This is a story for the naysayers who don’t believe a well-bred Conformation Saint Bernard can compete in Performance competitions and win at the top levels. Are the Conformation Saints not bred for structure, movement, and intelligence? After all, they are Working dogs. It seems logical that they would excel in Performance.
Let me introduce you to my Saint Bernard, Humphrey. Humphrey is a big, beautiful, Conformation-type dog. His grandfather was the most Specialty-winning Saint Bernard of all time. His littermates have their Conformation championships and were top-ranked in Breed and All-Breed standings. As with a lot of Saints, two of Humphrey’s favorite things are eating and sleeping. Many are skeptical that such a dog could compete with the best Performance dogs.
For those skeptics, let’s look at Humphrey’s accomplishments. Before the age of three, Humphrey was ranked #1 in AKC TopDogs in Rally Competition for the Working Group in 2023. Furthermore, he was ranked #7 in AKC TopDogs in Rally Competition for All AKC-Recognized Breeds for 2023. He has earned his RACH, RACH2, and RACH3 titles.
Recently, at the first-ever RACH Invitational held at the National Championship in Orlando, Florida, he tied for First Place in the Working Group but was second by time. He also made the Top 50 of All Breeds. No other Saint has come close to these accomplishments in the Rally ring. I want to be clear that Humphrey doesn’t just limp along and earn points here and there at Rally Trials.
I have lost count of the number of 100s he has scored and the High Triples and High Doubles he has won. He is considered to be serious competition in the Rally ring. Please understand that I am not a dog trainer. I am simply a lover of dogs who upon the coaxing of my Obedience and Rally teachers eventually entered the world of Performance competitions with my Border Collie, Lily. Yes, I started with a more traditional Performance dog. However, in many ways, I found Lily to be more challenging than my sweet, wanting to please Humphrey.
So, how did I go from a Border Collie to a Saint Bernard? When our beloved Bernese Mountain Dog passed, we struggled to find a replacement. Knowing that I had grown up with Saints, my husband offered the giant breed as an option. I jumped at the chance to own another Saint. I was not really interested in a dog to show or trial, but wanted a healthy, thoughtfully bred pet. Through research and much searching, I found Thunder Keg Saint Bernards. I contacted the breeder, Jen Mehle, in hopes of being placed on a waiting list for a puppy.
Jen and I really hit it off and she offered us a beautiful male puppy from a current litter. Her offer was based upon the contingency that I show him to his championship. I had no experience with Conformation competitions, but once we saw a picture of this beautiful puppy it was impossible to say no. Consequently, we were off to Wyoming to bring this next member of our family back to Atlanta. Unfortunately, due to an undescended testicle, Humphrey would never see the Conformation ring.
How did Humphrey’s training begin? We live in a highly populated area in Atlanta and frequent Chastain Park with our pets. Almost everyone has a pet or multiple pets with them as they walk the park. This giant breed had to be socialized and obedience-trained so that we could comfortably take him out. At three months of age, Humphrey was introduced to Basic Obedience at a training facility close to our home. He did so well that I enrolled him in the next Obedience level to continue his training.
During this same time, my current Rally instructor for my Border Collie had decided to take some time off. I followed a friend and fellow classmate to Brianne Farr at Aurora Dog Training. Brianne had won the Championship Class at the Rally National that year, and clearly, she knew Rally.
Given the success of Humphrey’s Obedience training, I enrolled him in a Rally class with Brianne. The thought that a Saint could not succeed at Rally never crossed my mind. I expected no less from Humphrey than I did my Border Collie. I trained him as if he were a Border Collie and worked on attentive healing, rear end awareness, straight sits, and perfect come fronts. I never discounted Humphrey’s abilities.
He absolutely thrived with training, and it wasn’t long before Humphrey was ready for competition. Eyes were wide and mouths dropped open when I walked in the ring with a Saint Bernard. All stopped to watch how he would navigate the Rally ring. Humphrey crushed it, earning the lower titles quickly with 100s and 99s.
Everything was great with Humphrey until one night on the way home from training when I was rear-ended on I-20 driving through Atlanta. I had both of my dogs in the car. The impact was so great that it bent the frame of our large Lexus SUV. Neither of my dogs were hurt, but Humphrey was so traumatized by the impact that it took two very large and muscular policemen to pull him from the totaled car.
As a result of the accident, Humphrey suffered from severe PTSD. It was almost impossible to get him in a car. He stopped performing in the ring, and the simple command of sit was more than he could handle. After discussing Humphrey’s condition with Brianne, it was decided that he needed time off to recuperate. Other than working to eliminate his fear of entering a vehicle, for the next four to five months Humphrey did not train for Rally and did not compete.
Training began again, but it was a long and slow process. Our first few Rally trials left me doubting his ability to be a true competitor. A RACH seemed unobtainable. However, with time and patience, Humphrey’s stress in the ring decreased and he began to shine. To this day, I still must use certain training methods to alleviate his ring stress.
Humphrey’s success in the Rally ring has had an unexpected ripple effect in the dog community. Numerous people have approached me to say that Humphrey has motivated them to start their own large-breed dogs in Performance training and competition. Instructors inform me that they use Humphrey as an example to their students with large and giant breeds. Without intent, Humphrey has become an inspiration to many.
Training, and competing with, my dogs is a labor of love. Ribbons and trophies are wonderful, but there is something that has meant more to me than the accolades. I never personally met the late judge and Saint Bernard enthusiast John Cox. Prior to his passing, John reached out to me on Facebook Messenger and had closely followed Humphrey’s accomplishments. Nothing touched me more than when a judge was handing me Humphrey’s High Triple and High Double ribbons and said, “John Cox is smiling down on this Saint Bernard today.”
