Bernedoodle Genetics: Size, Coat, Colours and Temperament

A Bernedoodle is a cross between a Bernese Mountain Dog and a Poodle. Its size depends mostly on the Poodle parent, from small dogs to big ones. Its famous tricolour coat comes from the Bernese tan-points pattern, but only when the Poodle side cooperates. Its coat follows the same furnishings and curl genes as other doodles, and many Bernedoodles also inherit the Bernese undercoat.

The short version

• Two parent breeds: the Bernese Mountain Dog, a large farm and draft dog from the Swiss Alps, and the Poodle (Standard, Miniature or Toy).
• Size follows the Poodle parent: standard, mini and tiny Bernedoodles come from Standard, Miniature and Toy Poodle lines.
• Tricolour isn't guaranteed: it needs the tan-points pattern from both sides and no dominant black from the Poodle.
• F1 Bernedoodles are furnished and usually wavy; F1Bs are curlier on average.
• The Bernese undercoat can come through, which means more seasonal shedding.
• Bigger dogs tend to live shorter lives, so a standard Bernedoodle's size matters for more than space.
• Temperament: breed reputations are a starting point, but breed explains little of an individual dog's behaviour.

Where Bernedoodles come from

The Bernese Mountain Dog is a working breed from Switzerland, built to pull carts and work on farms in the Alps. It has a long, thick double coat in three colours: black, with rust markings and white on the face, chest and feet. The Poodle brings three sizes and a curly, furnished, single coat.

The Bernedoodle combines the two. As a cross, it has no kennel-club breed standard, so size names, colours and coats vary from breeder to breeder, and two Bernedoodles can look very different.

How big will a Bernedoodle get?

The Poodle parent sets the size range. Going by breed-standard ranges:

• Standard Bernedoodles (a Standard Poodle parent) usually land between their two parents, so many are large dogs.
• Mini Bernedoodles usually have a Miniature Poodle parent, or come from smaller doodle parents over several generations, and are much smaller.
• Tiny, toy or micro Bernedoodles are breeders' names for the smallest lines, usually built up with Toy Poodle ancestry over several generations.

These names aren't standardized, so one breeder's "mini" can be another's "medium". The parents' adult weights tell you more than the label. The PuppyGenes report includes an estimated adult height and weight based on your dog's own genetics: useful context, not a promise.

Where the tricolour coat comes from

A Bernese Mountain Dog's rust markings are a tan-points pattern, the same pattern a Doberman or a phantom Poodle has. Two genes decide whether a Bernedoodle shows it:

• Tan points (the A locus): the pattern comes from a version of the ASIP gene. A 2011 study mapped the versions of this gene and showed tan points sit low in its order of dominance, so a puppy usually needs the tan-points version from both parents to show it. Every Bernese passes one on.
• Dominant black (the K locus): one copy of a black variant of a beta-defensin gene turns the whole coat solid black and hides any tan points. Bernese Mountain Dogs don't carry it, which is why their markings show. Many black Poodles do.

White markings come from separate white-spotting genes, so a Bernedoodle can be tricolour, black and white, or black and tan. Here's what a first cross usually looks like:

A red Poodle can carry dominant black or tan points without showing them, because two copies of its red variant cover up those genes. Its F1 puppies are very unlikely to be red themselves, because the Bernese parent almost always passes on a working copy of the same gene. Chocolate Bernedoodles need brown genes from both parents, so they usually come from doodle-to-doodle lines rather than first crosses.

Bernedoodle coats and generations

A study of more than 1,000 dogs from 80 breeds found that three genes, for furnishings, curl and coat length, account for most coat types in purebred dogs. The Bernese Mountain Dog has a long coat with no furnishings and little or no curl, while the Poodle carries two copies of each Poodle variant. So:

• F1 Bernedoodles are furnished, long-coated and usually wavy.
• F1B Bernedoodles (an F1 crossed back to a Poodle) are all furnished, and about half are curly.
• F2 Bernedoodles (two F1 parents) range widely, and about one puppy in four is expected to have an improper coat with no furnishings.

The Bernese also has a dense undercoat that the Poodle lacks. Whether a Bernedoodle inherits one is tied to a separate region of the genome that a 2019 study linked to single and double coats. Our guides to doodle generations and improper coats cover the odds in more detail.

Do Bernedoodles shed?

Most shed much less than a Bernese Mountain Dog, whose thick double coat sheds heavily when the seasons change. Furnished, curly Bernedoodles shed least, while one that inherits the Bernese undercoat sheds more, especially in spring and fall. Our guide to doodle shedding explains the genes involved.

Size, cold weather and lifespan

The Bernese Mountain Dog was built for cold mountain work, and a Bernedoodle with a thick or double coat is usually well equipped for a Canadian winter. Our guide to the best dogs for Canadian winters covers why coat and size matter in the cold.

Size matters for lifespan as well. Across dogs, larger breeds tend to have shorter average lifespans than smaller ones, and research suggests large dogs age faster. A standard Bernedoodle can be a large dog, so it's worth asking a breeder about the health and age of both parents' lines. Our guide to why big dogs have shorter lifespans explains the pattern.

Temperament: what to expect

The Bernese Mountain Dog has a reputation as a calm, good-natured family dog, and the Poodle as clever and active, so many Bernedoodles are described as friendly and affectionate. Breed differences in behaviour are real and heritable, but they describe averages. A 2022 study of more than 18,000 dogs found breed explains only about 9% of behavioural differences between individual dogs. Training, socialization and the dog's own nature matter far more than the label.

What a DNA test shows for a Bernedoodle

The PuppyGenes report covers six sections:

• Breed ancestry: how much Bernese Mountain Dog and Poodle is in your dog, plus any other breeds from multigen lines.
• Coat colour predictions, including markings and patterns where the sample supports them.
• Physical appearance: coat length, curl, furnishings and shedding, each where the sample supports it.
• Temperament and size predictions, including an estimated adult height and weight.
• Genetic diversity.
• An oral microbiome snapshot.

The report does not include genetic disease or health screening. See what the results look like in our example reports, or compare the Goldendoodle, a close cousin with a Golden Retriever in place of the Bernese.