​What should a new Bernedoodle owner be aware of before committing?  1) One these are big dogs with the boys getting up to 85+ lbs and girls 65+ lbs. 2) Secondly, they are a long haired dog and like it cold..colder the better.  If you like to keep your home above 74F, get another breed as they will be miserable. 3) these are not great running buddies for those that like to go on long runs....they may last a mile if you're fortunate; 4) puppies are not fully vaccinated until 16 weeks of age and you will need your own dedicated back yard that is preferably fenced in. 5) puppies need a fenced-in backyard to call their own so they can do plenty of off-leash running and playing; 6) puppies are not perfect...we do everything within our power to get them ready but each one is uniquely different and you'll need to be mentally and physically ready for the homecoming of your new puppy...do your homework on puppy training before she's one.  You could encounter the following: 1) mouthing behavior (aka puppy biting; 2) soft stool; 3) crate training and housebreaking challenges (we will get them well on their way); 4) demand barking; 5) jumping; 6) whining, and the list goes on and on.

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Here's some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that are intended to address some of the most common questions we get (if you don't see one here please email Dr. Chris at premierdoodles@gmail.com and he will add it to the list below):

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1) Question: Do the F1 and/or F1b Standard Bernedoodles shed? Answer: All dogs can shed, however our F1 standard bernedoodles shed minimally (occasional tumbleweeds) or not at all.  Those that shed minimally you'll see an occasional tumble weed/dust bunny but this has never been an issue to our customers.   Many of our customers have significant dog allergies in their homes but we have never had one issue with our parents and kids in these situations. Most would consider our bernedoodles, both F1 and F1b, as non shedding.

2) Question: Do bernedoodles need exercise and do they make good running partners.  Answer: Yes they need plenty of off leash run time and as such we find homes with a fenced in backyard do best for the puppies and adults.  They do get hot fast so they can not be left outside for more than 10-15 minutes during the warmer months, especially in the Southeast/Southwest and have to have shade and fresh water and a way to get back inside when they are ready. As far as jogging buddies, there's likely better breeds you may want to target....standard poodles will keep up with the best runners! Bernedoodles get way too hot.

3) Question: How often do I need to brush my bernedoodle?  Answer: When you pick up your puppy at 8 weeks of age, they won't necessarily have to be brushed but we recommend using a toothbrush to go thru the motions of brushing to keep them used to it as we start that process here.  Make this a very positive experience! Can use lots of praise and treats.  Once you start really brushing (which you can do in lieu of the toothbrush), we recommend a minimum of 3-4 times per week or more often if they are going to be doing lots of swimming and if you want to keep the coat a little longer.  The bottom line is that like most thick coated dogs they will be prone to matting if you don't keep up on the brushing.  We recommend a two tiered approach: 1) use a slicker brush following the coat lines of the dog to get the surface coat brushed out; and 2) then use a metal comb to work toward the base of the hair follicle to detangle any mats or keep mats from developing. We have a video pinned at the top of our FaceBook page at www.facebook.com/premierdoodles.

4) Question: How much and often should I feed my puppy?  When they are adults?  Answer: we feed our puppies 3x/day and the amount will vary between individuals.  They are relatively good at controlling their food intake and will usually just eat what they need.  We would recommend starting with a cup of food 3x/day but if they inhale it then increase by 1/4 cup until there's a little left over.  In the morning food we often add a teaspoon of plain Greek Yogurt (no sugar added), 2-3 tsp of plain Kefir, a teaspoon of 100% pumpkin (no sugar added) or better yet 2 tsp of cooked sweet potato, and we will sometimes add a small amount of  cooked ground up meats (burger, chicken, etc..but no salts or other additives). We also add 1/8-1/4 tsp of MSM and some freeze dried super food by Badlands. For the lunch and dinner we will just keep it dry unless you feel you need to add a little something to increase appetite. We do use TLC food and that is explained elsewhere on our website under the "Information Center" tab.  When they get to about 4-6 months you will likely cut it down to two meals per day, morning and dinner time. 

5) Question: How often should the puppy have access to water?  Answer: ALL THE TIME except when in the crate.  

6) Question: How often should we be taking the puppy outside for potty breaks? Answer: As often as you can. For sure every time the puppy is at the back door so they learn that association.  Take outside right after they drink water or eat food.  The process of eating stimulates the digestive track to initiate the action of defacating of  the previous meals.  Anytime the puppy starts sniffing the ground get outside.  We would recommend getting the puppy outside every 15-20 minutes while awake or more often.  Also restrict the space the puppy has access to....if you can't watch the puppy 100% then it should be in a crate that is placed near the back door.

7) Question: Is my deposit refundable?  Answer: No.  We make that clear on our puppy contract, puppy application, and my email correspondence if the application is approved. Make sure you want a puppy from us before you send a deposit and make sure your application is approved before sending your deposit (you'll get an email from us one way or the other).  You're welcome to stay on our list for two (2) years and after 3 offers, and 2 years, you will be removed from our reservation list and lose your deposit.  The $500 nonrefundable deposit goes fully and directly towards the balanced owed on the puppy.

8) Question: Will my bernedoodle fade? Answer: Because of the standard poodles, many bernedoodle (especially traditional tricolors) tan points will often fade to a lighter color.  In some cases it stays, but often it fades to a caramel or creamish color.  This is also the case for some of the red sables and sables. We can not guarantee future color.  Without a genetic marker (despite what other breeders or customers may say on various FaceBook sites, there is no genetic marker for tan point fading...there is for silver and some others but not this one and the recent test for intensity has not proven to be highly predictive) we do our best to use adult dogs that are least likely to produce puppies that will eventually have their tan points fade and we try to avoid adult dogs in our breeding program that have colors that are prone to fading.  We do get tremendous consistency in structure/conformation, coat quality, and personality which are the most important variables we look at. 

9) Question: How do I pickup my puppy and is that cost included in the cost of the puppy? Answer: the cost is extra and not included.  The options for picking up your puppy include: a) fly into the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport (GSP) in South Carolina, give us your flight itinerary, and we will meet you curbside at arrival and hand the puppy to you. We will guide you on the proper carrier to get;  b) have a flight nanny hand carry the puppy to your airport and again would meet curbside in arrival (cost is approximately $800-$1200 above the cost of the puppy); c) if we have enough puppies going to a certain region then we can look at a ground transport option where we personally hand deliver to a nearby destination (cost is approximately $400-500); or d) pickup your puppy here at our home on puppy pickup day.

10) Question: Do you do puppy training beyond 8 weeks such as a 4-6 month training program and then we pickup the puppy at a later date and if so how much? Answer: No we don't....we invest an incredible amount of time into our puppy training program that we are unable to do extended training at this time. Our puppies are very easy to train and are virtually housebroken so we do a lot of the hard work before you pickup your puppy to make puppy training a lot easier.  We use a combination of Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS or aka biosensor), Puppy Culture, Baxter & Bella, and Empowered Breeder protocol during our training.

11) Question: My puppy howls when he's in the crate...what should I do?  Do your best to create a positive environment in the crate and don't use it for punishment. If the whining happens at night time, and you took the puppy outside to go potty and he did, and you saw him go poo before going to bed, then just firmly tell the puppy "Quiet".  You may have to spend a few days to a week with a sleeping bag and pillow right next to the crate until the puppy gets a hang of your routine.  We did work with the crates quite a bit but in a  new environment they will need a little time to adjust as puppies are very situational.  It's not uncommon for puppies to get up 1-2x/night in the wee hours of the morning for the first week or so.  Just quickly get the puppy out, tell them "good potty", and then back to bed in the crate.  When this happens during the day see if there's some power treats, bones, puzzle feeders that could be used to keep them busy.  The main thing is to create a positive conditioned emotional response so that they really like their crate.

12) Question: my puppy was mellow the first week or two and now it just wants to bite all the time!  Puppy biting or mouthing behavior is common in all breeds and especially bernedoodles.  The main thing is to realize this won't last forever (by about 5-6 months they should be done) but that you can be firm in saying NO BITE.  But MAKE SURE THE PUPPY IS GETTING A LOT OF EXERCISE! A good puppy is a tired puppy and one less inclined to do a lot of puppy biting.  Please read the section on puppy mouth behavior in our Puppy Training Guide in the link under the Puppy Central tab. 

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