ThornCreek (“Dornbach” auf Deutsch) is a small family kennel (i.e., less than 2 litters a year) located in rural Western Pennsylvania, just north of Pittsburgh near Thorn Creek (in Penn Township, Butler, PA) its namesake. We have enjoyed owning and showing Berners in conformation, working (draft/herding), and performance venues since 1998. We are not breeders per se, rather we breed only when we have a dog that merits breeding. We do not earn our living from breeding dogs so we have only one or two litters a year which we carefully socialize. From time to time, we have a litter available. Generally, we keep a waiting list, so please complete the questionnaire below and contact us. Our puppies are generally sold on a spay/neuter contract.

We health test/evaluate our breeding dogs for hips, elbows, eyes, vWD, cardiac, and DM and make results public on both the Orthopedic-Foundation-for-Animals and the Berner-Garde databases. We look for mates that compensate for the weaknesses in our dogs (no dog is perfect regardless of what you may be told). We also strive to breed dogs with lower coefficients of inbreeding (COI) than average for the breed. Lower COIs have been associated with increased longevity and a lower incidence of autoimmune disease and cancers. We value low COIs as much as health tests.

The more constraints (e.g., pass all health tests, be a champion, good type, bone, movement, temperament, low COI) a breeder adds to the breeding equation, the less likely a breeder will come up with a solution (i.e, a mate). So, when evaluating any breeder, what the puppy buyer wants to know is how the breeder makes trade offs that must be made when the breeder can’t get perfection (which is virtually all the time).

Our philosophy is to improve the conformation and health of our line with each breeding through use of informed health testing and maintenance of genetic diversity (low COI), hence we ask that all of our puppy owners stay in touch with us over the dog’s life so that we will have the information to do that job well. I am a long-time member of the BMDCA (national breed club) and TRBMDC, (regional breed club). Previously, I served on the boards of the Berner-Garde Foundation, Inc. (breed health database) and Bernese Auction Rescue Coalition (BARC), Inc. (national breed rescue group). I am the former editor and designer of the BMD national breed club magazine, The Alpenhorn, which was awarded for the first time in its history the coveted Dog Writers Association of America’s Maxwell Medallion during my tenure in NYC prior to the Westminster Dog Show. 

Look for more of my next Berner publishing adventure!