Bernedoodles are charming and playful in nature, so it’s not surprising that so many families consider adopting one. The designer breed is a loyal companion and loves nothing more than cuddles and joining you on trips.
Becoming a Bernedoodle parent brings a lot of happiness to your family. However, the inevitable reality is that the joy of owning a puppy is a long-lasting yet temporary phase. Knowing your Bernedoodle’s life expectancy will help you prepare for its life stages and know how to care for it the best way.
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How Long Does a Bernedoodle Live?
The Bernedoodle life expectancy bears a direct relationship to their size, generation, and health. Hence, it is hard to pinpoint the exact amount of years your puppy will spend with you since these three factors have a huge impact.
What we can confidently say is that the average Bernedoodle life span is between 8 to 18 years. Looking into different sizes and generations will give a better insight into how long this adorable designer breed lives.
Bernedoodle Life Expectancy Based on Different Sizes
Bernedoodles are a crossbreed between a Bernese Mountain Dog and a Poodle. The size variations directly depend on the purebred parents, specifically on a Poodle, since this breed comes in three different sizes: standard, miniature, and toy.
The smaller the Bernedoodle, the longer its lifespan. Further in this article, we will explain the phenomenon of long-living small breeds.
| Size | Life Expectancy |
| Standard Bernedoodle | 8 – 15 |
| Mini Bernedoodle | 14 – 17 |
| Tiny Bernedoodle | 16 – 18 |
Standard Bernedoodle Life Expectancy
Standard Bernedoodles grow up pretty fast, reaching about 29 inches and up to 90 pounds. The purebred parents, a Bernese Mountain Dog and a Standard Poodle, both have a shorter lifespan. Hence, your Bernedoodle can reach the age of 15, provided to ensure its well-being.
Mini Bernedoodle Life Expectancy
Mini Bernedoodles are the results of breeding a Bernese Mountain Dog with a Miniature Poodle. Miniature Poodles can live up to 18 years, hence this Bernedoodle can outlive its larger counterpart. Mini Bernedoodles have a lifespan of up to 17 years.
Tiny Bernedoodle Life Expectancy
Tiny Bernedoodles are the longest-living ones out of the three. There are a few reasons why small breeds have longer lifespans than bigger canines.
Tiny Bernedoodles are a backcross generation and can live up to 18 years. Smaller breeds also grow much slower, hence, age at a lower speed than larger breeds. For example, a Mountain Bernese Dog is no small canine and it gains up to 100 times their birth weight, compared to 20 times for smaller breeds like Mini or Tiny Bernedoodles.
Fast growth means rapid cell multiplication in canines’ bodies and can also lead to the formation of various health issues at an early age, which may shorten the life span of a dog.
Bernedoodle Life Expectancy Based on Different Generations
Bernedoodles come in different sizes and generations, hence, each gen is prone to have one or the other dominant parent generic makeup. Generic makeup can give an insight into the Bernedoodle lifespan, and even personality traits and appearance.
There are more than 5 generations, but we will look into the most popular hybrids: F1, F1b, and F2.
F1 Bernedoodle Lifespan
F1 Bernedoodles are the first generation and share equal percentages of a Bernese Mountain Dog and Poodle. They are the most common Bernedoodles and are much healthier than their purebred parents. As a matter of fact, F1s benefit from the hybrid vigor, meaning the most diverse DNA.
As first-generation canines, these Bernedoodles are less likely to inherit hereditary diseases that are usually present in a Bernese or Poodle.
F1 Bernedoodles commonly come in standard sizes and have shorter than average small dog lifespans.
F1b Bernedoodle Lifespan
F1b Bernedoodles have 75% genetic makeup of a Poodle, and the remaining belongs to a first-generation Bernedoodle. Thanks to the dominant Poodle genes, these Bernedoodles come in Mini and Tiny sizes. As a result, smaller-sized Bernedoodles, especially those with predominantly Poodle genetic makeup, can live longer than their F1 counterparts.
Although F1b doesn’t have as much hybrid vigor as F1 Bernedoodles, however, they have the advantage of longer-living DNA.
F2 Bernedoodle Lifespan
F2 Bernedoodles are originated from breeding two F1 Bernedoodles. You would expect F2-generation puppies to share the equal qualities of healthy and diverse F1 Bernedoodles, however, they have the shortest lifespan of all three generations. Again, this is related to the hybrid vigor that weakens with every next generation of Bernedoodles.
Bernedoodle’s Age in Human Years
You’ve probably heard that one year in a dog’s life equals 7 human years. It’s time to bust the myth and understand that dogs age much differently than it was thought before. Throughout the article, we’ve mentioned that smaller breeds grow and, therefore, age slower than bigger canines. Hence, calculating their lifespan in human years cannot be done in the same way as big breeds.
Here’s a table to help you understand when your pup enters its teenage, adulthood, and senior years:
| Dog Age | Human Years | ||
| Tiny Bernedoodle | Mini Bernedoodle | Standard Bernedoodle | |
| 1 | 15 | 15 | 12 |
| 2 | 24 | 24 | 22 |
| 3 | 28 | 28 | 31 |
| 4 | 32 | 32 | 38 |
| 5 | 36 | 36 | 45 |
| 6 | 42 | 45 | 49 |
| 7 | 47 | 50 | 56 |
| 8 | 51 | 55 | 64 |
| 9 | 56 | 61 | 71 |
| 10 | 60 | 66 | 79 |
| 11 | 65 | 72 | 86 |
| 12 | 69 | 77 | 93 |
| 13 | 74 | 82 | 100 |
| 14 | 78 | 88 | 107 |
| 15 | 83 | 93 | 114 |
| 16 | 87 | 99 | 121 |
Final Thoughts
Most pet owners rarely consider the life expectancy of their canines and rather focus on their traits and characteristics. We hope that this article helps you understand that looks are not everything when it comes to dogs. Their genetic makeup, size, and hereditary factors should be looked into as much as appearance.
At Central Illinois Doodles, we ethically breed Bernedoodles and run all the necessary health checks of purebred parents to minimize the chances of developing health problems. Our 2-year health guarantee is proof of it.
Our high healthcare standars and ethical breeding give new Bernedoodle parents peace of mind, knowing their puppies are closely monitored since birth.
Ready to welcome a loyal companion to your family? Check out our available puppies.
Bibliography
https://www.dailypaws.com/dogs-puppies/dog-breeds/bernedoodle
https://populardoodle.com/bernedoodle-lifespan-how-long-do-bernedoodles-live/
