Advice for anyone about to buy a Bernese puppy
(You’ll find the list of breeders registered in Hungary at the bottom of the page!)
Terms and information for those who would like a Bernese from us
I like to meet prospective owners before they take their puppy home. This can happen during a visit to our kennel in Gödöllő, or at many places around the country when we travel to dog shows at weekends.
Around the time of our females’ seasons and after mating, until the litter is 6 weeks old, we do not receive visitors in person, in order to protect the puppies and their mother – because of the risk of infections being brought in.
As we only have a few litters a year, a waiting list usually forms, so it is worth letting us know in good time that you would like a puppy.
My primary consideration when choosing owners is that they LOVE the dog; we do not oblige owners to take part in dog shows. Of course we are delighted if they are open to it, but it is not a requirement.
What “comes with” an adorable 8–10-week-old Magic Bernese puppy?
A puppy name of your choice beginning with the given “litter letter” – in this case “/S/T/U”….. Magic Bernese will be the puppy’s full name. E.g.: HERMIONE Magic Bernese
- Pedigree/certificate of origin (export pedigree for owners abroad)
- A multi-page contract drawn up by a lawyer, with a photo of the puppy
- An invoice issued by our business
- Health certificate (in 3 languages)
- Passport (with a cover embroidered with the puppy’s name)
- A huge puppy pack with food, toys, a personalised document holder, a food storage bucket, etc.
- A thoroughly compiled guide to the puppy’s first weeks
- Complete parasite control (including heartworm prevention from 6 weeks of age)
- Full vaccination programme
- Degenerative myelopathy genetic test (for both Exon 1 and 2)
- Specialist cardiac ultrasound examination (by a veterinary cardiology specialist)
- Belonging to a wonderful international Bernese “family”
- Joint outings, kennel meet-ups and walks
- Dog grooming (in Gödöllő and Székesfehérvár) and dog boarding (in our home in Gödöllő) for later on
- Support and help 24/7
How long is the waiting list? When can I get a puppy?
As we only have a few litters a year, a waiting list usually forms, so it is worth letting us know in good time that you would like a puppy.
(In practice, this can be as much as six months to a year before the puppy moves to its new home)
This is done by paying a deposit by bank transfer or in cash. We will tell you the amount by email or in person.
Of course, we prepare written documentation and issue a deposit declaration containing all the important details required for legally reserving the puppy.
Furthermore, this amount is of course deducted from the final purchase price.
The waiting list is sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, as we cannot know in advance how many puppies will be born in a litter. It may be 1, but it may also be 10. During the waiting period, reserved prospective owners may move house, build or renovate, or be expecting a baby, so it often happens that they reschedule their reservation for later, i.e. for the next litter at the earliest, and so everyone moves up the list.
So it can easily happen that in a larger litter there will be puppies available immediately or within a short time. Although this has only happened once since 2009.
It may come as a surprise, but with us it is not the owner who chooses their puppy.
There is a very simple and sensible reason for this.
A Bernese puppy is incredibly cute, a real teddy bear, so you would want to take any of them home. When you come to visit, you essentially meet a litter of near-identical puppies who are interested, curious and, at that moment, would go home with anyone who speaks kindly to them.
I always have a thorough conversation with prospective owners. We talk about their everyday life, their working hours, how much time each of them generally has, and what the family’s lifestyle is like. Do they love hiking? Are they homebodies? Do they have lots of children, or none at all? Based on this and on my experience as a breeder, I will know what energy level and temperament of puppy they need – one who will fit perfectly into their family. Of course, as far as possible, I also take into account any extra wishes of the family, if someone comes with a specific idea of their dream puppy.
From 2 weeks of age we carry out puppy tests every week in every litter, and I continuously compile the results, so I get an accurate picture of what each puppy will be like as an adult. Based on this, I recommend puppies to the reserved prospective owners.
Sorting through the thoughts gathered from the growing number of enquiries, from purchases that ended in disappointment and from the questions of future owners, I decided to help a little in finding your way around this subject.
I would like to draw attention to useful and very important things, so that future owners can make their decision with enough information and do not fall victim to “scams”.
It is clear to everyone that, as prices rise, the puppy-farming market is booming, and 90% of “buyers” would want a puppy they could have taken home yesterday – and very cheaply, of course!
At this point I already have to disillusion those who think this way: the order of nature cannot be overridden, so we do not programme the seasons – prospective mothers come into season twice a year.
It is easy to work out that genuine breeders do not have a litter every month.
Prices and costs
Why can’t a genuine breeder sell a puppy born in their kennel for HUF 80,000?
The answer is simple: because that does not even cover the cost of raising a puppy!
Price?
At today’s prices, you can hardly get a puppy from a breeder for under HUF 350,000, and much higher prices are common: HUF 450,000–550,000 or even more, as the costs of veterinary care and genetic tests/screenings keep rising – and, as we know, quality has to be paid for in everything.
We can think ahead a little and save (in advance)
We know most people cannot afford this... or can they?
If we think ahead and contact kennels in advance (even 0.5–1.5 years ahead), and we know the price, then by putting aside a few tens of thousands of forints a month, within a year we will have the purchase price of our future puppy.
Examining the mother from the start of her season until mating
Did you know that 3–4 blood tests (progesterone level checks) and at least as many vaginal smear tests precede the exact mating date? It is important to the breeder that the prospective mother meets the prospective father at the optimal time, so that there will be beautiful puppies and as large a litter as possible. This requires tests, which are also an item of approx. HUF 120,000.
Right here, right now
True, we can buy a puppy cheaply and immediately, and in the worst case spend the same amount at the vet and on medication every month – but in my opinion, calm preparation and waiting are much more pleasant, and we will be all the happier with our puppy by the time the move comes round.
The good experience
The owners of our puppies who have moved to new homes tell us, one after another, what a wonderful experience it was to get a dog this way: waiting for the puppies to be born, the baby photos day after day, the new portfolios week after week, and the long-awaited move at 8–10 weeks.
Stud fee
If we carefully select the parents so that they match in type and make a good pair anatomically and in terms of health, then the dog at the end of “our garden” is almost certainly not right as the father. So we have to travel, even abroad, and pay hefty sums for healthy genetic stock that many breeders around the world have worked on for years. This is at least 1,000 euros but can be as much as 4,000 euros, and it is far from certain that the mating will be successful – yet the fee has to be paid in advance.
That is the way of the world.
We no longer live in a world where stud dog owners would provide a mating in exchange for a puppy.
A pedigree, a certificate of origin... why would I need that?! I’m not going to show my dog anyway.
The cost of a pedigree?
Currently it costs HUF 7,500 to have a certificate of origin – commonly known as a pedigree – issued. Anyone who claims that a puppy with a pedigree costs 50–100 thousand forints more is a fraudster. Sadly, such people exploit naivety and a lack of information.
When can a puppy get a pedigree?
First and foremost when both its mother and its father have such a certificate. (And they have also passed a breed suitability assessment and have health certificates.) Don’t fall for the line that it can be obtained later if you wish. ONLY the breeder can apply for a pedigree!
The owner has no way of obtaining it later. This excuse is used by those who do not meet the requirements but are happy to take the extra money.
This is what an original Hungarian pedigree looks like!
Printed on banknote-quality paper. An A4-size document with anti-counterfeiting security features.
The ones below are not pedigrees!
A vaccination booklet is NOT the same as a pedigree!
Nor is a passport.
They only contain the most basic details.
We don’t call our own vaccination record our birth certificate either, even though it contains our details.
It is exactly the same here.
More items on the list
Imported dogs, new bloodlines, healthy genetic background
We bring in puppies from distant countries (for 1,500–4,000 euros) with the intention of one day using them for breeding once they have grown up. This becomes clear at around 2 years of age; until then we keep them, look after them, take care of them, raise them, feed them, have them vaccinated, take them for screenings and put them through hereditary tests. Then, if their screening results are fine, we take them to a breed suitability assessment, and perhaps show them at a dog show or two so that an expert can also see and assess them. Throughout these years we also pay membership fees to the national kennel organisation and to the breed club.
Selection
You won’t hear about this from a family with 2 dogs at the end of the garden. Because, after all, once feeding them costs so much, they can hardly afford not to get the money back.... This is one of the biggest differences between a breeder and a puppy farmer! One doesn’t care about faults, since to them their doggy is loved and looks beautiful. The other cares deeply that a great, healthy and well-balanced dog joins your family!
How much does a Bernese Mountain Dog cost as a member of the family?
Typical Hungarian and international purchase price: HUF 350,000–850,000
1 sack of dog food a month: HUF 20,000 (per year: HUF 240,000)
2 large tubs of joint supplement tablets (for 1 year): HUF 63,000
Ongoing protection against external and internal parasites and heartworm: HUF 112,800/year
Annual vaccinations: HUF 35,000
Grooming (twice a year): HUF 50,000
1 lead, 1 collar: HUF 15,000
1 comb, 1 brush: HUF 12,000
Bowl, bed, toys: spending as needed
Dog house/kennel set-up, making the garden safe: from approx. HUF 250,000
Unexpected but possible veterinary costs: treatment of diarrhoea, hot spots, kennel cough, intestinal blockage, gastric torsion, allergies, conjunctivitis, ear infections....
Keeping a medium-sized dog is not a cheap hobby these days.
Everyone should keep this in mind when buying a puppy.
(The above prices were current in 2024.)
Breeder or puppy farmer?
Buying a puppy from a puppy farmer is like Russian roulette. Anything can happen – even something you would never have imagined in your wildest dreams could happen to you. If only you knew the sad stories owners tell me when they call me in desperation because they found my phone number on the internet, and the life of the puppy they bought as a Bernese is at stake: in the 3 weeks since they brought it home it has had non-stop diarrhoea and the illness cannot be eased. Often the only problem is that it was never vaccinated, because they cut corners on that too. So it has no immune system, and its little tummy was not prepared for quality food either...
Taking a risk?
It’s like buying gold jewellery in a shopping centre car park. It’s risky, because there is no certificate of quality and you don’t even know where it came from. But it’s cheap and pretty, so it enchants you and you’re already taking it home. Then, at the first bath, the colour wears off and you are more disappointed than you have ever been. Do you call the seller? The number is no longer available...Do you take it back to the car park? Do you think you’ll still find them there?
Money that means a lot to us is gone, the jewellery belongs in the bin, and there is the immense disappointment too. Do you need this?
At the moment you realise, or are told, that your puppy is seriously ill/has parvo/has a congenital heart condition/has dysplasia, do you think you’ll be able to reach the person you bought it from? Will they be able/willing to help you with advice/experience/know-how?
I think you know the answer...
ALWAYS ASK FOR PROOF OF THE REGISTERED KENNEL NAME!
If they can’t show you this, then sadly you have come to a very wrong place to buy a puppy!
Basic costs of raising puppies
A clean environment
Electricity, water, washing, cleaning and disinfecting products, towels, blankets, paper towels, puppy pads and wet wipes in unlimited quantities.
The breeder’s “working” hours
The sleepless nights, the many worries, the countless hours of work we spend with the puppies and their mother day and night. Feeding every 2–3 hours, and bottle-feeding with formula if there isn’t enough milk.
Nutrition
Quality nutrition for the mother so she has plenty of milk – and the puppies’ little bowls are not filled with slops, semolina pudding or soaked bread either…
2 kg of puppy milk formula, enough for about 1 week: HUF 38,000....
Basic veterinary care
Dewclaw removal, worming every 2 weeks, vaccinations at least twice, but often three times, by the time the puppies can move to their new homes. Microchip, passport...
Not to mention that if a caesarean section is needed due to complications, that’s an extra HUF 200,000–350,000.
By now everyone more or less understands and sees why a puppy costs this much, and can work out what the puppies sold for a few tens of thousands of forints do NOT receive in the first few weeks of their lives so that their sellers – driven by making a living or earning some extra income – can keep their rock-bottom prices…
If you take such a puppy home, you are not rescuing it – you are creating the demand for the next litter of ill-fated puppies to be born, because YOUR money and YOUR demand give them the REASON!
ABOVE ALL, PAY ATTENTION TO THESE!
This is the minimum you should expect from the seller!
At least 8 weeks old (this is a legal requirement, with no loopholes. The puppy may already be eating on its own, but the time spent with its littermates contributes to proper socialisation). Anyone who wants to hand it over earlier only does so because they don’t want to keep feeding, cleaning up after, raising, vaccinating and worming it.
As if to say: let that be the future owner’s expense too!
It has a microchip! It is COMPULSORY for a change of ownership! It is not the new owner’s job or expense! Microchipping costs a few thousand forints. It is best done together with the first vaccination.
It has been wormed at least 3 times (according to protocol this must be done at 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of age, and then, once the puppy is with its owner, continued on the same schedule until 4 months of age.)
It has had at least 1, but preferably 2 vaccinations (at 6–8 weeks), documented in its vaccination booklet.
Its dewclaws (they are on the hind legs!) have been removed. (At a few days old this is a tiny snip, which prevents a later serious and costly bone operation that heals poorly and is a long ordeal for the whole family.)
It is fed quality food suitable for its age (not soaked bread, raw chicken heads, semolina pudding or the cheap, coloured food you see advertised), and you are given some of it when the puppy moves – enough for a few days, so that the change of food can be started with it.
Before buying, find out how the breed standard describes the breed!
I’m not only thinking of the markings here, although the 3 colours are a basic requirement. In Bernese groups you often see newly bought puppies that are far from being purebred Bernese. Don’t get me wrong! They will be just as good and lovable dogs, but you shouldn’t pay money for them and support puppy farmers! Just because its colouring looks similar to the quality photos found on the internet does not make it a Bernese!!!!! This is not about rescuing a puppy from inhumane conditions….because if we take it home, we make room and create demand for the next batch, and so on.
95% of these puppies grow up in dirty, squalid places, running around in messy yards that are dangerous for a puppy. They were born in places where no self-respecting, discerning person would set foot, let alone leave money with such people.
In other words, with our good intentions we generate a flood of Bernese-coloured puppies born in run-down sheds. Every puppy deserves to grow up in a clean and well-kept environment, just like our children.
And that costs money, care and high standards.
Patience, patience, patience...
Don’t rush to buy a puppy straight away; get to know the breed thoroughly instead. Get in touch with several breeders, visit them and talk to them. Look at the environment and the dogs. Believe me, after these visits you will have a picture of the breed and of who you would like to buy a dog from – and with whom you would like to maintain a breeder–owner relationship for many years to come. I wish everyone a successful puppy search. You know, once you have a Bernese, you will always have one, so it matters where your FIRST Bernese comes from and what it will be like!
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