As a customer on the waitlist for almost three years (deposit paid back in 2015), I wanted to take some time to think about my experience working with Crystal so that others looking into placing a deposit with Savvy Bernadoodles & Bernouviers have as much information as possible before selecting a breeder. The reason that my experience has been so awful is because of her lack of transparency and communication in terms of what was promised as well as changes of policy along the way that changed the type of dog that my family had our hearts set on welcoming to our home.
Crystal advertised, promised and accepted deposits for F1 Mini-Bernadoodles which for those of you that are doing research on this wonderful breed, results from crossing a Miniature Poodle with a Bernese Mountain Dog. F1 - is a first generation cross, in which the pup is 50 per cent Bernese Mountain Dog and 50 per cent Poodle. The F1 cross is considered the healthiest, as the parents have the least likelihood of contributing genes for common inheritable diseases.
Well, it turns out that Crystal has actually been producing F1b and F2 Bernadoodles! Here are brief descriptions of these breeds and why many breeders (and customers) stay away from breeding and purchasing them from breeders:
F2 - is a second-generation cross, in which an F1 Bernedoodle is crossed with another F1 Bernedoodle. The closer the generations come together the more consistency there will be in the lines, but the genetic problems of the purebreds are more likely to reappear, and hybrid vigor diminishes. Some F2 pups may have an improper coat--not the fleece softness we love in the 'doodles.
F1b - is a backcross in which a Bernedoodle is bred with a poodle. The puppy is 25 per cent Bernese, and 75 per cent Poodle. Here, you only get 25% of the beautiful Bernese Mountain dog, so the puppies resemble mini poodles instead. If you do some research, this breed also has genetic problems and are not as healthy as F1's.
Now, let's take a look at a timeline of multiple litters that were made available to our family, as a deposit holder (also being high on the waitlist) of an F1 Mini-Bernadoodle.
10/5/2015 email from Crystal: F1 mini was lost due to absorption (no F1's produced)
10/17/2016 email from Crystal: One F1 mini available, however much smaller than anticipated and no phantom or tri-color males available (which are the color combinations we had placed our deposit for)
04/28/2016 email from Crystal: Standard and F1b's available (no F1's produced)
7/10/2107 email from Crystal: tiny and micro mini's (No F1's produced)
9/21/2017 email from Crystal: F1b Mini's available (NO F1'sproduced)
10/4/2017 email from Crystal: F1b Mini's Available (NO F1's produced)
11/6/2017 email from Crystal: F2 Mini's available (No F1's produced)
11/16/2017 email from Crystal: Tiny Mini's (No F1's produced)
So let's be clear about this...Crystal did not produce any F1 Mini litters since 2016, with only one produced in 2016 and none having markings that we placed our deposit for. What Crystal did was change her policy and stopped breeding F1's since 2016 WITHOUT informing her deposit holders (including myself). Crystal wrote me on 9/7/2018 saying that "first generation breedings will start up in 2019" which was incredibly irresponsible, inaccurate and deceptive as we had our hearts set on waiting almost 3 years for a beautiful F1 mini bernadoodle.
Looking at the amount of F1 mini litters produced, and Crystal's change of policy to discontinue producing F1's shortly after placing my deposit (which many would view as a deceptive "bait and switch" business practice), the only fair resolution would be for her to have refunded my deposit. Despite all of this, unfortunately, Crystal got greedy and kept the deposit for herself.
If you're looking for a responsible breeder who prides themselves on communicating with their customers in a fair, honest and transparent manner, I would look elsewhere. I wonder how many current and past customers are aware that they purchased F1b and F2 Mini-bernadoodles (with a higher risk of having issues) thinking that they were actually getting healthy F1's!!
Please do your research and ask questions...consider yourself warned with this breeder!!! read more