Breed Page

Saint Bernard — BetterBred Breed Page – BetterBred.com
BetterBred Breed Profile

Saint Bernard

Temperament: A giant, powerful dog who is also especially patient and gentle with people
Height: Males: 28-30 inches, Females: 26-28 inches
Weight: Males: 140-180 lbs, Females: 120-140 lbs
Life Span: 8-10 years
Outlier Index ?
0.43
Born before 2016: 0.44 Born after 2024: —
Avg Genetic Rel. ?
-0.01
Born before 2016: -0.02 Born after 2024: —
Internal Relatedness ?
0.01
Born before 2016: 0.00 Born after 2024: —
Saint Bernard
#NameGender OIAGRIR
1 Reyer-Friends Xena F 0.39 -0.01 0.05
2 Always Friends Ukkie-Dino M 0.61 -0.07 -0.02
3 Twix od Mikija F 0.29 -0.01 0.19
4 River Dance v.h. Borgerbos F 0.41 -0.03 0.09
5 Ringo Star v.h. Borgerbos M 0.49 -0.05 0.05
6 Rin-Tin-Tin v.h. Borgerbos M 0.45 -0.01 0.01
7 Nosirrag's Cadillac Ranch F 0.35 0.02 0.07
8 Nosirrag's WigWam Route 66 F 0.35 0.04 0.00
9 Rising Sun v.h. Borgerbos F 0.38 -0.04 0.21
10 Rising Star v.h. Borgerbos F 0.40 0.02 -0.03
Developed in the late 17th Century in the Alps, these dogs were bred for search and rescue in treacherous terrain. Their strength and loving temperament are both part of their original function.
View Official Breed Standard →
Joint and hip issues, osteosarcoma, epilepsy, heart disease.

Average metrics by birth year for dogs with recorded birthdates in the BetterBred database.

A 3D genetic map of enrolled Saint Bernard dogs in the BetterBred database, based on allele-sharing distance across 33 STR loci. This is not a complete picture of the breed — it reflects only dogs whose owners have enrolled them. Drag to rotate · scroll to zoom · hover for dog names (public profiles only).

Historical founders — oldest 25% of enrolled dogs     Current gene pool — most recent 50% of enrolled dogs
Building plot… this may take a minute for larger breeds.

The Dog Leukocyte Antigen (DLA) region controls immune function and is the most polymorphic portion of the canine genome. Every dog carries two sets of DLA haplotypes — one from each parent — which almost never recombine across generations. Frequency percentages reflect how often each haplotype appears across all allele copies in the breed, not the percentage of dogs carrying it.

Class I Haplotypes

HaplotypeFrequency
1096
39.9%
1068
16.9%
1017
11.2%
1160
9.0%
1062
6.2%
1011
6.2%
1165
6.2%
1040
1.1%
1244
0.6%
1240
0.6%
1221
0.6%
1207
0.6%
1141
0.6%
1128
0.6%

Class II Haplotypes

HaplotypeFrequency
2023
39.9%
2053
14.6%
2014
11.2%
2098
9.6%
2005
6.7%
2080
6.7%
2021
6.2%
2001
1.7%
2028
1.1%
2124
1.1%
2007
0.6%
2035
0.6%

Class I & II Combinations

Class IClass IIFrequency
1096 2023
38.2%
1068 2053
14.6%
1017 2014
11.2%
1160 2098
9.0%
1165 2080
6.2%
1062 2021
6.2%
1011 2005
6.2%
1096 2124
1.1%
1068 2023
1.1%
1068 2001
1.1%
1040 2028
1.1%
1096 2035
0.6%
1128 2098
0.6%
1141 2005
0.6%
1207 2001
0.6%
1221 2007
0.6%
1240 2080
0.6%
1244 2023
0.6%

The Canine Diversity Test from UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is the foundation of BetterBred’s breed management tools. Testing your dog adds to the breed database and gives you access to the full suite of breeding analysis tools.

Order from UC Davis VGL →
OI
Outlier Index

The Outlier Index (OI) measures how unusual a dog’s allele combination is relative to the tested population of its breed. A higher OI means the dog carries alleles at lower frequencies across the breed — genetic variants that are underrepresented in the population as a whole.

Dogs with high OI are genetically valuable because they carry diversity that most other tested dogs don’t share. Breeding them thoughtfully into the broader population helps redistribute lower-frequency alleles rather than allowing them to become even rarer over generations.

The breed average shown here reflects all dogs tested in the BetterBred database. The senior and youngster comparisons show whether diversity is trending up or down in recent generations.
AGR
Average Genetic Relatedness

Average Genetic Relatedness (AGR) measures how similar a dog’s DNA is, on average, to every other tested dog in the breed. It reflects the dog’s mean kinship — how closely related it is to the population as a whole.

A lower AGR means the dog is more genetically distinct from the majority of the breed. Dogs with low AGR carry alleles at lower frequencies across the tested population, making them higher-priority candidates for inclusion in a well-managed breeding program.

AGR is conceptually related to mean kinship used in conservation genetics for managed species populations. A declining AGR average in younger dogs suggests the breed is successfully redistributing genetic diversity across generations.
IR
Internal Relatedness

Internal Relatedness (IR) measures how much identical genetic material an individual dog inherited from both parents. IR is a useful indicator of inbreeding: lower IR generally reflects lower inbreeding, and it is widely used and reported in the scientific literature.

A high IR is not the cause for alarm it might appear. Elevated IR can often be resolved in a single generation by pairing with a dog whose ancestry is less represented in the breed. It is a signpost, not a sentence.

BetterBred reports IR for reference, but it is not our primary breeding guidance tool. OI and AGR together give a more complete and actionable picture of a dog’s genetic value to the population.

AGR tells you which dogs are genetically unusual relative to the population. OI tells you which dogs are most valuable to preserve. OI specifically weights mid-frequency alleles, identifying dogs whose ancestry is underrepresented in a way most likely to benefit the breed.