West Wind Saint Bernard Dogs

I have had saints for a lot of years, first several were in early 1980's that we got free as adults because their owners did not want them, ( too much trouble, going thru divorce, moving, etc) I took them and loved them for the years they had left. When wanting to raise a puppy and not having the money or knowledge back then, I bought several pups from "backyard breeders" and all pups had health problems, some very severe. Then in the early 90's I went to a reputable breeder and bought a quality male with a great pedigree and he was the start of my breeding program-as he was healthy all of his life and passed on his great qualities for 10 years of his life.
Now after several years, with 11 adult saints and hundreds of puppies later, I have to say every year is better than the one before. i took an animal husbandry course at Michigan State and after learning from show people, veterinarians, puppy buyers, dog food reps, etc., i have accumulated a lot of knowledge of dogs, I have heard horror stories about sick dogs, dog food, puppy mills, surgeries, etc. and used all as a learning experience to try and help other people purchase a healthy puppy and keep it that way. When you get a healthy puppy, the experience of raising them is a joy, they make you laugh, they love you, and they are fun ! I don't need to list the experience of purchasing an unhealthy puppy; I know there are many of you that have experienced it as I once did. Over the years as well as a wealth of knowledge, I have made some great friends, dog people who love these big sweethearts and we have a wonderful network.

Some people may wonder why sometimes you can find most breeds of dogs priced from $300 to $3000. The main reasons are based on Quality pedigrees to produce puppies as close to the breed standard of what they should look like, with a good Saint Bernard head and massive build.
Some other reasons may be based on breeder health guarantees, health screenings and breeder integrity
Meaning a breeder that will put a lot of time, money, and energy into their adult dogs and raising of the puppies, keeping everyone clean, fed, socialized, and vaccinated.

Pups are born quite helpless; they are blind, deaf, and unable to control body temperature and digestion. So they obviously take a lot of work to raise.

Most people don't know what a puppy goes thru to be born....
A puppy does ninety per cent of its growing in the womb in the last two weeks before birth; most organs are outside the body and the pup has no hair so in the last weeks the body has to encompass the organs and the pup has to get his fur coat to survive.
The pups Liver is one of the last organs to grow and it will only function properly if the pup nurses VERY frequently after birth.
Many pups are born with heart murmurs because the heart valves are not fully formed, but this corrects itself within the first weeks after birth.
Part of caring for the helpless babies includes making sure they nurse often and maintaining environmental temperatures to be kept very warm; if a pup gets chilled it cannot nurse and will fail very quickly. If a pup tries to crawl under mom for warmth ,it can suffocate; environment has to be kept clean because babies are susceptable to bacteria; plus puppies have to be rubbed to stimulate digestion; sometimes puppies need bottle feeding, tube feeding or lactaid ringers to maintain hydration.
These are just some of the things that goes along with raising healthy puppies, so good breeders are sleep deprived and exhausted for the first week. There is no amount of money that can be put on the proper raising of the pups. But quality breeders do all this to ensure that puppies get off to a good start.
Your puppy went thru a lot to become the loveable little teddy bear that you pick up at 8 weeks old; because from birth to eight weeks, your pup has to learn to suckle,see,hear,walk,eat,lick,bite,play,pant, crawl,run,poop,sleep,cuddle and learn the world around him. A LOT goes on in a few short weeks.
So when you search for a puppy and see them priced from $300 to $3000, know that it involves your puppies Health,Life,& Quality to give you the saint you are dreaming of, so don't always look for the cheapest one you can find. The low price pup or the high priced pup means nothing--price does not always determine a quality pup--a caring breeder does
THE BITTERNESS OF POOR QUALITY WILL REMAIN LONG AFTER THE SWEETNESS OF LOW PRICE IS FORGOTTEN