Why should we participate? Information is perhaps a breeder’s most effective tool in preventing debilitating genetic disease. Actual facts instead of gossip or conjecture, about what diseases exist and in what frequency, can help breeders in prioritizing what needs attention in their selection process. How prevalent is progressive retinal atrophy (PRA)? Junior cataracts? Subaortic stenosis (SAS)? How much aseptic meningitis, hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD), von Willebrand’s disease is in our breed? With the many traits conscientious breeders consider in selecting the best dogs for breeding, it helps them to be able to calculate their odds for producing various diseases. Any breeders who choose to wait for the perfect dog from perfect lines will find that they have stopped breeding altogether. All dogs, like all humans, have genetic defects. Trying to choose from those with the least significant defects is the challenge. But knowing which defects to be most concerned with is always helpful. And having an idea of the percentage of carriers for different diseases in the breed can aid tremendously in those breeding decisions.

How is this different than Berner-Garde? Berner-Garde is designed to help us track trends in the breed and in specific families of dogs. This survey can help us all know what diseases we have in the breed, and help determine what diseases need to be tracked. Each site operator may see only one case of immune-mediated polyarthritis, and so not think much more than "how unusual!" But if we find out that 6% of the breed has immune-mediated problems, then efforts need to be expended to help educate, study, learn, and share how to deal with these problems through husbandry as wall as avoid passing these problems to future generations of Berners if possible. To be able to prioritize in order to maximize our efforts with limited resources, we need facts.

How can pet owners help? The majority of Berners are owned by “pet owners” and are not used for breeding. But information about these dogs is critical to ensuring the improved health of the breed. We desperately need a complete picture of the breed, which means all dogs, not just breeding stock. Enter a separate survey form for each Berner you've ever owned. If you ever plan to buy another, and you want to help ensure the health of that future dog, here is an important contribution you can make (in addition to Berner-Garde, and the GDC registries such as tumor, epilepsy, hips, elbows, hearts, and eyes). Breeders are depending not only on their own experience, but the experience of pet owners and other breeders. Sharing the information you have accumulated over the years is perhaps the most important contribution you can make to the future of the breed. Many of you will have owned too many dogs in your past to be able to take the time to fill out a survey form for them all. But you can help by giving a representative sampling. Fill out a survey form for every dog you had that was living at any time during 1996 and 1997. The survey information you provide about your dogs will be held in strictest confidence and used only in statistical summaries. No specific information regarding names, breeders, kennels, dogs, or health conditions will be made public. Public disclosure of any health condition is the decision and responsibility of the breeder or owner of that dog. The breeders who share knowledge of both the good and bad qualities of their lines are the very finest breeders we have in Bernese Mountain Dogs. These are the breeders who will have the most positive impact on the future of our breed.