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Messages - gohawks3

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FAQs about puppies / Re: Is My Bernese Mountain Dog Sick?
« on: August 18, 2008, 08:20:20 am »
Ok so Scout has been snarfing down rice and meat/cottage cheese the past few days like a starving dog.  He's acting like a completely normal puppy, playing hard and sleeping harder.  However, the diarrhea has not gone away.  In fact, this morning it was really nasty - looked like ground hamburger and may have even had a few worms in it?  Either that or he passed an undigested portion of one of his rawhide bones.  The worst part was he did it in his kennel in our bedroom, wich he NEVER does.  Sorry for the visuals  ;D

I've decided to take him back to the vet later today for another check-up and fecal test.  However, I am at a complete loss as to what is bothering him.  If it's a food allergy, how do I determine what he can/cannot have?  I need to find a quality kibble for him for the long term.  If it's something worse such as a stomach/digestive issue, what can I ask the vet to do vs. just prescribe more flagil/antibiotics to surpress the real issue?

We monitor him like hawks and treat him like a king, so it's not like he got into something bad or ate a dead animal.  He's never in the yard alone and he hates being outside for more than 5 minutes at a time with the heat.  So I don't think it's just a case of him getting something random...

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FAQs about puppies / Re: Is My Bernese Mountain Dog Sick?
« on: August 14, 2008, 07:22:42 pm »
Thank you both for the very detailed and informative replies!  Here's an update:

I fed him a very full bowl of rice and cottage cheese (recipe my breeder recommended for sickly Berners) and he ate the entire thing...so I fed him a bit more  ;D

He does in fact want to eat any type of human food or raw meat it seems, so this makes me think his lack of apetite has to do with food.  Would this be an accurate statement?

He still seems a little lazy compared to normal, but we went on 3 10-15 minute walks today and he did wonderful during them (played with other dogs, pulled me around, etc. etc.), so this makes me feel a bit better.

However,the diarrhea is still there.  I'm thinking about getting a refil of FLAGIL from the vet, which is exactly what worked a few months ago when his insides started acting up on him.  I want to give him a few days on this med and see if his issue clears up.  Anyone disagree with this approach?

I'll definitely give that recipe a shot though...sound s like he'll love it.

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FAQs about puppies / Re: Is My Bernese Mountain Dog Sick?
« on: August 14, 2008, 03:01:38 pm »
Thanks for the info! 

I don't think he's allergic to any of his dog foods because at one time or another he ate them like there was no tomorrow!

I just tried to feed him rice and he wouldn't even sniff at it until I buried some treats in the bottom of the bowl.  Maybe he's just being picky right now, but the thing that is bothering me is the combination of him not eating, being lethargic and having diarrhea.

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FAQs about puppies / Is My Bernese Mountain Dog Sick?
« on: August 14, 2008, 11:27:59 am »
We have a 10 month old Bernese Mountain Dog named Scout(male)that had some bacterial/parasite issues a few months ago, but fully recovered and seems to be completely healthy.  We weighed him at 9 months old and he was almost 90 lbs, had plenty of energy and no other health issues.  The only thing we had to keep him on was probiotics because he seemed to have diarrhea very badly without them.  All has been well the past 8-10 weeks until recently, at least to me...

About 14 days ago he started eating less and less of his meals.  We were feeding him 3-3.5 cups of large breed puppy food twice a day (total of 6-7 cups), and noticed that he was eating less and less each day.  Now he is at the point where he won't eat any of his dog food at all - in fact, he has not had more than a total of 4 cups in the past two days!  We've tried mixing in herbs, snacks, etc into his original food, as well as tried other puppy foods, but he still won't touch it.  He looks like he's lost a little weight and I think he's definitely been lazy/lethargic, but that could be him calming down as he gets older b/c he still is very playful when provoked.

In addition, About 7 days ago he started having diarrhea again.  Just yesterday he went outside about 12 different times and went #2 (runny), but stood 'in position' long after he was done, like he was trying to go/thought he was still going.  Every time I let him outside he does this same exact routine.

I thought that he may have another parasite/infection, so I did take a sample to the vet for testing, but everything came back normal.

I know dogs - especially Berners - go through stages where they eat very little, but I'm frustrated that he hasn't eaten more than 4 cups over the past 2 days and won't eat anything I put in front of his face!  Couple this with the diarrhea he's experiencing and I'm a bit stumped as to what might be going on, especially given the fact that his fecal test came back negative.

Any thoughts or ideas as to what might be bugging Scout?

Thanks in advance!

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Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / Re: Puppy won't get "Comfortable" in his crate
« on: December 30, 2007, 03:17:22 pm »
All -

Thanks for your great replies!  He is doing much better now that I have removed all but one blanket and two toys.  He settles into his crate much easier!


Now he's moved on to another problem...  :)


When we let him out for playtime, he constantly tries to roam to the places where we don't allow him to go (under the coffee table, between the couches, etc.  We have tried blocking those areas off and every time he enters, them, we pull him back, point at him and say "NO." in a stern low voice, but it only seems to add fuel to the fire!  Any other suggestions to get him to understand there are places he is not supposed to go, without moving him to a new place altogether?  We really want him to get used to his current area because this is where we'll want him to be as he grows older.  Maybe we are overreacting a bit since he's only just over 9 weeks old, but he seems to be getting worse!!!

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Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience / Puppy won't get "Comfortable" in his crate
« on: December 28, 2007, 12:55:02 am »
After potty time or play time, my 9 week old Berner puppy often times will not get comfortable in his crate.  He moves to the back of the crate to lie down, then 2 minutes later, he crawls to the front of the crate.  Then a minute later, he turns around and lies along the side....so on and so forth.  Every 10 minutes or so, he will get confortable enough to sit still for a long period of time, but it really looks like he is not comfortable/calm enough to truly enjoy his time in the crate. 


Could this be a blanket issue in the crate?  We have 3 blankets lying in the bottom of the crate and it seems to be comfortable.  Maybe that's too many?  The house definitely is not too hot for him as the heat is right at 70 degrees and it's snowing outside.  He also has a few toys in the crate with him, and a small cotton bone-shaped pillow which he absolutely loves.  Could there be another cause or is this just something normal puppies go through when getting used to their new den?  We've only been crate training him for 3.5 days now (just got him on X-Mas day), and he seems to be doing better in all areas except the 'comfort' issue I mention above. 

Any ideas?

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