Visit our BMDCA website and contact SEVERAL Breed Stewards. These are people in our breed who have volunteered to help you find a good breeder, find a good puppy and give you good support and education about Bernese Mtn Dogs. http://www.bmdca.org

BEWARE of Breed Stewards who only offer  you information about THEIR puppies and do NOT refer you to OTHER BREEDERS!   Good Breed Stewards ALWAYS refer to other breeders.

Find your local Berner Club(s) and ASK for breeder referrals: http://www.bmdca.org  

DOG SHOWS are a great place to meet Berners and their people. Look for Berners and their people who are sitting ring-side, and avoid those who are just about to go into the ring. Here's two websites to find dog shows happening in your area (note: either look for ALL BREED or Berner Specialty): http://www.onofrio.com   http://www.infodog.com  

Internet Searches: Be aware that MOST Berner breeders on the internet today are Commercial Breeders who hide behind a lovely facade of a nice website. Many of these unethical breeders look good to the inexperienced puppy buyer. Scroll down and read my advice on how to interview these breeders to discern their ethics. Unfortunately, many of the older, more experienced ethical Berner breeders don't have and won't have a website. They have no need for one, because their reputation in Berner-dom brings them good potential puppy owners and easily sells their puppies. To find these breeders, join the Berner-L chat group and ASK for them: http://www.berner.org OR you can ask Breed Stewards to help you contact them www.bmdca.org

Also on the Internet: There are MANY great Berner chat-groups to join. Yahoo is perhaps the biggest resource. Go to http://www.yahoo.com, then choose GROUPS and do a search on Bernese Mountain Dogs. Be aware that Berner chat groups are a hotbed for juicy gossip and misinformation. So use your brain and your good manners when involving yourself in a Berner chatgroup.

Also on the internet: Skip has a great selection of Breeder/Kennel links. While there are several quality breeders listed, there are also MANY unethical breeders listed, too. And there's no label, so you have no clue if the breeder is quality or not. Use discretion and wisdom when interviewing breeders listed here. http://www.widomaker.com/~seibert/ 

Internet: See also our Dog Links webpage here at SageKeep.com AND visit our Other (Berner) Breeders webpage here.

If you NEED HELP with choosing a breeder to buy from or you still can't find a quality breeder to work with - Email Me: info@sagekeep.com

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All appropriate health clearances (orthopedic, eyes, diseases, etc)

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Proven conformation to breed standard (AKC show titles) (note: occasionally a dog that doesn't have a title is still worthy to be bred - but even this dog will have titled parent(s) and a pedigree full of titles to prove a record of conformation to breed standard)

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Desirable temperament

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Been bred by a breeder who has studied in-depth, detailed history of pedigree (health, temperament, longevity, conformation to breed standard, etc) back at least 4 generations or more, of every direct predecessor and most (or all) of its siblings

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Been bred by a breeder who closely, responsibly protects their corner of the Berner gene pool (and pedigrees they work with) by selling breeding stock responsibly (only sold to those proven to be a committed, ethical Berner breeder, or those who co-own the puppy and closely mentor the new breeder)

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Been bred by a breeder who makes Responsible puppy placements

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Been bred by a breeder who Rescues dogs they've bred that need rescuing

The cost to purchase breeding quality Berners (who may or may not actually turn out to BE breeding quality) (typically, $1,000 to $5,000 per purchase of puppy or adult, sometimes more)

Losses incurred when a Berner doesn't pan out to be breeding quality (sometimes, if the Berner's health and temperament are good, but just not worthy of the gene pool, a breeder will sell this dog to a good pet home and reduce losses) (however, some breeders keep all their potential gene pool Berners, whether or not they end up breeding them)

Cost of health clearances (orthopedic, eyes, diseases, etc)

Cost of showing (professional handler, hotels, vehicle, show fees, communication w/show personnel, extra-grooming & other show related tools (table, crate, drier, carry-all, leashes & collars, clippers, apron, etc), show clothes, professional pictures, etc) (note: these fees are incurred at each show - whether or not a dog wins anything; and most dogs go to MANY shows before finishing requirements for championship) (We think it may cost between $1,000 to $10,000 to title a dog)

Regular Vet bills (vaccinations, check-ups, minor issues)

Expensive disease related Vet bills (cancer treatment costs, orthopedic surgeries, eye surgeries, blood tests, related medicines, etc)

Costs per breeding (research of pedigrees to find suitable stud/bitch, breeder phone calls, progesterone and other tests, artificial inseminations, stud fee, travel, boarding, vet phone calls (stud and bitch), c-section and other vet fees, medications, whelping box & supplies, puppy-buyer phone calls, etc)

Food bills (regular food and specialty diets for sick or pregnant dogs or puppies)

Phone bills and other puppy-owner related long-term expenses

Club activities (dues, travel, advertisements, etc)

Website, kennel advertisements, communications w/other dog people

Rescuing / re-homing Berners who didn't work out in their placements

Expenses of other Berners kept that are not in gene pool but are a product of 'breeding Berners' (i.e., a sick or deformed puppy that cannot be sold and must be kept by the breeder) (a rescued puppy/dog w/serious issues that cannot be re-homed)

Regular grooming expenses

Regular housing expenses

AKC registrations and communications

The cost to purchase a Berner to breed (can be bought from an unethical importer for as little as $250, or from another commercial breeder for $500 to $1,500 per puppy or adult)

Losses incurred when a Berner can't reproduce (sometimes sold at auction or otherwise to reduce losses)

Minimal Vet bills (vaccinations, minor issues)

Costs per breeding (breeder phone calls, progesterone and other tests, artificial inseminations, stud fee, travel, boarding, vet phone calls (stud and bitch), c-section and other vet fees, puppy-buyer phone calls, etc)

Cost of killing/disposing of puppies/dogs that get sick (instead of being killed, they're sometimes sold or auctioned off to reduce financial loss)

Food bills

Website and other kennel advertisements

Housing expenses

Registrations and communications, quite often using UKC (now called Dog Registry of the US), APR or other registries because the AKC has banned that breeder (note: registries like UKC and APR are famous for being used by commercial breeders because they're more friendly to this type of unethical breeder than the AKC. However, there are MANY unethical breeders that use the AKC registry all the time)

Increase your chance for a healthy, good temperament puppy

Find a supportive, knowledgeable, caring breeder who will stand by you and your/their Berner (especially important if your puppy develops issues)

Increase your chance to buy a truly 'purebred' Berner with correct AKC registration

You won't reward the lack of ethics in a bad breeder, and thereby YOU will help protect this beautiful, wonderful breed

What kind of importance does the breeder place on proven conformation to breed standard (showing their dogs) BEFORE breeding their dog? An unethical breeder will typically belittle the need for titles prior to breeding. Or they'll have every excuse why their dog doesn't have (or doesn't need) a title. An ethical breeder will totally support the need to prove conformation to breed standard in a show ring. However, there are many ethical breeders who will breed dogs without titles. If you run into a breeder who has bred a dog without a title (without proven conformation to breed standard), use more of the criteria below to evaluate that breeder. Titles aren't everything, but they are important to prove conformation to breed standard in a pedigree.

What kind of importance does the breeder place on health clearances BEFORE breeding their dog? Look for the following clearances: orthopedic and eyes. Its a plus if the breeder has thyroid, von Willebrands (a bleeding disorder) and any other clearances. Orthopedic clearances will be from OFA or PennHIP or OVC. An unethical breeder will typically belittle the need for clearances prior to breeding. Or they'll flat-out lie about having them done. How do you know if they're lying? Ask for clearance numbers. But only do this once you're very serious about buying a puppy from this breeder. Many ethical breeders are like me - I don't just give out clearance info to any potential puppy buyer who asks. But I'm glad to give this info to those puppy buyers with whom I have an agreement. ALSO, an ethical breeder will offer you the clearance info on BOTH grandparents and great-grandparents to the litter. Look for a breeder who knows (and has documented) clearances on parents, grandparents and even great grandparents. Note: Sometimes a very experienced ethical breeder may choose to breed a dog with borderline clearances. This is because the breeder is working within a pedigree they like and know. This breeder hopes to retain some strengths and marry them to other strengths. Top grade clearances aren't everything, but they are important and should be the normal criteria before breeding a dog.

What kind of importance does the breeder place on knowing the pedigrees they're breeding BEFORE they breed their dog? An unethical breeder will typically belittle the need for detailed, exact knowledge of all other dogs within the pedigree. The fact is that, in breeding a litter, you're more likely to reproduce the grandparents and not really the parents. Then, quite often, genetics will throw in some items from great-grandparents and maybe an aunt or uncle, or great-aunt or great-uncle. It takes knowing a pedigree to understand what is produced.  If a breeder doesn't know the issues of all the dogs in a pedigree, how do they know what they're breeding? Many good breeders have knowledge of the direct forebears (grandparents, great grandparents, etc), but may not have as much knowledge of the siblings involved. This is because siblings removed from the gene pool aren't usually tracked as closely by breeders. An unethical breeder will often use 'generalities' to cover up their lack of in-depth knowledge of pedigree issues. Avoid any breeder who can't give you dog-by-dog account of all issues in a pedigree. For instance, I had this one Berner breeder tell me that her bitch was so superb not only did she not need a show-ring to prove her conformation, she had ZERO cancer in her pedigree. I told this 'breeder' that she had the most rare Berner ever produced and she'd better charge more than $20,000 per puppy. Why? Cancer is in EVERY Berner pedigree, almost always within the first 3 generations. That woman indeed had a rare Berner if there was zero cancer in the pedigree. There's another unethical breeder I know who advertises that her dogs produce 'good sized puppies'. What the heck is that? How important is a good sized puppy? But to an uneducated potential puppy owner, that probably sounds pretty good because maybe it means they'll get a BIG berner? (How about a BIG Berner with serious health and temperament issues?) If a Breeder is honest with me, and doesn't know the issues in the pedigree, then I'll find people who DO know the issues and go from there. But typical puppy buyers don't have the connections to do that. So if a breeder doesn't give you detailed info about each dog in the pedigrees they work with, avoid that breeder.

What kind of importance does the breeder place on participating in breed clubs? Both ethical and unethical breeders populate breed clubs. So don't think a breeder is ethical just because they belong to a club. However, the level of a breeder's activity in breed clubs is another key that can tell you the motivations that a breeder has. Most ethical breeders want to be involved with others in their breed or other dog breeds. The better rounded breeders will belong to All-Breed clubs, as well as a Berner club. Most ethical breeders belong to and are active in more than one club, and have even filled officer positions within that (those) club(s). Look for level of breed club activity to help gauge a breeder's interest in protecting/helping the Berner dog breed.

What kind of importance does the breeder place on who gets their breeding stock? An ethical breeder will seem almost neurotic about getting pet puppies spayed/neutered. An ethical breeder will be very careful which dogs they produce are bred, or not. They'll follow-up to be certain those 'pet dogs' they've bred have been spayed or neutered. And ethical breeders will ONLY sell breeding potential puppies to another proven ethical breeder, or a new breeder they will closely mentor and co-own the puppy with (to make certain good breeding ethics are employed w/that pup). An unethical breeder will typically sell a breeding potential puppy for a slightly higher price than a pet puppy. An unethical breeder will usually not pay too close attention to who is buying that breeding potential puppy, i.e., they could be talked into selling a breeding potential puppy to just about anyone. Some unethical breeders like to give the appearance of caring if pet pups are removed from the gene pool, and so may have a written contract with the puppy owner. Written contracts don't mean much, really, but they can give the good impression that a breeder cares. Contracts are important, but there are more important items that prove a breeder's ethics. For instance, if the pet puppy owner gets a Full Registration on that puppy, this is a sure sign the breeder is uncaring and therefore unethical about who gets their breeding stock.

What kind of importance does the breeder place on rescuing dogs that they've bred? An unethical breeder will typically feel that once the puppy is sold, it is no longer their responsibility. In fact, these breeders often produce so many dogs that there's no way they can possibly follow-up on them all. These breeders are mostly or totally unsympathetic about sick or seriously ill dogs, or dogs with temperament issues. They're also unsupportive of their puppy owners and won't bother too much helping the puppy owner solve problems. Maybe they'll help at first, but then as time goes on, they lose interest. An ethical breeder will always be as supportive as possible to their puppy owners. I must note here that sometimes puppy owners can be a major hassle, and thereby make it difficult for even for the best of breeders to be supportive. The bottom line here is that an ethical breeder will move heaven and earth to rescue a needy dog they bred. An ethical breeder will have in the written contract that if the dog ever needs to be re-homed, the breeder gets first refusal to get the dog back. Our Berner rescue is full of dogs by breeders who refuse to take responsibility for dogs they bred. If you don't rescue dogs you bred, then don't breed.

Will the breeder take a deposit on a puppy that hasn't been born/bred yet? (I could really get myself in trouble with breeder friends on this topic, but I'm going to express my heartfelt conviction). An unethical breeder will take your money from you at any time. And they'll even take your money and put you on a 'waiting list'. An ethical breeder will wait to take your deposit until they are sure they have a puppy for you and that you have met all their requirements for a suitable home for that puppy (that puppy's individual temperament and health considered). Then you'll pay the balance due once you personally pick-up that puppy, which is guaranteed to be healthy at that time. Period. Avoid a breeder who will take your money before they are certain they have produced a puppy that is perfectly suited for your home. And frankly, they can't know its suited to your home until the puppy has been born AND has begun development of temperament and health. This is one of my personal ways to know if a breeder is motivated by money - or by ethical breeding. Note: Once a puppy deposit is placed, and the breeder held a puppy for you in good faith, I feel it is ethical for a breeder to keep that deposit if the potential puppy owner backs out of the deal. If a potential puppy owner has a very good reason for backing out, I will probably refund the deposit. Otherwise, I keep it. Every potential puppy owner should seriously and carefully consider BEFORE paying the breeder a puppy deposit. I'll tell you this, most unethical breeders won't refund your deposit ever, for any reason. This is because their motivation is to make money.