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Whitney Menning shares her journey breeding Saint Bernards focused on structure, health, and heart, alongside her daughter Maci.
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Whitney Menning
1. My name is Whitney Menning and I’m fairly new to showing and breeding. My daughter, Maci, and I show and breed together. I truly got into the sport to produce the best dogs possible in structure, functionality, and temperament. I wanted to provide families with sound companions.
My dream of show dogs started in 2016, but my first successful show dog and the foundation for my kennel was really born in 2018. GCH Trailblazer Willows Harmony Of Heart Mountain (Willow) was my foundation bitch and the first dog to carry my kennel name of Heart Mountain Saint Bernards. Willow gave me my first litter in 2020. Since then, I’ve only had a total of five litters from my kennel. I started in Northern Wyoming in a small town called Powell. At the beginning of 2025 my family and I relocated to Gulf Shores, Alabama. My daughter and I are excited to get back into showing again.
2. They should be proportionately tall. Muscular in every way. They should be powerful dogs. It’s so important to remember that they were bred to hike miles through the deep snow. Saints are known as a head breed. Like the body, it should be very powerful and imposing but with intelligent eyes and a friendly expression. Saints should never be ill-natured. If they were, they could not perform the duty they were bred for—rescuing complete strangers. These features are what make a Saint a Saint.
3. I think we always need responsible breeders out there producing puppies, but it may take a little longer to find the proper homes in this economy.
4. I’ve started genetic testing all my puppies before they leave for their new homes. It’s not a 100 percent guarantee that nothing can go wrong, but I feel that health testing of Saints isn’t as common as it should be. I have always felt that knowledge is power, and we can only do better the more information we have. I try and contact my puppy owners a few times a year to check in. Hearing how they are doing and seeing them thrive makes my heart full.
5. I have been blessed to partner with some amazing people, such as Jann Butler, Terri Ebert, and Will Bratcher, who really go above and beyond to represent our dogs and purebred dogs in general. They are always taking the dogs to events and educating the public. I think they have made a very positive impact on the public’s perception of purebred dogs.
6. Social media. It’s a double-edged sword. It can definitely be used to showcase our beautiful dogs and our accomplishments, but on the flip side it can be a hard place to exist when someone uses it with malice. It’s good to remember that every dog and every owner has a story that makes up who they are. At the end of the day, we all have that in common. We have a love for our dogs and we are all human.
7. The quality of the competition. Looking at our national line up this year, I said many times, “What nice dogs we have in the ring.”
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