm approaches, and never let anyone encourage jumping, because the behavior that is sweet now will flatten people later.
Weeks 9 and 10 : Calm Activities and Joint Care
Channel the breed's gentle nature into low-impact activities suited to a growing giant: flat walks, gentle draft or cart work once mature, and trick training for the mind. Keep exercise low-impact and moderate, favoring flat walks over jumping and stairs, and manage the dog carefully in heat.
Weeks 11 and 12 : Generalization
Prove the skills in the real world: loose-leash walking past distractions, recall in a fenced area, calm greetings with visitors, and settling in busier places. A Saint that is polite at home but not in public is only partly trained, and these last two weeks lock in the manners that keep a giant welcome everywhere.
Common Saint Bernard Training Mistakes
Three mistakes show up repeatedly with this breed.
Mistake 1 : Delaying manners because the puppy is sweet and calm. The honeymoon ends fast in a giant breed. Owners who postpone leash and greeting training find themselves with a 140-pound dog that never learned the rules. Start while the dog is small.
Mistake 2 : Over-exercising a growing giant. Hard running, jumping, and stairs stress immature joints and can cause lasting damage. Keep exercise low-impact and moderate until the dog matures, and let the body grow before asking it to work hard.
Mistake 3 : Using harsh handling. The Saint Bernard is sensitive, and corrections create anxiety rather than obedience. Keep everything gentle and reward-based. The full list is in our Saint Bernard training mistakes guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Saint Bernards easy to train ? Yes, for a giant breed, with patience. They are intelligent and willing, so reward-based training is effective, but they mature slowly and can be a touch stubborn. The real challenge is the urgency created by their size: install manners early.
How much exercise does a Saint Bernard need ? Moderate to low: around 30 to 60 minutes of daily activity, kept low-impact while the dog is growing. The breed is mellow and prone to overheating, so exercise should be gentle, and hard running and stairs avoided until the joints mature.
When should I start training my Saint Bernard ? The day you bring the puppy home. Manners like loose-leash walking and polite greetings are far easier to teach at 30 pounds than at 140, so early training is essential rather than optional with a giant breed.
Do Saint Bernards drool a lot ? Yes, the breed is a famous, heavy drooler, along with shedding and needing regular grooming. This is a real part of owning a Saint, and building handling tolerance early helps with grooming and care.
Are Saint Bernards good family dogs ? Exceptionally. They are gentle, patient, and famously good with children, which is much of their appeal. They need their size managed through early training, tolerance for drool, and care in hot weather, and they thrive when included in family life.
Is positive reinforcement effective for Saint Bernards ? It is ideal. The sensitive, willing breed thrives on gentle, reward-based training and shuts down under harshness, which is both unnecessary and counterproductive with such a cooperative dog.
Do Saint Bernards handle heat well ? No. The heavy coat and large body make the breed prone to overheating. Exercise in the cooler parts of the day, provide shade and water, and never push a Saint Bernard in hot weather.
Why TailorPup Was Built for Saint Bernards
A generic plan ignores what really matters with a giant breed: the urgency of early manners, the need for joint protection, the slow maturity, and the breed's sensitivity. That mismatch is why standard advice leaves owners with an unmanageable adult or an anxious dog.
TailorPup builds a 12-week plan around your specific dog: its gentle-giant rescue nature, its age, and the behaviors you are seeing. For a Saint Bernard that means front-loaded manners and leash work while the dog is small, gentle reward-based methods, low-impact exercise planning to protect joints, and early socialization.
Daily 12-minute sessions plus weekly adjustments based on your dog's progress. Free for 7 days, no card required.
Start your Saint Bernard's plan free at tailorpup.com →
Related: Saint Bernard Training Mistakes · Recall Training · Leash Pulling · Puppy Training Basics