Q 01/05

For what work was the breed originally developed at the Great St Bernard Pass?

A) Hunting bears

B) Mountain rescue

C) Herding cattle

D) Pulling milk carts

Answer · why

B) Mountain rescue

The hospice monks first kept the dogs as watchdogs before they became rescuers.

Q 02/05

Which country does the FCI recognise as the breed's country of origin?

A) Italy

B) Switzerland

C) Liechtenstein

D) Austria

Answer · why

B) Switzerland

The pass straddles the Swiss-Italian border, but the hospice sits on the Swiss side.

Q 03/05

The hospice acquired its first dogs in which decade?

A) 1580s

B) 1610s

C) 1560s

D) 1660s

Answer · why

D) 1660s

The earliest written record from the monks dates to 1707.

Q 04/05

Which Italian artist's 1690 paintings are the first evidence of dogs at the monastery?

A) Tiepolo

B) Salvator Rosa

C) Caravaggio

D) Canaletto

Answer · why

B) Salvator Rosa

Written records from the monks themselves begin in 1707.

Q 05/05

What did early British accounts call the breed?

A) Mountain Collie

B) Bernese Retriever

C) Alpine Spaniel

D) Swiss Hound

Answer · why

C) Alpine Spaniel

Before the mid-19th century the dogs were also called Saint Dogs, Noble Steeds or Barry Dogs.