What is the little barrel on a collar of a St. Bernard called? What is it for, and where did it originate?
by 
Junk Yard Dog
ANSWERS: 4
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I am not sure what it is called, but from what I gather, it was meant to take drink to men trapped out in the wilderness and therefore lost...they seemed to have scouted them out and saved them
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I have heard barrels called "casks" but have never seen one on a St. Bernard's collar except in cartoons.
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They are supposed to be kegs/barrels of brandy. St. Bernards were originally bred in Berne, Switzerland at a monestary. They were known to be hardy dogs well suited for winter. They were used to find people who had been lost in the Swiss mountains, and to pull heavy carts. They would find those who were lost or who had been trapped in avalanches, lay with them to keep them warm and lick their faces to keep them conscious if they couldn't move, and if they could move, but needed help, these large dogs were very good at pulling heavy weights, so could help people buryed under snow and/or injured. These search and rescue dogs never actually carried these barrels of brandy; an artist in the 1800's first painted a dog wearing one and the cute image caught on. Now many St. Bernard owners, like myself, purchase these decorative kegs for our dogs to wear for fun.
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The answer given by ArynnOctavia is correct except these barrels were real and often carried alcohol in them not enough to get someone drunk but to fight off hypothermia. The barrel is called a K9 keg
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