BMDCA Position on Crossbreeding
Bernedoodle / Crossbreeding
The Bernese Mountain Dog Club is dedicated to the health and welfare of the Bernese Mountain Dog breed while conserving the original breed function - that of a "working dog." A purebred dog offers to his owner the likelihood that he will be a specific size, shape, color and temperament. The predictability of a breed comes from selection for traits that are desirable and away from traits that are undesirable. When a breed standard or type is set, the animals within that breed have less heterozygosity than do animals in a random population.
A Bernedoodle is nothing more than an expensive mongrel. Because the genetic makeup is diverse from the Poodle genes and the Bernese Mountain Dog genes, the resultant first generation (F1) offspring is a complete genetic gamble. The dog that results from cross-breeding may be any size, color, coat texture and temperament. Indeed, Bernedoodles do shed. Behavior varies with the dog and within a litter with some puppies that are poodle-like in attitude and others somewhat like the Bernese Mountain Dog.
The Bernese Mountain Dog Club is opposed to cross-breeding of dogs and is particularly opposed to the deliberate crossing of Bernese Mountain Dogs with any other breed. These crossbreds are a deliberate attempt to mislead the public with the idea that there is an advantage to these designer dogs. The crossbred dogs are prone to all the genetic disease of both breeds and offer none of the advantages that owning a purebred dog has to offer.
The above is a derivative of the Labrador Retriever Club statement. Permission to amend was granted to the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America by:
Frances O. Smith DVM, Ph.D.
LRC, Inc. Board of Directors
Diplomate American College of Theriogenology
Original Author of Labradoodle Statement
October 2017