All dogs for breeding should be:

1. Examples of the breed that reflect the characteristics in the American Kennel Club Standard for the Bernese Mountain Dog
2. In excellent health Granted full AKC registration
3. All Puppies should be Offered optimal conditions conducive to their survival and adjustment from birth until they are ready to be adopted by their new family
4. Kept in quarters that are warm, clean and dry
5. Offered appropriate nutrition to insure proper development
6. Offered a stimulating and nurturing environment designed to allow for maximum physical and mental development
7. Socialized, exposed to handling and human contact - to ensure pup's ability to bond with and trust humans

ABOUT BREEDER'S APPROACH AND FOCUS

Breeders engaged in perpetuating any breed should take the breeding of dogs seriously. The decision to produce offspring from a carefully selected breeding pair requires that both breeder and stud dog owner make every effort to ensure that progeny will be good examples of the breed.

- Breeders also make special efforts in selecting homes for their pups so they will live happy lives with people who appreciate their value and will provide necessities for the pup to develop and maintain a good life. - Open, honest sharing of facts concerning health, structure, temperament and type characteristics of BMDs is essential.

- Every breeding dog came from a family of dogs. Understanding all assessable traits possessed by families of dogs, in addition to accurate evaluation of traits possessed by individual dogs used for breeding is critical to insuring a promising future for the breed.

- Puppies should be carefully evaluated and placed by the breeder. Puppies placed as future breeding stock should be assessed in terms of their potential to contribute positively to the gene pool.

- Breeders placing a dog as breeding stock must assume the responsibility for ensuring that the new owner is committed to applying standards and management practices that will enhance breed welfare. - Puppies that are evaluated prior to placement and deemed to be lacking in breed characteristics sufficient to be used as future breeding stock should be sold on spay/neuter contacts and AKC Limited Registration.

- Effort should be made to determine that the owner's management and home will be adequate to meet the dog's needs and NOT result in the dog becoming a public burden or nuisance.

-Breeders should define for themselves and others their priorities and purpose for breeding BMDs.