If you have a farm with animals that need to be guarded and herded, you need a good dog. There are a lot of dog breeds that would do the job really well, including the Bernese mountain dog. 

Bernese Mountain Dogs

The Berner comes from Switzerland originally and is one of four breeds of dogs called Sennenhunds. These dogs were developed in the Alps of Switzerland to be good all-around farm dogs, with a focus on livestock guarding. Even many, many years after they were created, the Bernese mountain dog still has those instincts and works well on a modern farm. There are a few reasons why a BMD does very well in this position. 

Working Dog

One reason is that the Bernese mountain dog is a working dog breed. Working dogs like to work. If you give them a job, they are going to be really happy and they are going to actually enjoy themselves doing it. Giving your dog a job is also going to help burn up all the energy that a working dog has naturally. 

Intelligent

The Berners had intelligence bred into them. While they may act goofy sometimes, they are very smart dogs. That intelligence helps the dogs when they are doing their job. For example, when they are herding cows or sheep, a dog will depend on their person to give them basic commands on how to get the animals where they need to be, but the dog will need to use their own smarts to do the job. That intelligence will help them decide the best ways to get the sheep into their pen or figure out which cows are going to be more stubborn when being herded. 

Protective

The BMD is also a very protective dog. That's what makes them good livestock guardian dogs. A dog that works as a livestock guardian lives with their herd or flock and helps keep them safe by chasing off predators and keeping the animals together. Being raised with the animals and living with their charges will allow the Berner to develop that protectiveness over their flock, whether it's sheep or your family. 

If you have a farm and you want a good dog that can do a lot of jobs around your farm, from pulling carts to guarding your animals, the Bernese mountain dog can be a really good choice, since they were bred for that exact thing. Contact a local breeder that has Bernese mountain puppies available for more info.