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Topics - SadieA

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General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / What to do about diarrhea

« on: June 04, 2009, 10:56:06 am »

So, this is a bit of a gross one- Sammy is sick. Last night he was up in the night pacing around and panting, and when I let him out, sure enough, he had diarrhea. I also was worried that he might have eaten something that was stuck in his stomach- this has happened before, he's actually eaten a sock and thrown it up whole. So I wondered if that was the problem, and I'm still nervous about it. Today I had to leave him in his crate when I left the house, and when I came back, it was a HUGE mess. So I have him a bath and cut the fur around his rear end to hopefully make future cleanup easier. Still tonight he has diarrhea literally the consistency of water, and it's somewhat explosive. But he seems energetic enough- mostly, he seems anxious, always moving.

So... does he need a trip to the vet, in your opinions? Or just a day or so of not eating anything to clean him out? Or some pumpkin? Or do you think the diarrhea could somehow be caused by an obstruction in his stomach? (I don't have any reason to think he ate a sock or anything, but it's happened in the past without my knowledge...)

I'm a little freaked out! Thanks!

Bernese Mountain Dog Discussions / Running with a Berner

« on: January 06, 2009, 11:47:04 am »

Hi All!

I'm wondering if anyone has experience running (jogging, really) with a Berner or similar-sized dog? Sammy is now 1.5, and really, he just wants to be with me everywhere I go, and I'm hoping to get back into running after some time away. He's got a lot of energy, and ideally I'd eventually be able to take him along with me on some of my outdoor adventures, particularly hiking. He doesn't have great endurance, though, and I'm sure that's partially due to his lack of training, but perhaps also just a characteristic of the breed. I'm wondering if it's safe for him to jog a bit- we've twice gone for very slow jogs of about 3/4 mile in length, and by the end he's definitely dragging, but I'd love to keep doing it if it isn't hurting him. I think he enjoys it, and he jogs along right next to me, and it gets him a lot of exercise. So I'm curious to know what you all think, and if it is ok to jog with him, and he begins to improve in his endurance, where is the point where you'd say a longer run is too long? Oh yeah, he weighs around 85 pounds, which seems to be as big as he's going to get. It's a healthy weight for his size. And when he was a little guy, we had some troubles with pano, but no orthopedic problems of any kind for at least the past six months.

Thanks!

Mixed Breed Discussion / Oh my- fastest eater EVER!

« on: July 11, 2008, 06:29:17 pm »

So I'm dogsitting this weekend, staying at the house (and Sammy came with me). The two dogs I'm sitting for are a pit bull mix, and a really small little border collie/something mix. I wanted to give them a treat, so I pulled out a couple bully sticks, which the pit bull refused, but both Sammy and Suki (the little border collie) were excited about. So they lay down to chew on their treats, and oh my goodness! She finished WAY faster than Sammy. I guess size is no indication of how quick a dog can demolish one of these things- Sam weighs 85 pounds, and she's maybe 25!!! I couldn't believe hers was gone- I thought Sammy must have stolen hers and eaten them both, but there's no way she would have let him get away with that- she's DEFINITELY the alpha dog around here.

Too funny.

Bernese Mountain Dog Pictures / Happy Birthday, Sammy!!

« on: July 10, 2008, 11:52:32 am »

Last friday (the 4th) was Sammy's first birthday, but we've been away until now!! I got him a new toy- a lamb that makes a sound that I kind of think sounds like a duck call- but he loves it. Here's a couple more recent pics!!

Bernese Mountain Dog Discussions / We're moving!!

« on: June 23, 2008, 06:52:32 am »

I've decided to transfer schools, and Sammy and I will be moving to North Carolina in August! We'll be living in the Raleigh/Durham area, and I am pretty excited! I just wanted to put feelers out for anyone in the area, or any dog-related (or not) things about the area I just have to know!! Great parks? Great dog walkers or sitters? Great play groups?

Thanks so much!

Medical Conditions & Diseases / Burned pads/peeling pads

« on: June 20, 2008, 11:38:31 am »

I just spoke with my vet about this, and am wondering if anyone else has had a similar problem: Last week, I took Sammy for a short walk on a day that was very hot, and I guess we spent too much time on the hot pavement, because the next day, he wouldn't walk and his pads felt warm to the touch. He recovered within a couple days, but just now I noticed that on both front paws, a couple of his pads have dime-sized grey patches that seem to be dead skin. The patches are peeling off (a pretty thick chunk of skin peeling off), and you can see the very pink skin underneath, I can't imagine it is comfortable for him. The vet said it sounds like those patches were burned, and are now dead and peeling off. Her opinion was that there isn't much to do- keep him on the softer surfaces and wait for the callouses to peel off, and then treat the new skin underneath with neosporin. Have any of you had something like this happen, or any additional advice for me?

Thanks so much!!

Bernese Mountain Dog Pictures / a few newer pics of Sammy

« on: May 24, 2008, 06:21:43 am »

Here's my big guy!!! He's 82 pounds now, as of yesterday, and almost 11 months old- his birthday is the 4th of July. The First and last pictures are a couple months old, but he's not growing too quick anymore, so he still pretty much looks the same. I need to take more pics!

General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Berner in need in Boston area

« on: May 22, 2008, 06:50:57 pm »

This is just so sad to me, having a young berner myself.... Maybe someone on here can help, or knows someone who can.

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/pet/682101634.html

Medical Conditions & Diseases / Worried about Sammy- GI blockage??

« on: May 19, 2008, 08:24:18 am »

Sammy is sick! He's at the vet right now for x-rays, because, long story short, he might have a blockage in his GI tract. A few days ago, my mom got him a brand-new peanut butter flavored nylabone, and gave it to him before leaving for work. When she came home, it was GONE. He'd been in his large crate, so no question about it- he ate the whole thing. Yipes. So of course, he had diarrhea for the next couple days, but I thought that would be the extent of things.

Well, for the last two days, he has refused to eat, which is NOT like Sammy AT ALL. He's also been pretty low-energy, and I am so worried about him. So the vet is checking to see if the nylabone caused a blockage, and if it did, she'll have to operate to pull it out. Poor boy! He is already scheduled to be neutered on friday, so this may be a big week for him, surgery-wise.

I am so worried about him! Has anyone else had a dog eat a nylabone? Or had a dog who had to have a blockage removed? I guess I won't be giving him any more nylabones- he has one unflavored one that he has chewed on here and there for months- I guess he just really loved the peanut-butter flavor, and it didn't even occur to me or my mom that he might EAT the whole thing. Poor little dude.

Medical Conditions & Diseases / Advice on sleeping??

« on: May 16, 2008, 06:12:52 am »

Sammy is 10.5 months old now, and he's still having trouble pretty regularly with sleeping. I think a big part of the problem may be that we've been staying with my parents for a while now, so that's a change of scenery for him from his apartment that he knows. He sleeps in a crate, as he has every night since he was small, and he's good about it- he goes right in when I open the door at night. But lately, he's been waking up barking and whining in the night. I take him out, and he does usually pee, but he'll wake up again, and do the same thing again. I don't think it's because he HAS to pee- other nights he is just fine. I wonder if he's barking because he wants to get up and play, and a few times I've tried ignoring him for a whole night, to see if he'll learn that barking won't get him out of his crate. I've actually found that works pretty well, at least for a while, but he does eventually return to the barking and crying at night. I don't want to just let him bark and cry away, and the noise wakes up everyone in the house if I let it go on too long. Does anyone have advice for what I might do to teach him not to be so loud at night?? I'm already planning to start taking him for a late walk, shortly before he goes to bed, to make sure he is pretty tired out.

Bernese Mountain Dog Discussions / Climate and Bernese Mountain Dog

« on: February 17, 2008, 04:49:12 pm »

So, I'll be starting grad school in the fall, and am trying to pick which school I should accept at. My options are Duke, Columbia, and a school in Boston. So, the question is, what is the best choice for Sammy. ( I mean, obviously that's not the only question, but it is the question of the moment!) So we've got Boston, NYC, and North Carolina. I know Sammy will love Boston, and I lived there for several years so I know it and love it. New York, well, it's a big city of course. But still climate-wise, I know Sammy could handle it. Does anyone here have a dog in NYC? Lastly, Raleigh/Durham. I have a suspicion it is a bit hotter than Sammy would really like. However, if I am careful with him, do you all think that NC is doable with a big, furry dog?

Thanks so much for any feedback! I want to try to make sure any decision I make will work for him too, since he's coming with me!

General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Therapy dog?

« on: February 15, 2008, 08:25:12 am »

Sam is still a bit of a crazy puppy, but we're taking lots of obedience classes, and I'm hoping once he's older and well behaved, he can be one of those dogs that visits patients at the hospital, or folks at nursing homes. Does anyone have a dog that they do that kind of thing with, and if so, how did you train your dog to be good and calm with people, and did you have to get any special certifications?

I think Sam would really love doing this, because he loves people, and just LOVES getting petted. He'll sit quietly next to anyone who will pet him, and just rest his head on their lap.

General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / New Sammy pictures- 7 months old

« on: February 12, 2008, 05:31:53 am »

Here are a few pictures of Sammy these days! He seems to have slowed down a lot in terms of growth- he still weighs 65 pounds, which has been constant for a month, and I think he even weighed a little more around New Year. Maybe I need to up his food a little, but he's not too skinny, so I think he's OK! The first three pictures were taken last week, the last two about a month ago.

General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Fun- Westminster Dog Show

« on: February 11, 2008, 05:20:04 pm »

check out today's results and videos on this page:

http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/2008/results/breed/bob.html

General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / so many Berners!

« on: February 01, 2008, 11:34:34 pm »

Yesterday I was in Boston (Charlestown, actually) for an interview, and while walking to the building from where I parked, I saw TWO berners! So exciting for me! I got a chance to talk to the first and his owner. It was funny, he was about two years old, and 108 pounds, so probably a little bigger than I'm guessing Sammy will eventually get. But, he had puppy fur! The owner said she figured he would stay that way- he was all fluffy and soft. Sammy, on the other hand, has shiny, curly fur at seven months. Pretty different looking!