Hi everyone. I will be a first time Bernese owner in the next 6-8 weeks, and can't decide on a breeder.

I've put a refundable deposit down at Paws Awhile in Eady, however was just contacted by Hidden Hills Bernese in Uxbridge, that she also has puppies available.

Hidden Hills do not have any photos of their adult dogs, so just wondering if anyone has any feedback from either breeder. I was really impressed by Paws Awhile and the number of dogs in their pack, but want to be sure in my decision.

Any info. is appreciated.

Thanks!

A friend of mine just got one from Paws a While and seems very happy. Her Berner is just 5 months now I think but she hasn't had any issues other than her chewing off a dew claw, which she's now had to remove all of them. She is a handful but my Berner was too as a pup! Definitely has wonderful traits such as VERY social and not shy!

I would say lack of pictures is a slight red flag, but more importantly I would ask if the use "Berner-Garde" to track their dogs.

Our puppy search is coming to a close and every serious breeder we spoke with said they use it as much as possible to track health traits of Parents, Grandparents and puppies.

After doing a ton or research and networking with the BMD Club I got quite a few good referrals.

We got Barney from Hidden Hills back in April. He's been great so far, and has a clean bill of health from the vet (he's been for a checkup the day after we brought him home, and another about a month later).

The only thing that raised a red flag with me was that she was willing to let the puppies be rehomed at 7 weeks instead of insisting on a minimum of 8 weeks. It depends on how important that is to you - we insisted that our boy stayed with his mom until he was 8 weeks, and Susan agreed.

There were other things that bothered me more with other breeders (like the clause to wait at least a year before spay/neutering, lack of health guarantees, or the parents not being available for us to meet).

There's another poster who also has a pup from Hidden Hills, maybe they'll chime in, too! Either way, good luck and cannot wait to see the pics of whichever puppy you bring home!

Thank you so much for all your feedback.

Decided to stick with the original breeder, as I did fall in love with all of their dogs on site, and the fact that they were EXTREMELY knowledgeable in answering all the questions I had for them.

The fact that I can't see photos of any adult dogs (or parents) on the Hidden Hills site doesn't sit well with me, and makes it really difficult to make a decision.

Again, thanks for the info - can't to bring my puppy home

I have a 2 year old female from HiddenHills and she is amazing! I also have been to paws a while, saw the facility and met the owner who is a good guy. I just recently took my pup home from Paws a while, but had to return him due to family reasons. I will be getting my new pup soon from paws a while.

Both good breeders.

If I can have a shot at talking you out of buying a Berner before ensuring it is from a reputable breeder and helping you understand what this means - please contact me and give me a shot.

To start, there are many red flags to look for such as :

-Does not raise the dogs in the home as pets first - rather is running a kennel with outdoor shacks to house

-Is not a member of the Breed Club and following their code of ethics for breeders. This includes breeding for one reason and one reason only: and that is to contribute to the breed by trying to improve the dogs. Not breed more dogs and make money on them but rather breed to get a better dog. This breeder does genetic research and pedigree analysis and uses Bernergarde - they do NOT amass a pack of dogs on site and breed at will.

-They NEVER EVER breed mixes and work to destroy the integrity of a breed, or risk declining the breed and its merits by randoming mixing with other incompatible breeds with grossly different structures/temperment etc. that genetically may not mix well. This is automatic expulsion from AKC /CKC and national breed clubs.

-Provides pedigrees and health information as a result.

-Discusses diet, vaccines, and other health care with you......because they care about the dogs they produce and their contract is about protecting these dogs - not their pocketbooks or human rights.

This is just a start....but I hope spells out far more red flags then what has been mentioned already.