Buckeye Bernese Mountain Dogs

Drs. Mark & Carol Stephenson
Buckeye Bernese Mountain Dogs

(east side of Cincinnati, Ohio)
513-575-4470 

buckeyeberners@cinci.rr.com
www.buckeyeberners.com
	





We offer reputable breeder and rescue referrals, guidance 
for puppy selection, & training assistance or referrals.
  

We can help you learn to use positive training methods 
(including clicker training) for success in puppy sociali-
zation and "good family dog" manners.

	
We can assist one-on-one or refer you to training programs
for conformation, obedience, agility, rally obedience, draft dog
(pulling carts and wagons), tracking, herding, and therapy dog.
	
Berners are large, affectionate working dogs that make
wonderful family pets. However, the breed has certain
characteristics--such as massive shedding and a very short
life span--that you need to understand and accept before
welcoming one into your family.  They can also have 
potentially expensive and heart-breaking inherited health
issues such as hip/elbow dysplasia, von Willibrands
hemophilia, eye, heart, thyroid, and liver problems, and a 
tragic predisposition to an incurable cancer called
malignant histiocytosis. 
	
These are things you need to ask your breeder about when 
choosing a puppy. Good breeders test for as many of these 
things as possible and can show you proof from official 
health registries such as OFA, PENNHIP, or CERF that your 
prospective puppy's parents are clear or normal for these
and other conditions. These tests don't guarantee that
every puppy will be perfectly healthy, but they are a 
good breeder's best tool to minimize health problems.
	
Please don't make an impulse buy!  Don't 
buy from a pet store or online auction--these pups typically 
come from high volume puppy mills and backyard breeders
and have few if any health clearances.  Lately there are  
many poor quality imports with serious orthopedic and
temperament problems (excessive shyness or aggression).
Amish farmers are also raising bernese and other breeds as 
"livestock" and typically have done no health clearances.  
They buy their breeding stock from puppy mill dog auctions,
backyard breeders, or eastern Europe.  We have accepted
into rescue "used up" Amish breeding dogs who would
otherwise simply be disposed of when they can no longer breed.
Please don't buy from Amish breeders and perpetuate this cruel 
practice of breeding dogs until they wear out then simply
throwing them away. 
	
Ask if your puppy-to-be's parents and their health 
clearances are listed in the online Berner-Garde Foundation
database. Go to the Berner-garde site www.bernergarde.org 
and look for yourself!  If the parents are not there, and 
their health clearances are not listed, BEWARE! Simply 
being AKC registered is NO protection--anyone can sell 
AKC puppies. Please be informed.  

	
Please realize that "both parents on the premises" is often
not a good sign.  Good breeders spend hours pouring over
pedigrees and health records to find the best possible boy 
dog for their precious girl.  Rarely is the BEST boy already 
living in the same household.  You should expect to meet 
the mom with the puppies.  You should receive information 
about the dad so you can go visit him if you wish. Don't assume 
that dad will live nearby--good breeders take their girls to 
the best boy they can find, wherever he is.