BREEDING & RAISING BERNEDOODLE THERAPY DOGS

The Bernese Mountain dogs' love of human interaction and their working dog mentality make them well suited for therapy work.  What we discovered as we began placing our dogs into people's lives, was that many of our families suffered from allergies or other reactions to the Bernese shedding.   The Bernese has a thick and moderately long coat.

What we also began to worry about were health issues in the breed due to its small genetic foundation.  According to North American and British surveys, nearly half of all Berners succumb to cancer. The average life span of the breed is 6 to 8 years.  While all of our dogs are living sound and healthy lives, we knew it was a matter of time before we might run into health issues.

THE DOODLE EXPLOSION

Right around the time we began worrying about the health issues that can arise by breeding in a small genetic pool, North America began experiencing the "Doodle Explosion".   We researched this new phenomenon extensively and took advice from some very experienced breeders of pure bred poodles and doodles alike. After much consideration, we began our breeding program using our beloved Bernese Mountain dogs, paired with beautiful Klein poodles. Our breeding dogs were specifically selected for temperament and physical soundness.

TEMPERAMENT, TEMPERAMENT,TEMPERAMENT

Temperament is the single most important factor in the selection of breeds for therapy dogs.  Therapy animals must be able to adapt to stress or unusual occurrences easily but never exhibit any aggressive or fearful behavior. A dog’s temperament is influenced by its genetics as well as its interactions with its dam, breeder, and environment during the first eight weeks of life.  

This is where Kootenay Bernedoodles places emphasis.  Our family home and the interactions of each of our family members with the puppies aids in early socialization & training.   We ensure strong bonding between mother and puppy in the 8-10 weeks our puppies grow with us.  We follow that up by ensuring that our  therapy dogs  are raised in a positive, safe, and healthy environment that provides boundaries as well as rewards for interactions with humans, other dogs, and other animals. 

BERNEDOODLES IN SERVICE

 We absolutely love our breed and are honored that they are of service to so many wonderful people and families.   

Our oldest litter is now six years old. They have all been healthy, happy and extremely valuable members of families with individual needs. We have placed many puppies into situations where a therapy dog has been extremely valued. As we progress with the building of this new website come back and see as we add more testimonials from our amazing families. 

TRAINING

Its been said that a therapy dog is born, not made. So we started this years ago, bringing together breeding pairs with exceptional temperament and  health.  An important part of raising puppies that will one day be a therapy companion or a working service animal is socialization with people of all ages, other animals and exposure to all the sights and sounds the world can offer.  From there the new parents with our support-for-life program will continue to help bring their new family member forward to the goal of being the best service animal for their needs. 

HOME SELECTION

Because of the bernedoodle's extra-ordinary temperament, many families are interested in adopting one of our pups. While this is a secondary market for us, we undertake a screening process to ensure our pups are placed into loving, capable homes where they become part of the family. The Bernedoodle thrives on being part of a family and will flourish in this environment.

Our wait lists for the spring litters are now filling up. If you would like to know more about our up and coming litters please contact us.  

You will never see our dogs listed on craigslist or kijiji. As we breed to meet real needs and highly personalized fits, it is important to have a relationship to our families.  We wish to know you  - so don't hesitate to be in touch and tell us what you need