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Mountain Dogs => Bernese Mountain Dog Discussions => : WiggyMagPye May 25, 2007, 12:21:15 AM

: Heavy Panting
: WiggyMagPye May 25, 2007, 12:21:15 AM
Good Morning,

   I have a Bernese Mountain Dog who is 5 months old today.  She is panting very hard lately.  The temperature is in the 80s but she is inside where there is air movement and constant fans.  She has access to all the water she wants.  Is the heavy panting common to this breed? 

Many thanks,

Maggie's Mama
: Re: Heavy Panting
: mama23+pyrs2 May 25, 2007, 12:31:29 AM
I can't comment on the Bernese breed but I can tell you my Pyr pups do the same thing. It seems they are constantly panting. Even if they've been in the house for hours, if they are awake, they pant. They shared a crate up until a couple weeks ago and I thought they were too hot together but nope they still do it seperate and outside the crate (their crates are wire so get all the airflow too. We also have the a/c on and a ceiling fan blowing right above them.

Maybe someone else can you a reason as to why. It seems to be normal with mine though!
: Re: Heavy Panting
: People Whisperer May 25, 2007, 12:45:07 AM
What is the temperature in the house? My Pyr is always hot and panting. For her 68F in the house is hot! Does your dog still have plenty on undercoat left? If yes, try to get it out and it will get much better  ;)
: Re: Heavy Panting
: dohertyswissy May 25, 2007, 04:12:26 AM
I have a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, the larger short-hair cousin to the Bernese.  I live in NC and it is 84 degrees here.  I keep the house air-conditioned and with plenty of fans and he still pants like a wild man.  It's that whole undercoat deal.  Unless her breathing gets labored or she seems  massively uncomfortable, I think she's probably a-okay..just hot!   :) 
: Re: Heavy Panting
: WiggyMagPye May 25, 2007, 05:28:24 AM
How do you get the undercoat out?  She is not shedding and loses no hair when I brush her.  Anyone know if it's okay to shave a Bernese Mountain Dog?  I hate for her to be so uncomfortable!!!

Also, several fans going, ceiling fans too.  Direct fan into her "house" for when we go out.

Thanks!

Maggie's Mama
: Re: Heavy Panting
: Nicole May 25, 2007, 05:32:54 AM
How do you get the undercoat out?  She is not shedding and loses no hair when I brush her.  Anyone know if it's okay to shave a Bernese Mountain Dog?  I hate for her to be so uncomfortable!!!

Also, several fans going, ceiling fans too.  Direct fan into her "house" for when we go out.

Thanks!

Maggie's Mama

Buy an undercoat rake! They are AWESOME! My boy is a Chow/Newf mix, so the man has HAIR. I mean...HAIR! hahha...we use the undercoat rake and it makes him MUCH cooler! We've never had to shave him. They look like this:
(http://www.bonejourpetsupply.com/data/library/ilib_416.jpg)

This is actually the exact model we have and we LOOOOOVE it!
: Re: Heavy Panting
: mama23+pyrs2 May 25, 2007, 05:39:39 AM
I need to try one of those rakes. I got a metal comb and in one brush it just got stuck in the fur haha. Another waste of money!
: Re: Heavy Panting
: Nicole May 25, 2007, 05:44:34 AM
I need to try one of those rakes. I got a metal comb and in one brush it just got stuck in the fur haha. Another waste of money!

The rake rules, man!
: Re: Heavy Panting
: GoldenPyrs May 25, 2007, 06:50:43 AM
Yep, our best grooming tool yet has been the rake with two rows of teeth.  Our's is made by "Evolution" and it's wonderful!  I haven't tried a Furminator yet, but I'm going to soon.

Modified to add:

Here's a link:
 http://www.petsafewarehouse.com/Pet_care_grooming/brushes.htm

Our's is item #W-6110 and it's down the page a bit.  It's $9.99.
: Re: Heavy Panting
: People Whisperer May 25, 2007, 07:07:27 AM
Yep, our best grooming tool yet has been the rake with two rows of teeth.  Our's is made by "Evolution" and it's wonderful!  I haven't tried a Furminator yet, but I'm going to soon.

Modified to add:

Here's a link:
 http://www.petsafewarehouse.com/Pet_care_grooming/brushes.htm

Our's is item #W-6110 and it's down the page a bit.  It's $9.99.

It says NOT FOUND

By the way I have the rake Nicole pointed at and it does nothing to us. The only thing that works  is a plain metal comb used after 35 mm pin brush

: Re: Heavy Panting
: GoldenPyrs May 25, 2007, 07:28:02 AM
Hmmmm, I see that and it won't let me copy & paste a photo from that web site, so let's try this link:

http://www.copperboppers.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16276&cat=313&page=1

The two rows have the teeth staggered, so it does a really good job.  I also like the rotating teeth, they do seem to be gentler on our dogs.
: Re: Heavy Panting
: People Whisperer May 25, 2007, 08:50:45 AM
Hmmmm, I see that and it won't let me copy & paste a photo from that web site, so let's try this link:

http://www.copperboppers.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16276&cat=313&page=1

The two rows have the teeth staggered, so it does a really good job.  I also like the rotating teeth, they do seem to be gentler on our dogs.


Thanks, I have never seen this one before. Looks good!
: Re: Heavy Panting
: mama23+pyrs2 May 25, 2007, 09:54:23 AM
Hmmmm, I see that and it won't let me copy & paste a photo from that web site, so let's try this link:

http://www.copperboppers.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16276&cat=313&page=1

The two rows have the teeth staggered, so it does a really good job.  I also like the rotating teeth, they do seem to be gentler on our dogs.


I saw one like this at the pet store but I just couldn't tell if it would work or not. I really didn't think the pups hair was that thick yet, I thought wrong. I did get a metal comb, for shedding or something it said but as I said, the first attempt at using it, it didn't go more than an inch before it was stuck, there was no combing action going to happen at all. So, that made me weary of buying something else to try. I may have to get this exact one though if this one works for yours.
: Re: Heavy Panting
: Bernertomboi May 25, 2007, 12:00:20 PM
My guy does this too.  It really does help to brush him, we purchased the furminator on Amazon and absolutley love it.  It would have been cheaper on ebay, but I am still an ebay coward.  We also put a fan on the floor right next to the tile by our front door.  That is his favorite spot in the house now.

Have you had him for a while?  When we first brought him home he would sit in front of the fan and still breath hard, even on days when it was 50 degrees out.  He doesn't do it as bad anymore, we think that it is because of the altitude change

We have thought about shaving him for the summer but are worried about doing it to early(he is 10 weeks old). 

This is after we furminatored him.
: Re: Heavy Panting
: mama23+pyrs2 May 25, 2007, 10:02:36 PM
Wow, we could never keep our house 68 degrees here! We'd never be able to afford that power bill lol..not to mention we'd freeze! Ours has been running 75-76 and they adjust. They never lay on anything but the tile floors if they want to sleep, but they've always done that. Even in the winter time which isn't terrible in FL obviously but on chilly days, still on the tile. They've only laid on the carpet to chew bones haha.
: Re: Heavy Panting
: People Whisperer May 26, 2007, 01:37:04 AM
Wow, we could never keep our house 68 degrees here! We'd never be able to afford that power bill lol..not to mention we'd freeze! Ours has been running 75-76 and they adjust. They never lay on anything but the tile floors if they want to sleep, but they've always done that. Even in the winter time which isn't terrible in FL obviously but on chilly days, still on the tile. They've only laid on the carpet to chew bones haha.

Wait until they grow full coats!
: Re: Heavy Panting
: mama23+pyrs2 May 26, 2007, 01:52:34 AM
Wow, we could never keep our house 68 degrees here! We'd never be able to afford that power bill lol..not to mention we'd freeze! Ours has been running 75-76 and they adjust. They never lay on anything but the tile floors if they want to sleep, but they've always done that. Even in the winter time which isn't terrible in FL obviously but on chilly days, still on the tile. They've only laid on the carpet to chew bones haha.

Wait until they grow full coats!

Yeah, I'm REALLY not looking forward to it. ;) Then they won't want to even go outside to potty! Yukon will have a much thicker coat seeing as he's male, and he already has a lot more than her. Ugh.
: Re: Heavy Panting
: Icerotti May 26, 2007, 02:21:24 AM
Puck our rotti is a heavy panter...I think we could keep our house at 60 degrees and he would be happy but we freeze. He keeps cool by laying on the tiles. He use to use the coolaroo bed until Farley peed on it ..now he won't use it . It lets the air circulate underneath them and it can be used inside or out.



It was cheap like under $30 here in Canada at Petsmart.


It looks like this.

http://www.outdoordecor.com/product_detail.asp?item=XPB10002:Birds-And-Pets:Pet-Items:Coolaroo-Pet-Beds

Furminating Puck really helps too.
: Re: Heavy Panting
: People Whisperer May 29, 2007, 04:37:43 AM
Hmmmm, I see that and it won't let me copy & paste a photo from that web site, so let's try this link:

http://www.copperboppers.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16276&cat=313&page=1

The two rows have the teeth staggered, so it does a really good job.  I also like the rotating teeth, they do seem to be gentler on our dogs.


I bought the above rake yesterday and oh boy we got some hair out!!! I didn't realized she had so much undercoat left  ??? Thank you so much for recommending it!
: Re: Heavy Panting
: Nina May 29, 2007, 04:58:15 AM
Harley my Lab is a heavy panter. I spray her belly down with cold water and that keeps her cool. Also there are some cooling mats that you can get.

Nina
: Re: Heavy Panting
: GoldenPyrs May 29, 2007, 05:09:46 AM
Hmmmm, I see that and it won't let me copy & paste a photo from that web site, so let's try this link:

http://www.copperboppers.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16276&cat=313&page=1

The two rows have the teeth staggered, so it does a really good job.  I also like the rotating teeth, they do seem to be gentler on our dogs.


I bought the above rake yesterday and oh boy we got some hair out!!! I didn't realized she had so much undercoat left  ??? Thank you so much for recommending it!

You're very welcome!  I'm really glad that you like it, too.  ;D  We just lucked upon it one day and it's become such a staple here that I even carry it with me when we go out for the day with the dogs.  If one of them gets into stickers or something, it really helps.  Isn't it amazing how much undercoat they still have left when we think that we've gotten it all?  :o  With our 3 double-coated dogs it becomes a big project for us here, too.  I saw Lily's pics this morning (I'm just slow today on responding) and she looks absolutely gorgeous!!   :-*

: Re: Heavy Panting
: bernermom August 05, 2007, 02:16:59 AM
I would discourage anyone from shaving a double coated dog.
I'm a groomer and their coat usually grows in thicker, patchy, softer[the coat will change it's texture].
Find a u-bath and use their dryer and blow all the coat out. It will be amazing. ;)
(http://i11.tinypic.com/5xihqbs.jpg)
: Re: Heavy Panting
: SadieA September 08, 2007, 11:48:01 AM
everything I have read has stressed that it is NOT a good idea to shave your dog. This article is specifically about goldens, but I'm sure it applies to others as well... The article is from Golden Retriever rescue of mid-Florida. http://www.grrmf.org/care/grooming.html.


Thinking About Shaving Your Golden Retriever?        

In A Word--Don't!


Some people mistakenly believe that shaving or severely clipping their golden is a wonderful way to keep the dog cool and comfortable in warm weather. What they don't realize is that they're actually putting the dog at greater risk of health problems like skin cancer. Here's why:

A golden's coat is made up of two parts -- the long and smooth outercoat and the soft and fuzzy undercoat. These two layers work together to protect the skin from sun, heat, cold and moisture. The fur acts as an insulator BOTH against the heat and cold.
   

When you shave your golden, you remove all of that natural protection that he or she was born with, thereby exposing the dog to the sun's harmful rays, a risk of overheating in the summer, and more. Because they were bred to retrieve water fowl, the goldens coat also acts as a water repellant and is designed so that dirt and debris brush off easily.

We've also had applicants think that shaving their golden would help protect it against fleas and ticks, would reduce shedding and eliminate hot spots – ALL UNTRUE! The golden will still shed, fleas and ticks are better controlled with a spot-on preventive such as FrontLine, and hot spots can be controlled with a premium diet and supplements. Simply put, there is NO good reason to shave your golden on a regular basis, and you are actually harming your dog if you do so.
: Re: Heavy Panting
: Sillygoose September 08, 2007, 02:21:24 PM
Hmmmm, I see that and it won't let me copy & paste a photo from that web site, so let's try this link:

http://www.copperboppers.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16276&cat=313&page=1

The two rows have the teeth staggered, so it does a really good job.  I also like the rotating teeth, they do seem to be gentler on our dogs.


I bought the above rake yesterday and oh boy we got some hair out!!! I didn't realized she had so much undercoat left  ??? Thank you so much for recommending it!

I've had that rake since the get go. It's the only thing that really gets rid of the undercoat. I swear by it.
: Re: Heavy Panting
: Bernertomboi September 08, 2007, 02:47:45 PM
This summer we decided to clip Maddax and am glad we did.  We tried brushing, bathing, blowing and he was still so uncomfortable.  The minute he walked outside he ran for the nearest shade.  As soon as we clippered him we saw a drastic change in his mood.  I don't plan on showing him and so far his coat is growing in like it should.  It also helped in the house (we don't have a/c of any kind) his panting also decresed and seemed all around happier.  This worked for us, but may not work for others.

Bernermom I will try the blower next year as well!! Thanks!