Vikingstar Saint
Bernard's
First of all may we, Penny & Chris Williams welcome you to the "Noble
Breed",
We have been associated with the breed of St, Bernard's since 1994 when we
first purchased a puppy from Alpennine Saint Bernard's; she was a cute little
thing weighing in at twenty pounds. A few months later Heidi was a big girl
weighing in at 65 pounds. Her breeders told us that we would end up with more
than one of these splendid dogs, we replied no way! What a mistake, we now
have 5 boys and 6 girls! Unfortunately we lost Heidi at the age of 3 years,
not due to poor breeding, but poisoning, how, that is something we would have
loved to have found out! Of the 11 dogs we now have Poppy (Abbotsbury Daiquiri
who is 8 years, Indy (Alpennine Indiana Bones) and Minnie (Alpennine Mini
the Moocher) both of whom are 9 years old, therefore they are veterans and
are strictly kept as pets. Unlike some breeders we do not get rid of them
just because they are no longer productive.
Some breeders of the Saint Bernard will tell you that we are novices (10 years
with the breed), yes they are correct in doing so, but not like many of them
we keep our dogs; they do not keep us. We are strictly hobbyist breeders,
we do not breed for profit and do not advertise as breeders of show dogs.
from left to right: The dogs from (L to R) Penny in face paint
Vikingstar Eternal Light (Lucy) at 11 weeks, Saxa (Splodge) and Moonwalker
(Max) at the annual RNLI Gala Aith, Shetland. This was the 8th year, all funds
raised go to support the Aith Lifeboat.
Vikikingstar Benedict Lad (Morgan) making himself comfortable at his new home in Jersey
Vikingstar Saxa (Splodge) awaiting his next command
Vikingstar Moonbeam (Dolly) with her owners adopted son who
is Down Syndrome, since having Dolly Richard has become more independent when
she is with him.
Why? It is quiet simple,
you can mate a champion dog with a champion bitch but you cannot guarantee
a champion puppy.
Unlike some breeders who claim their dogs are not kennelled, but live with
them, we can guarantee that our dogs are part of the family and live in the
house with us but are kennelled if required, mainly to stop accidental mating
and therefore we can guarantee our pedigrees are true. Yes we have lost the
odd puppy in a litter, but we do not boast on a web site that" We have
had litters of 21 and therefore claiming it to be a record, therefore must
be a good breeder. When in actual fact it appears the breeder only managed
to rear 7 of these pups going by the information contained in the KC's Breed
Supplement.
On one web site the breeder in question has only been with the breed 4 years,
but they have carefully worded it to make it appear that they have been with
the breed for 25 years and also makes claim that 1 of his bitches whelped
in January 2004 and all the pups were sold, in actual fact the bitch did not
whelp! So if choosing a Saint Bernard, do not just go to the first breeder
you come across, they can claim allsorts, like their kennels have the most
show winning dogs in the country, yes they do, but not of their breeding.
Prices can vary we have seen Bernard's advertised as high as £1,750
and as low as £10, on average you will be looking at £750, but
do not let the price influence you, remember some of the breeders do it for
profit and others will want you to purchase their dogs, but remain part owner
so they can tell you what show it must attend, what dog or bitch it must be
mated with and to top it all, yes you have to pay for its upkeep in total.
Then (if it's a bitch) the breeder/s takes the pick of the litter. These breeders
are normally associated with the show judges, the more champions under their
names means they can judge to higher standards without the expense of keeping
their own dogs, yes you do it for them free of charge. So watch out, there
are some sharks out there!!
From left to right: Vikingstar Sirus meets
the Viking at Brae
Up-Helly-A (Shetland).
This was the start of it all for us, L to R
our first Saints, Alpennine Grumbleweed (Heidi) who we sadly lost due to poisoning,
how we would love to know! Alpennine Indiana Bones (Indy) he is still with
us and is now 9 years old, the picture was taken at our first Aith Lifeboat
Gala in Shetland.
Unfortunately we are located
up in the Shetland Isles, some 140 miles north east of Aberdeen, Scotland.
(14 hours by boat) Therefore it is prohibitive financially and unfair on our
dogs to drag them down to the shows on UK mainland, therefore we cannot expect
prospective buyers to travel to see the pups, so we mainly deal via email,
telephone and letters. When we sell a pup, we keep in touch with its new owners
where possible, although the pups are gone they are never forgotten. We are
available 24/7 for help and advice, our pups are sold with a written contract,
pointing out what restrictions have been placed on their registration documents
in an attempt to stop them getting into the hands of Puppy Farmers and other
unscrupulous breeders around the country, yes there are plenty of these about.
We will lift these restrictions free of charge if the conditions as per the
contract can be met.
As breeders we aim to produce Saint Bernard's that are strong well balanced
and of excellent temperament, this is due to the fact that we spend 24/7 with
the pups from birth to 3 weeks, plus an additional 24/7 with mum prior to
her whelping.
All of our dogs are pets and are treated equally the same, our grandchildren
visit us bi-annually and we have never had any problems when they arrive,
in fact a few years back my son arrived early with his wife and 18 month old
daughter, Twinkle our bitch had just finished whelping and the granddaughter
went straight to her and the pups, my heart stopped, but for no reason, Twinkle
allowed my granddaughter to enter the whelping bed and touch the pups, how
many bitches will allow that? All of ours will! Furthermore we can give our
Saints a big beef marrowbone each, they never fight over them and Penny or
myself can go to them and retrieve them without any grumbles or threat. That
is what we call temperament! On this Web page you will see some of our Saints,
not in show posture, but in natural behaviour, that is the way we prefer it,
these dogs are our family, therefore should you meet our requirements we will
sell to you. But remember, "A Dog is for Life".
These dogs are cute little fluffy balls at eight to ten weeks about 15lbs
(7 kg), increasing to about 19kg (41 lbs) at 6 month and then progress to
grow into beautiful giants weighing in at about 65 - 85kg (143 lbs - 176 lbs),
the bitches do tend to average out slightly lighter than the boys.
From left to right:3 hours old- This is how they begin approximately 18cm (7") in length and weighing in at 600grams (1lbs 2oz) they grow rapidly.
6 weeks- This is a Vikingstar pup at 6 weeks of age.
12months- Vikingstar Fireopal (Lou Lou) seen here at 1year of age and weighing in at about 65 Kilo and still growing.
Vikingstar Gemini (Gypsy) at 2 years old. She was re-homed due to her owner having to re-locate, She is seen here with her new owners Grandson in Somerset.
(1 kilo = 2.2lbs) so they
are not for the faint hearted.
You have to ensure that you are the boss and under no circumstance allow these
dogs to think otherwise. We will offer to any Saint owner regardless where
they purchased their dog from, should they find the breeder who sold them
their Saint fails to help or advise them if problems or queries occur.
All breeders of Kennel Club registered dogs must work within the "Code
of Ethics" this is available on the Kennel Clubs web page. This we keep
to in full.
From left to right: Vikingstar Gold Reserve (Cleo), with luck Cleo will be the mother of one of next years litters
Vikingstar Hercules at 10 month with his new charge
Left to Right -Vikingstar High Priest and Firedog - Playing (Glencoe, Scotland
Vikingstar Odin with his Master
We are sorry if
this narrative offends you but for the sake of the breed we feel it is absolutely
necessary, we have had to re-home pups due to their new owners being unable
to cope for some of the following reasons, "Its grown too big",
"It will not behave", "It pulls me when on the lead" and
many other excuses, just so they can get rid of them, when in fact the problems
are of their own making and not the dogs. A dog is only as good as its owner!!!
The truth is really "Its not a cuddly puppy any longer so we do not want
it anymore!! We try to give all our pups a good start in life and the training
a young pup requires, but it is up to the new owner to continue with the training
and socialisation as the dog grows up - think of it as raising another child
and you will not go wrong.
In the interest of this breeds welfare, may we request that should you come
across any Saint Bernard that has been re-homed by its original owner ask
them to make contact with its breeder to let them know where the dog is, its
new owners name and most of all how it is, the majority of breeders like to
keep a record of their pups whereabouts and well being, not all of us are
in it for the money.
Puppy Availability
At present we do not have any puppies available, however we
are planning to produce 2 litters during 2005.
Once we have these litters
we will update this page. Please feel free to contact us in the meantime for
advice and further information relating to the breed.
