Dear past, current, or future Berner enthusiast, 

When I was a very little child, our neighbour had these two beautiful dogs who I always admired. Their names were Hendrix and Emma. They were - you guessed it - Bernese Mountain Dogs. Their nature and beauty was something I always found myself drawn to and I always remembered that. I was a child who was obsessed with animals and was lucky enough to live on a farm and have a great-grandpa (Papa) and Grandpa who enabled my addiction to animals. Over the years I have had registered Suffolk sheep, horses (Paints and Miniature), Pygmy goats, chickens, rabbits and pigs. I still have registered Fleckvieh cattle to this day. Whenever I acquired a new species, my goal was to improve upon the previous generation with the next. I was fascinated by genetics and spent many hours learning the ins and out of pedigrees, what they were known for and developing a “type” within my own stock that I saw as something necessary to the forward development of the breed. This learning became a great skill when I entered the purebred dog world where pedigrees and understanding structure, movement, temperament and health can affect people’s lives. Understanding these things ensures that I am breeding dogs that will have a positive impact on the lives of their people and that the dogs I create will hopefully be around for many healthy years. 

I got my first Berner when I was 18 after many long conversations to convince to parents to let me do so, followed by a second at 19. Living with a Berner was everything that I imagined it would be. If I didn’t already love this beautiful breed, then actually getting to have one of these dogs as my own was what solidified my love and passion for the breed. I had a few litters over the course of a few years from the two Berner girls we had at the time. At a certain point, I decided to spay those two girls and to end that line. While we personally had good experiences with those girls and found many wonderful homes for the puppies, I decided to distance myself from the breeders that those original girls came from. The reason for that decision was I felt I had a different motivation and ethical compass for breeding than they did. From there, I was connected through my vet, to Alison Gowan of Gowan’s Reg’d, who I felt embodied the goals that I had for myself as a breeder. Alison and her mom Barbara had been breeding Berners with the same line since the mid 1990s and were big proponents of natural rearing. Alison was the mentor I needed all along and was able to learn about many pedigrees and various dog sports that I could take part in. She answered many of my incessant and long-winded questions and provided me with many invaluable insights that helped me to grow my understanding of the breed. 

My goals as a breeder can be paired down to a few simple ideas when it really comes down to it. Health and longevity go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. Even if you could get longevity, would you want a miserable dog to live a longer life? I constantly dig into pedigrees around the world to identify bloodlines that I feel can have a positive impact on my dogs and have a positive impact on the breed average. I also think that temperament is of the utmost importance. I like to see outgoing, social Berners and expect breeding animals that I incorporate into my bloodlines to embody that. While many people may argue that they do not need a “show dog” or “anything fancy” I would like to point out that form does affect function. Dogs that are put together well and move well are less likely to have structural issues and to injure themselves; this is important to me. I also place a big emphasis on my dogs being able to do things naturally. This means get pregnant naturally, give birth naturally, raise litters naturally and develop naturally. I believe this puts the least amount of stress on the dogs and with an overwhelmed veterinary profession in Ontario, I feel this is important to my dogs and is the most humane option. This is not to say that a good veterinarian and veterinary intervention are something that can be overlooked. I believe that dogs are meant to be a part of the family and our dogs live with us in the home, sleep in our rooms, and are a part of our every moment. My biggest goal as a breeder is to never think of myself as having arrived at where I want to be. I constantly want to better myself, my dogs, and search for the next piece of the puzzle so that I can continue on my journey with this wonderful breed. 

Sincerely, 

Matt