The Yoders are committed to breeding healthy dogs that epitomize this working breed. They are members of the the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America (BMDCA), the Potomac Valley Bernese Mountain Dog Club (PVBMDC), and Steven continues to volunteer for the National Club's Breed Steward group. In addition, they are involved in many dog events and training activities and maintain close contact with their breeder veterinarians to stay abreast of the latest information on genetics and breeding practices. Steven and Barbara Yoder have been breeding Berners since 1987.

All von Lindenhof animals go through extensive training in draft work (carting), obedience, agility, and conformation showing. Currently all our adult dogs have earned their Canine Good Citizen titles (CGCs). Retired primary mom, Brenna's Cindy von Lindenhof (Cindy), earned her AKC conformation Championship in 2004, her Bernese Mountain Dog of America (BMDCA) Novice Draft Dog (NDD, 2004) and Open Draft Dog (DD, 2006) titles, her obedience title (Companion Dog - CD, 2006), her Rally Novice (RN), her Rally Advanced (RA), and her Rally Excellent (RE) titles, also in 2006. Cindy recently took up agility work, and at the ripe age of almost-8, completed her Novice Agility Preferred (NAP) and Novice Jumpers Preferred (NJP) titles in 2007. The summer of '07 saw her also try her "paw" at herding sheep, and she easily passed her "Herding Instrinct" test in July. In her first agility trial in August, Cindy earned 3 first-place finishes and three qualifying scores, 2 in NAP and 1 in NJP. Her second trial in November netted the final "leg" for her NAP and the second leg on her NJP; the next day she completed her NJP with a third and final qualifiying score.

Our boy, Swiss import Nico von Nesselacker (Nico), completed his AKC conformation Championship in January '06, his CD in March '06, and his NDD in October '06. He started competing in the Rally ring in '07 and completed his RE title in September '07. In April '07, he passed his open draft test and now is a DD with Cindy. We have also begun Nico's training for an Open Obedience (Companion Dog Excellent--CDX) title, but that may take some time, given our other activitities. From time to time, Nico also visits the local assisted living center in central Virginia to work as a Therapy Dog (TDI), where he is welcomed as a valuable staff member to ease the loneliness of some of the residents.

Cindy's daughter, Fulani Neriza von Lindenhof (Lani), not to be outdone, has added letters to her name as well in between her three litters. In January '06, Lani, like Nico, earned her her AKC conformation Championship and followed up with an obedience title (Companion Dog - CD) 3 months later. Together with Nico, Lani debuted in the Rally Ring in '07 and is only one leg away from completing her RE title, having already succeeded in fulfiling the requirements for RN and RA. We continue to work with her in carting, but she is not yet ready to try a draft test.

Our junior adult, Ingrid Ida v. Lindenhof (Ingrid) appears to be following her parents' (Cindy and Nico's) winning traditions. She too is starting to rack up working titles: She successfully completed her CGC and TDI tests in '06, as well as earning her Rally Novice (RN) title in style with three successive qualifying scores. She finished her RA and RE titles before she was two years old, earning the last RE leg in November '06. She too has been hitched up to the cart but will need more training before we try a test with her. Ingrid is also chipping away at her AKC championship and CD titles but is taking time off to try out the role of mother to the next Lindenhof generation.

Our newest Lindenhof pack members include Lindenhof's Freya von Chargun (Freya), a Zoro daughter and Nico neice born in April 2007, and two girls from Lani's latest litter born in September '07. Lara Lydia v. Lindenhof (Lara or Liddie) and Leatha Lorelei v. Lindenhof (Leatha) represent Lindenhof's 4th generation of Berner pups. Freya was enrolled in a CGC class this fall and successfully passed the CGC test on October 24, her six-month anniversary. She then followed that up with three consecutive passing RN scores in November to earn that title. Come 2008, we will see if she can continue in Rally, then perhaps start on her CD and CH. By that time, we'll see what the two "L" girls can accomplish as well.

Because Nico and Cindy have a working title, their draft titles, and their conformation titles, they were also awarded "versatility dog" status by the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America (BMDCA) in 2006, a special achievement we are very proud of. The Versatility Award is further confirmation that our lines not only look great, but can actually perform the tasks expected of an all-around, Swiss farm dog. We are also pleased that our youngest pack members seem well on the road to greater achievements in line with those their more mature relatives have succeeded in completing over the past few years.