Saint Bernard Puppies: Adopt or Buy?

Should you adopt or buy a Saint Bernard?

It depends on whether it has to be a puppy. Registered Saint Bernard litters are few, and many breeders' websites say nothing is planned, so a puppy usually means a wait. If what you want is the dog (the calm, friendly giant), an adult Saint from the breed club's welfare service or a general rescue arrives desexed and microchipped, with a temperament and a full-grown size you can already see.

The RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase suggests the RSPCA or a reputable rescue first, and if you go to a breeder, making sure they are registered, visiting where the puppies were born and meeting the parents.

Reference figures read on 10 November 2026, not quotes. Breeders and rescues set their own prices and change them.

How much is a Saint Bernard puppy from a registered breeder?

No Australian Saint Bernard club publishes a price. The Saint Bernard Club says only that a reputable breeder will always openly discuss pricing and any financial arrangements.

In November 2026 we read the websites of about fifteen Australian St Bernard breeders, most of them listed with Dogs Australia state bodies. Only one member breeder, listed in the Dogs NSW breeder directory, published a price on its own website. It said its puppies cost around $3,000 depending on the mating, including vaccinations, worming, registration, club membership and often desexing, and that no litter was planned. One breeder is not a range, and that page is undated, so do not treat it as the market price; ask each breeder. Several other breeders show a price only on listing sites, which we do not use because the seller's membership and the ad's date cannot be checked there.

Reference figures only, not quotes. The breeder price was read on the breeder's own website, not a listing site. Rescue fees usually include desexing, microchipping, vaccinations and a vet check.

What a good breeder looks like, according to The Saint Bernard Club: a member of a Dogs Australia state body such as Dogs NSW and of a state breed club, who hip and elbow scores, registers every litter, gives you the papers and never mass produces puppies. The club also explains that Limited Registration or a desexing contract decides whether a puppy can be bred from, and says to always buy a puppy subject to a veterinary check.

After the price comes the running cost of a dog that can weigh 70 kg or more: food, weight-based medication, a big bed, a big car and vet bills at giant-dog rates. The dog cost calculator estimates the first year.

Which health tests should a Saint Bernard breeder show you?

Hip and elbow scores are the baseline in Australia. The Saint Bernard Club says members who list on its Puppy Register must have their dogs hip scored and elbow scored, and that a breeding pair's combined hip score must not exceed 1.5 times the current breed average. The Saint Bernard Club of America recommends more:

Sources: The Saint Bernard Club and Saint Bernard Club of America (February 2018), read 10 November 2026. Australian breeders use Australian schemes, so the paperwork will differ. A buying checklist, not veterinary advice.

The conditions behind those tests are named by Australian sources too. The Saint Bernard Club lists hip dysplasia (“a definite problem in Saint Bernards that needs to be assessed”), elbow disease, ectropion and entropion (eyelids that roll out or in) and bloat, and Dogs Victoria lists the same conditions while calling the breed generally healthy.

Bloat, or gastric dilatation and volvulus, needs a special word because no test can rule it out. The Royal Kennel Club calls it life-threatening, says it mainly occurs in deep-chested breeds, and lists a swollen belly, unproductive attempts to vomit, drooling, anxiety and pain as the signs. If you see them, go to a vet immediately. Ask your vet about bloat risk and prevention. Our Saint Bernard health guide covers each condition in more depth.

Can a Saint Bernard cope with an Australian summer?

A Saint can live well in most of Australia, but only with an owner who plans every summer around the dog. Information from The Saint Bernard Club on the Dogs Australia breed page asks owners to give the dog a well-insulated area that is dry, clean and as cool as possible in the hotter months. The RSPCA Knowledgebase on heatstroke sets out the rest:

• Walk at the coolest times of day, which in summer usually means early morning or late evening.
• Shade, airflow and water at all times. The RSPCA says a cool, shaded, well-ventilated area should always be available.
• Avoid hot surfaces such as sand and concrete.
• Keep the dog lean. The RSPCA says overweight animals overheat faster and have a limited capacity for cooling.
• Never leave a dog in a car, even on an overcast day with the windows down.

Dogs Victoria says the breed is quite comfortable indoors, which makes a cool room on hot days easier to offer. Our drool, heat and giant-care guide goes further on summer routines.

What do Saint Bernards in rescue look like?

Few, and mostly adults or crosses. Across the rescues, shelters and council pounds we aggregate, Saint Bernards are among the less common breeds, and a purebred Saint puppy in rescue is unusual. When one appears it tends to go quickly, so set an alert on the Saint Bernard breed page.

The breed club is the other route. The Saint Bernard Club's welfare service helps rehome Saints from pounds, shelters, owner surrenders and strays as part of the Dogs NSW rescue program. It keeps a register of potential new homes (you fill in a form saying what you are looking for and whether you have had large breeds before), makes sure each dog is vet checked, vaccinated, desexed and microchipped, and asks the new owner for a donation to cover the cost. New owners get a free year of welfare membership.

Most rescue Saints are there because the size, the drool, the heat or the cost was underestimated, or a home changed. In foster care they come with notes on children, other dogs, time alone and how they cope with warm days, which is exactly what a puppy cannot tell you. Dogs Victoria's children and dogs fact sheet is worth reading before you bring any giant dog home to young children.

How do Saint Bernard puppy scams work?

Scamwatch says scammers set up fake websites, social media profiles and marketplace listings offering popular breeds or pets that do not exist. Its advice: view the puppy in person, ask for a video call if you cannot visit, check the breeder is legitimate, and compare prices, because a very cheap pet is likely a scam.

Saint Bernard versions of the pattern:

• Buying sight unseen. The Saint Bernard Club puts it in capitals: never buy a Saint sight unseen over the internet. It warns that a puppy farmer may mislead you with false breeder registration details.
• Puppies always available. Registered Saint litters are few. A seller with puppies ready now, every month, does not fit the breed.
• No hip and elbow scores. The club treats these as the minimum. A seller who cannot show them for both parents is not a breeder to buy from, whether or not the ad is a scam.
• A “dry-mouth” Saint. The club says there is no such thing. A seller promising one is telling you what you want to hear.
• No breeder number. NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT each require an identifying number in puppy ads. Look it up on the official register yourself.

Our guide to puppies for sale in Australia has the full state-by-state table of breeder numbers and what to do if you have already paid.

When is a registered breeder the better choice?

Rescue is not right for everyone. A registered breeder makes sense if you want a puppy with hip- and elbow-scored parents and a breeder to call for the next ten years, if you want a particular coat (smooth or rough), if you plan to show, or if you have waited and no rescue Saint has come up near you.

1. Registration. Check the membership number with Dogs Australia or your state body. Dogs Australia says it makes no representation about any breeder's reputation or the soundness of any puppy.
2. Hip and elbow scores for both parents, plus whatever eye and heart checks the breeder has done.
3. The mother, in person, and where the puppies are raised, before any deposit.
4. A written contract covering register type or desexing, health problems and whether the breeder will take the dog back.
5. A vet check. The club says to buy any puppy subject to one.

The club itself does not sell puppies or recommend breeders, but its Puppy Register lets buyers leave their details for member breeders, all of whom must hip and elbow score.

Is a Saint Bernard the right dog for you?

The Dogs Australia breed standard describes the St Bernard as a companion, watch and farm dog, “friendly by nature” with a temperament “calm to lively; watchful.” Before you apply, check these against your life:

Not sure a giant breed fits? The what dog breed am I quiz and the adoption readiness check each take a few minutes. Renting? Read renting with pets in Australia first. Comparing giant breeds? See our Great Dane and Bernese Mountain Dog guides.

Find a Saint Bernard near you

Saint Bernards and Saint crosses listed by rescues, by city:

• Saint Bernards for adoption in Sydney
• Saint Bernards for adoption in Melbourne
• Saint Bernards for adoption in Brisbane
• Saint Bernards for adoption in Perth
• Saint Bernards for adoption in Adelaide

Local guides to adopting a Saint Bernard, with the rescues that serve each city: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast.

Open to another big, gentle dog? Browse the large dogs listed in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.