The ever-popular Bernedoodle is a designer breed resulting from the crossing of a Bernese Mountain Dog and a Poodle. They were first intentionally bred in 2003 though a hybrid of these 2 breeds may have happened by accident before then. Happy, gentle, goofy, and playful, a lot of people have found the breed to be the perfect companion and family pet.
Most of the time a female Bernese Mountain Dog is bred to a male Poodle, rarely is a female Poodle bred to a Bernese Mountain Dog male.
Sizes
Bernadoodles come in several sizes. Standard, Mini, and Micro Mini. The size is normally determined by the size of the dad of the puppy. The Bernese female can be bred to either a Standard Poodle or a Miniature Poodle. Obviously, if the male is a Standard Poodle, the puppy will be a Standard Bernedoodle and can be expected to be around 55 – 70 lbs. If the male is a Mini Poodle, the puppy will be a Mini Bernedoodle and will be around 30 – 40 lbs as an adult.
Both of these would be called an F1 Bernedoodle. An F1 cross-bred puppy is a puppy that is the result of 2 purebred dogs of different breeds being bred together. If you take an offspring of the 2 different breeds of dogs bred together (an F1) and breed it back to a dog of the same breed as one of the parents, the result will be an F1B puppy.
Let’s say the dad of the F1 was a Mini Poodle, making the puppy an F1 Mini Bernedoodle, that puppy grows up and is bred to a Mini Poodle, the puppies resulting from that would be an F1B Micro Mini Bernedoodle, the smallest of the Mini Bernedoodles.
Let’s Talk about Temperament
Both the Poodle and the Bernese Mountain Dog have very friendly temperaments and love interacting with people and also with other animals. The Bernese can be very energetic and playful but they also love to just relax and chill. The Poodle is a little more high-strung and craves and loves constant attention.
Blending these 2 personalities together makes for a very people-friendly puppy that generally has a great attitude with a streak of goofiness and orneriness. The F1B puppies will tend to be even more energetic and playful since they are 3/4 Poodle and 1/4 Bernese Mountain Dog.
What About Coloring
The classic Bernedoodle has the same markings as a Bernese Mountain Dog… Mostly black with a white stripe from nose to forehead, white chin, chest, and belly. They also have white on their feet and lower legs. A classic trademark of the breed is the “rust” spots on their cheek, eyebrows, and lower leg where the dominant black coat meets the white feet. These rust-colored spots really add another dimension to their beautiful coloring.
Depending on the color genetics that the male poodle (the father) carries and passes on to the puppies, they may sometimes be a merle color or have more black and not as much rust coloring. An F1B puppy will be more likely to have less rust color and more black or even more likely to be merle colored than an F1. Finding an F1B with the classic Bernese Moutain Dog markings is sometimes harder than you would think.
No matter what color puppy you end up getting, you are sure to be pleased the with playful nature, trainability, and eagerness to please.
