What to Consider When Buying a Bernedoodle

April 22, 2025 by Naomi Miller

Tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from? What do you do within or outside of dog breeding, and anything else you think is important?

We are Duane and Naomi Miller from Millersburg Ohio. We live on a 58 acre ranch and have warehouse rentals, beef cows, chickens and best of all our dogs and bernedoodle puppies! 

Duane and I have always had a love for animals and have found if you do what you love you become successful at it. 

Bringing our customers a healthy, well socialized puppy and a wonderful experience from a licensed breeder is a joy for us! 

Outside of our responsibilities we enjoy fishing, traveling and the great outdoors! 

One of our neighbors who also is a licensed breeder takes care of our puppies etc when we are not able to, and we take care of theirs when they are in need of a caregiver for their kennel.

Duane and my vision is to grow old together doing what we love, bringing our customers happy, healthy puppies and a wonderful experience. 

How did you get into breeding dogs? What are the things you like / dislike about it?

We got into dog breeding because of our love for animals. Nurturing and caring for animals has always been a joy for us and brings such a feeling of accomplishment to hand over a puppy who is equipped for life and ready for their new family. 

The dislikes are the bad vibes puppy mill breeders bring into the industry, giving people the impression that all breeders are like that. 

Where do your puppies go? Pet stores, direct to families, brokers, etc? 

We sell all retail, our puppies all go directly from us to their new family. We offer in house visits for people to come meet our puppies and video FaceTime calls for the ones who can't make it to visit in person.

We also offer door-to-door transportation services throughout the United States and New Mexico.

What breeds do you typically breed, and how many puppies do you typically have throughout the year?

We typically breed Mini Bernadoodles and Cavapoos. We usually have 1 litter Mini Bernadoodles and 1 litter Cavapoos a month. We are considering adding Daschshunds to our breeding program in the near future.

Do you know and / or communicate with any other breeders in your area?

Yes we know and communicate with other breeders in the area. We are a member of Ohio Forum for Companion Animals, which includes a monthly magazine filled with information and tips on breeding. They also do educational seminars and a show similar to the home and garden show, only it's for bernedoodle breeders to be educated and connect with each other. USDA and Ohio Department Of Agriculture is present too. This is a very helpful day for us! 

Our community also has monthly kennel walk meetings for any breeders wishing to participate.

How do you feel about dog / animal breeding as an industry? Such as the difficulty of the process, the actions of other breeders, buyers or brokers and the state?

Animal breeding as an industry is a huge responsibility. We feel this is not something to take lightly as we are solely responsible for the animals in our care. Animals are not able to speak for themselves so it is very much necessary to have USDA and State inspections to keep the breeders on top and weed out the irresponsible breeders. 

With retailing we don't need to work with brokers. We do question our customers and can get a sense if they will be a good fit for one of our puppies very early in the interactions we have with them. If we feel it is not a good fit, we will be honest and tell them, as no one will be happy in the end if we go through with an adoption that is not healthy for everyone involved, including the puppies.

As far as the difficulty of the process, it is only difficult if you are not willing to go the extra mile and have a mindset of, I will do whatever it takes to care for my animals and to bring my customers an outstanding experience. We have found the inspectors and customers are very happy if you operate under this mindset. 

As for the actions of other breeders, We are very glad USDA and State inspections are enforced to keep everyone on their toes and enforce responsible breedership.

How do you feel about the regulations of breeding? Do you think the laws are fair and enforced properly by the ODA? 

Yes, we do feel the regulations of breeding are fair and enforced properly by ODA. We have really come to appreciate ODA and USDA inspections.

And, of course, let me know the things you would like people to know about what you do! What misconceptions you think might be common among people who aren't involved with the process?

What I would like people to know about Skyline Puppies LLC is, we are a very dedicated, responsible, USDA and ODA licensed breeder who has been in business since 2019.

We do gentle desensitizing on our puppies from day 3-16 to prepare them for life. A lot of our puppies go for emotional support dogs. We offer optional emotional support dog cards, optional birth certificates , optional national microchip Registry, each puppy comes microchipped, optional Doodle Registry. 

Each puppy comes with a bag of food, a personal blankie with our scent on it, and a tube of Conklin vitamin gel for potty training. All of our puppies come started with potty training and usually do very well in finishing out. We do genetic testing to ensure we have healthy adults for the parents of our puppies. Our motto is quality over quantity, and (Our Puppies Are Born To Shine). A knowledgeable, responsible breeder will always have the health of their animals top prioritized. 

We have a great relationship with our veterinarian who is on call 24/7 should we need anything at any time for our animals. 

The misconceptions are that every breeder is a puppy mill. If people could see some of these kennels they would see that the dogs and puppies are living better lives than many people. Our kennel is equipped with in-floor heat, air conditioning, indoor - outdoor access at all times for our dogs and weather permitting for the puppies. It is as cozy as a house and has cost us as much as a house to build. Our dogs also have play yards to enjoy.

Feel free to add anything else you think might be valuable! I'd love to hear anything you have to say.

When looking for a puppy, do your research. Make sure you are buying from a licensed breeder and ask them to FaceTime or visit with the puppy. 

You can get the feel by talking with the breeder if they are a reputable, responsible breeder. No question is a dumb question. Ask many of them. A responsible breeder will take the time to willingly answer all your questions you have! 

Posted In: News