
Cornerstone Bernese Mountain Dogs!
Cornerstone Bernese Mountain Dogs (or Cornerstone Berners for short) is a family-owned breeder of AKC Champion Bernese Mountain Dogs and puppies. We are based out of a small town called Flat Rock, Illinois, though we can ship all over United States, just let us know!.
Our breeding program focuses on producing champion stock with an emphasis on quality, genetic health, personality and beauty. Because of this, we can only keep a few puppies that we think could be AKC champions one day from the bloodlines that we have within our program. The rest we work hard to find excellent homes for whether for breeding, therapy work or just a wonderful companion within your home.
All of our puppies are AKC registered and paperwork is sent home with you to register, will be vet-checked at the 7 week mark before they go home at 8 weeks and up-to-date on shots/wormers here within our home, and come with a one-year guarantee!
If you’re interested in adopting one of our puppies, please explore our website and Contact Us with any questions you might have. We look forward to hearing from you!
Want to be notified of new litters or added to our waiting list?
Delivery & Nationwide Shipping Available
Click the button above to view a picture and description of our Puppy Kit that goes home with every puppy. We want our puppies to have a fun and healthy start as they join their new families.

What People Are Saying About Cornerstone
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We traveled all the way down south, 14 hours to get our little puppy girl from Shelby at Cornerstone Berners and it was worth every second, minute and hour in the vehicle! Shelby and her husband were absolutely amazing to work with and their property where the puppies are raised is absolutely amazing and every Berners dream. Even after a year that has gone by, Shelby still continues to keep in touch with us now. Callie is such an amazing, cuddly, little love of a dog and she is such an important part of our family now and the best dog we have ever had especially with our younger children! We definitely want to get another dog in the future and we are 100% going back to Cornerstone Berners! We recommend them to anyone that stops us when they see our Callie girl. Than you again Shelby and Philip.
Cornerstone made the experience and process extremely smooth when it came down to picking out our boy! You can tell that each and everyone of the puppies are very well cared for and are in very good hands when being raised. Shelby is very upfront and honest about their whole process when it comes down to their program and goes into detail on everything which helped us be prepared for our pup before he came home. I have nothing but good things to say about Cornerstone Berners, Shelby and her family and will continue to use word of mouth to promote them! Best Berner boy around, thanks again Cornerstone.
I could not have had a better experience working with Shelby from Cornerstone Berners! The process was extremely easy and smooth from start to finish—I loved the weekly update pictures I received once I settled on a pup and Shelby was super responsive to any questions I had along the way. The pickup process was super easy with meeting in Champaign, IL and Shelby had everything ready to go when we got there with going over all the paperwork and the goodie bag that she put together for each and everyone of the pups. I could tell the dogs are very well cared for there and raised to come home with the best possible preparation to do well. Most importantly, it was love at first sight with my Winnie who could not have been more perfect, sweet, and well behaved from the moment she got in my car and we headed home. Since we have had our girl, she has been the best addition within our home. Thank you so much to Shelby and everyone at Cornerstone!!
The hardest part of wanting a Bernese Mountain Dog to join your family is finding a reputable breeder to pick your furry friend from. My husband and I did so much research and we couldn’t be happier and grateful we stumbled upon Cornerstone. I emailed and texted my interest and I received a response within 24hrs. Shelby was so transparent and was willing to talk on the phone and FaceTime right away, so trust was established right from the beginning. Enzo was the perfect addition to our family, he has the best temperament…he thinks he’s a tiny pup and just wants all love and attention. He has a clean bill of health and is growing bigger and stronger everyday! (A small 85lbs currently) His parents are Ruby & Leo, his birthday is May 24th. We just brought home our newborn baby and Enzo is transitioning well. We are so happy, thank you cornerstone! We recommend them 100% and to anyone who asks!
Shelby’s breeding standards was beyond our expectation when it comes down to her program and all the testing she does on her Berners. She did an absolute amazing job raising our boy, along with the rest of the litter until they were able to join their forever homes at 8-9 weeks. Shelby is also very responsive, eager to answer all questions, and she continuously updates you about the pups and their progress! When it came down to picking out our pup at 5 weeks, Shelby and Philip were very welcoming into their home and we loved seeing where the puppies and everyone was raised, and you can just tell how much they LOVE and care for this breed. We love our boy Benson, and it’s especially because Shelby did a phenomenal job throughout this entire process. 100/10, strongly recommend Shelby at Cornerstone Berners to be your Bernese Mountain Dog breeder 🙂 You would not be disappointed!
Shelby & Philip from Cornerstone Bernese are just amazing people! From the moment I reached out about my interest in a puppy, Shelby responded very quickly back to my email. We were able to have a conversation over the phone and she talked me through the process and what to expect within their program. Shelby sent regular updates of the puppies and posted important information and tips dealing with the care for your soon to be new pup. I found the information to be very helpful with not only what she had sent me, but their website is also very informative with all the necessary information that they do within their program ! Each text message that we always received with photos and video of the puppies weekly, we cherished them all the time and my kiddos felt very involved all the time. They were able to watch the puppy grow and reach milestones as we waited for the big day in bringing our puppy home. Shelby and I stayed in contact over the weeks until pick up day, and are still in contact today. Shelby and her family really made the process very welcoming and easy for me and my family. I would recommend Shelby from Cornerstone Berners when looking for a new furry companion for your family. She really cares for and loves her dogs and puppies. We absolutely love our new puppy and are very happy with the whole experience!
Shelby and Cornerstone were so Easy to work with! She truly cares about her puppies and wants to make sure they go to good loving homes! She does an excellent job at taking care her dogs prior to them transitioning into their new homes! She was very knowledgeable when it comes down to the type of food they feed their dogs and also the supplements with all the information that we are needing to provide to our vet when we went to the first appointment. Shelby has always been there to answer any questions I had! We ended up having our puppy flown to us as we were not close to IL and the whole process was affordable and super easy! This whole process was fun and went very smoothly! We always loved getting weekly updates of our girl. She does a great job at what she does! I just can’t see how she doesn’t get attached them all as they are so cute! But we loved what Shelby told us in the beginning before getting our puppy, she knows in her heart that they are going to loving homes and are going to be well cared for and it puts her heart at ease. I 100% recommend Shelby and her wonderful family when it comes down to getting a Berner!
I can’t say enough good things about how good Cornerstone Berners and Shelby are to work with. She is incredibly responsive to my emails, phone calls or texts, informative, helpful when it comes down to the well-being of her dogs and also her puppies after they go to their new homes and are just great people to deal with. They are simply the best and we recommend them to anyone, we have been very pleased through this whole process. Thank you again Shelby
I don’t post many reviews but this is one that is overdue. To cite our superb experiences with Cornerstone would be echoing the accolades and multiple positive remarks from prior reviewers and yes we did read multiple reviews on here before contacting. We’ve had Berners for several years and from other breeders too. Please know that the pups that we’ve bought from Shelby and her family are superb and have received top notch care before going to their new homes just at 8-9 weeks. Our baby Berners have consistently been bold and friendly pups and curious about everything new in their world since coming home with us. It’s like everyday is an adventure for them and us. They are easy to settle into our home, they sleep through the nights and adapt to our daily schedules just like Shelby had expressed to us before going home. We have a clicker to train and give verbal commands and give treats for positive reinforcements. Exposing a pup to new sights, sounds, smells, experiences and varieties of people continue the socialization process that these dogs are started on before going to their new homes has been so helpful and Shelby and her family have checked all those boxes. The homing transition was so easy, we did not have any issues. These dogs are “turn key” ready to become lifelong companions for yourself and family…it’s up to you to continue their life experience. We have dogs that are loving, gentle, playful, seek us out, want to be with us and I’m sure who would protect us. On the fun side we have one in particular who is especially attached to me and is my “sous chef” in the kitchen. Living day to day in relationship with the Cornerstone dogs is gratifying, and the time invested upfront as puppies pays big dividends as you all live life together. My husband and I will always choose Cornerstone Bernese Mountain Dogs for our next Berner…and we have five from them already and couldn’t be anymore happier with our pups. We recommend them to anyone that is looking for their next Berner friend! You won’t be disappointed after working with Shelby.
We had a fantastic experience working with Corner Stone, Shelby and Lois. We live in CA and working with a breeder that wasn’t local raised some concerns as the distance was close. However, after doing extensive research on Corner Stone and their breeding program, we felt more confident with seeing all their reviews from families and how much work Shelby has put into their website. Shelby talked with on the phone at length and that helped tremendously with all the questions we had before bringing a puppy home. From the moment we paid the deposit, Shelby’s communication continued to be wonderful, and she was so helpful in helping me identify to right puppy for our family through photos, videos and being able to do live video. The wait was so worth it, and we have enjoyed watching our puppy grow over the last year, she has brought so much laughter and joy into our lives. We loved how well she was socialized as a pup and loved so much in the weeks before she came to us. Shelby’s sister-in-law, Lois made the trek all the way from Indy to CA and hand carried our girl to us, and she’s been an amazing addition to our home. I highly recommend Corner Stone and working with Shelby. I have a feeling we’ll be back in a couple years for a second puppy when we are ready!