I showed Samson's picture to our BMD Rescue Chair with 25 years of experience in evaluating shelter dogs (is it a Berner?) - she is also a former Aussie owner and she didn't hesitate to say "absolutely no Berner there based on structure and ear set" and further surmised "aussie mix or shepherd mix".

Have I found your answer?

Check out this very common mix of aussie...this is a border collie/aussie mix and they come in a variety of shapes and colors:

Border-Aussie, Border-Aussies, Border Collie Australian Shepherd Hybrid

Rachel

Alex, it seems we are on the same boat, I cant tell whether my puppy is an aussie or a berner. I guess we have to wait till they grow, they're still cute and lovable tho.

It will definitely be interesting to watch - as long as they are happy and healthy it's OK either way!

I checked out the pictures - I do see the resemblance. But then I saw a genetic report on a dog that was part Berner and Part Chow and it's ears were higher and it looked less like a Berner to me than Samson does - I have a picture of a pure berner puppy and his body looks the same to me. When you say shepherd mix - do you mean like German Shepherd? He is getting VERY active when awake - chases the other dogs in play, nipping, picks up things like marrow bones and throws them down repeatedly just for the fun of it - he's a lot of fun to watch! Yet he likes to hide under furniture other times and acts heartbroken when scolded. It will be interesting to watch him grow!