Looking for advice – ongoing health issues with our almost 2-year-old mini bernedoodle & breeder accountability?

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get some perspective from others, especially anyone who has dealt with breeders and congenital health issues.

We have an almost 2-year-old micro mini bernedoodle. We love her to pieces and she is absolutely staying with us no matter what — rehoming is not even a consideration. I just want to be clear about that up front.

When we first brought her home, she had severe diarrhea and we found out she had giardia. It took several rounds of meds to clear it.

As she got older, we started noticing dental issues. When she was spayed, the vet had to pull a couple of teeth. She has a pretty significant underbite — her lower canines are visible even when her mouth is mostly closed. Because her mouth doesn’t fully close, she gets heavy tartar buildup and we’ve already had to do one dental cleaning.

At one point I left a Google review because I felt like the breeder wasn’t taking our concerns seriously. He called me right away, apologized, and said they would never knowingly breed a dog with an underbite like that. I removed the review after that conversation, but we never really followed up.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago: at her annual exam, our vet heard a heart murmur. They recommended an echocardiogram before doing another dental cleaning (due to anesthesia risk) and also told us to switch her off grain-free food due to DCM concerns.

We did the echo this week. Results:

• Slight mitral valve leak (they believe likely congenital)
• Slightly dilated left ventricle (not currently enlarged; they’re not overly concerned)
• No medication needed right now
• Cleared for anesthesia
• Repeat echo recommended in 9–12 months
• They feel she’ll likely have a normal life expectancy

The financial side is significant:

• Dental cleanings are over $1,000 each
• Echocardiogram was over $700
• And we’ll need follow-up monitoring

I emailed the breeder to update him. His response was to apologize and say that if we feel we can’t care for her, they would take her back and rehome her. That’s not what we want. We’re keeping her. We just feel frustrated that multiple issues (underbite, mitral valve defect) may have been bred into her.

He sent a second email saying he’ll call me in a couple days if I don’t call him first.

I’m torn.

• Do I rewrite the Google review?
• Do I ask for financial assistance toward the echo/dentals?
• Is this just one of those unfortunate things that happens even with breeders?
• What would you do in this situation?

I’m not trying to be unreasonable. I understand no breeder can guarantee a 100% perfect dog. But at what point does accountability come into play with congenital issues?