Why Our Bernedoodles Are a Tier Above the Rest

We are incredibly passionate about perfecting the best practices behind our program, and we want to ensure the standard we maintain is understood by our families. Quite frankly, it’s hard to differentiate breeding programs if you don’t know what to look for. Terms like “Health Tested”, “Small Family Business”, and other jargon are constantly used without much explanation. If you’re not a breeder, that all might sound like the same quality of puppy, but let us be clear: It’s NOT. We believe programs should be very transparent about their standards, because those specifics are what dictates the actual quality of your puppy.

We’re excited to show you exactly how our dogs are, very definably, a tier above the rest, and how you will not find our program standards in many other places.

We Specialize in the Original Bernedoodle

Throughout our years of building Haystack Bernedoodles as a husband and wife team, we have become increasingly aware of how unique our approach towards breeding and raising dogs is. Our program is founded on focus and commitment to defined standards, which we find underwhelmingly absent in the Bernedoodle space. From our health testing to the way we raise puppies as members of our family, which continues even after they go home, we are wholly dedicated to maintaining the highest breeding standards possible.

Our mission is to produce the finest Bernedoodles by crossing high quality purebred Poodles with Bernese Mountain Dogs from our family lineage. That is our defined specialty, which means we don’t branch off into multigenerational breeding or other types of Doodles. As programs continue to expand into new crosses, generations and sizes, the Bernedoodle market has become a hard place to intelligently navigate. We want our families to be as educated as possible when it comes to picking a puppy. Please visit our Breeding Philosophy Page to learn more!

Our Health Standards Are Strict & Transparent

We’re amazed by how many programs claim their dogs are “healthy” without defining the tests they perform (if any), or posting any actual results. Just because a breeder states their puppies are “from health tested parents” doesn’t make it fact, and the quality and consistency of testing as well as their transparency really does matter. At Haystack, we have a set standard for health screening that every dog must pass in order to be in our program.

Every single one of our dogs is DNA tested through Embark to ensure they are free of breed relevant conditions. That means all of our Standard Poodles are clear of VwD, PRa, Gangliosidosis, DM, NEWS, Osteochonrodysplasia and IVDD, and all of our Bernese Mountain Dogs are clear of VwD and free of DM.

Just as important, we utilize PennHip to evaluate hip dysplasia (CHD) risk in all of our dogs. CHD is a devastating disease that destroys a dog’s mobility and sadly is very prevalent in both Bernese Mountain Dogs and Standard Poodles, and therefore Bernedoodles. PennHip is the only research-backed test that accurately assesses CHD risk in dogs. To our knowledge, we are the ONLY Bernedoodle program that uses PennHip as the standard for ALL of our breeding dogs, which means we can say with actual confidence that your puppy’s hips will be healthy. That is incredibly important given CHD prevalence in Bernedoodles, and a statement programs that utilize OFA can not honestly make. To learn more about the specifics of our standards, please visit our Health Standards Page!

You and Our Puppies Are Family, Not a Product.

We are a small family operation, and we’re proud of that. At the end of the day, our goal is to provide healthy puppies to happy families, and the practices we’ve adopted all reflect that. From Day One, the puppies are whelped and raised inside our living room with constant attention. They grow up with consistent love and human interaction, which is very important to the social and cognitive development of each puppy. We’re committed to raising only enough litters that we can maintain this personalized level of care, so your puppy will never be in a situation where it is neglected, or even just isn’t getting enough attention.

Our Adoption Process is also unique! We believe our customers should have a choice in selecting their future family member. That is why we refuse to “assign” dogs or base selections off of photos alone, as is often the standard. Instead we invite families to visit our property in person (or video call for out of state families) to choose their puppy at six weeks. It gives you the opportunity to discuss which pup is the right fit for your family, and allows us to meet the awesome people our puppies are going home to. Although these visits add extra work to our adoption process, they are a crucial highlight and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re astonished by how few programs follow this model, let alone allow you to visit their facility. We’re proud of how we raise and place puppies, and that’s why we’re excited to involve families personally throughout their adoption.