iN HOLIDAY: How Bernese mountain dogs celebrate Christmas in Okanagan
A big, boisterous group of Bernese mountain dogs hiked, played and had treats together at a Christmas party in Kelowna over the weekend.
It's the first time the members of the Okanagan Bernese & Meetups have brought their dogs together since COVID restrictions were first put into place.
“It was hard to count them all, they were running around everywhere, but I think there were twenty dogs at the party,” said a member of the group Shannon Kirkey Stead. “They create quite a crowd, it's funny to watch.”
Members of the Bernese mountain dog group were gathering a few times per year to socialize since starting up in 2017 but were shut down due to COVID for the past two years.
The group took the dogs for a long hike on a forest road near Bear Creek yesterday, Dec. 11, before gathering in a member’s backyard in Rose Valley for treats and a Christmas gift exchange for their pets at the Bernese Mountain Dog Secret Santa event.
“Each dog’s name was in a hat and all the gifts were on the table and then when your dog’s name was drawn, you got to pick a present for your dog,” Stead said. “Mine got two toys and some dog conditioner in her gift bag. The dogs loved seeing and smelling the things in their bags. There was hot chocolate and cookies for all the humans and one lady made dog treats for each dog to take home when they left the party. It was so much fun.”
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Stead said she loves the Bernese breed because the dogs are typically calm, loving and easy going.
“They all get along,” she said. “It might be the only breed where you can get so many of them together and none of them fight.”
Anyone is free to join the group, where people post upcoming events, you just have to put in a request to join and agree to the rules first. Some people with other breeds have joined in the fun in the past.
“We’ve had some meet ups at local breweries that allow dogs and some at Big White (Ski Resort),” Stead said. “It is so fun to get all the dogs together.”
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