Aggressive Behavior
I am a current owner of a wonderful Berner named Bridger. She's 5 years old and is so much a part of our family. However, my husband and I made the mistake of falling in love with the breed and purchasing her without researching the breeder. I'd imagine this is something many people do - once. Anyway, at the age of two, Bridger had to undergo surgery on both of her knees as she tore her Cruicia Ligament and had very expensive reconstructive surgery. She gets regular urinary track infections (about 3 a year) and has undergone much testing with no real results. For a while, we felt like we lived at our vet's place. All the same, we love her dearly. Three years ago, we had a baby and things with Bridger changed. She still is the wonderful dog to us, but for some reason started aggressively going after other dogs. We have taken her to a "live-in" trainer, here in Oregon, who has done wonders with her. She taught us (and continues to teach us) how to live with Bridger and has assessed that she is a just a very nervous / worried dog. She believe this something she was born with. She even went after a "toddler" Berner. One of her own kind !! To get to my point, she's part of our family and will work with her and love her all the same until the day she dies. We understand that getting another dog at this point is not in our best interest, BUT want to research breeders of Bernese Mountain Dogs early so when the time comes, we will know our breeder and be very confident in buying a puppy through them. My question for you is, have any of you had any behavioral problems with your Berner? If so, what kind and did anything help? Thanks, Cindy Schaumberg
RESPONDING TO: Curious about problems I had with my Berner...(long)
Hi Jen, My heart sure goes out to you. We had similar problems with our Berner and are very grateful to have an excellent vet who referred us directly to the proper orthopedic surgeon. When Bridger was around 1 1/2 yrs old, she blew her cruciate ligament, as well. Our vet guided us away from replacing the ligament and toward the orthopedic surgeon. The technique they used was to cut the bone to make it more level so the upper bone didn't slide off anymore. They screwed her leg in place and she was as good as new minus a ligament. About 2 months later, she blew out her other cruciate ligament. We didn't even bother going to the vet, just directly to the orthopedic surgeon and $5000.00 later she had two great rear legs. Fortunately for us, she has not had any further problems with her knees knock on wood !! She has had chronic bladder infections, though. Like you, we only heard about the dysplasia when we were researching Berners. The thing we did wrong (which I don't know if you did or not) is we never researched our breeder. I know, I know.major bad move. We wanted a Berner so bad that the first one that came along (in the newspaper, no less) we snatched up. We absolutely love her dearly and would never trade her for the world, but our next Berner will come from lots of research and communications. Hence, the reason I just signed up to this Berner organization / mailing list. My thought is, it's not a "fluke". This is something the Berner breed is evolving to with all of the bad breeding. We just have to be really careful. Hope I helped somewhat. I feel SO bad for your situation !! Hope you find a wonderful new Berner !! Cindy Schaumberg ps. Just curious...where are you located? I'm wondering if you are in the same area I am and we might have had the same breeder I'm in Portland, OR. -Original Message- From: Jen Stradling [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 8:22 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Curious about problems I had with my Berner...(long) Hello everyone, I used to be on this least about 5 years ago when I was first looking for our Berner. I've recently rejoined as we had to put our beautiful Berner, Sage, to sleep (at the young age of 4). She ended up having major orthopedic problems which we were not able to have fixed. After 6 or 7 surgeries within a 6 month period, and then her losing use of her "good" back leg, we decided we had put her through enough. It started about 2 years ago with a torn cruciate ligament - she had the ligament replaced (I think with nylon) and she recovered well. Then about a year ago we noticed that she was limping an awful lot - especially after we went for long walks. So I thought that maybe she was developing arthritis. I took her to the vet - had x-rays taken - and discovered that her knee was dislocated. They tried "popping" it back into place but it wouldn't hold. We were referred to a specialist who ended up performing a double knee surgery on both her back legs. Turned out the other leg now had a torn cruciate. Poor girl. When we went back for our checkup about a month later, she was still limping really bad on the leg that had the dislocated knee (the other knee was healing great). Turned out the surgery didn't hold. So she went back in to have it reinforced. To make an already long story short (or maybe not!)- she had complications and they had to remove all the hardware to let a nasty infection clear. We finally decided to have the joint fused since nothing else had worked. The fusion went well for about a week. Then our poor dog was carried outside to use the bathroom and while she was going she just fell to the ground yelping. Took her back in to the vet and it turned out she broke her leg! We don't know how she did that or what happened. It had been a little icy out, so we think that maybe she slipped, but we're not sure (she was not left alone outside, my husband was there but he only saw her fall to the ground). Anyway - because of the metal plate used in the fusion, the vet used an external fixator to try to heal the break. Went back for a checkup (I think it was a couple weeks later) and somehow Sage had bent one of the pins. Don't know how she did that either because this dog hardly moved at this point. So the vet went back in and replaced the fixator. She made it four more days before her "good" back leg gave out and she could no longer walk. Turned out that that leg now had a dislocating knee. It was at that point, when she could no longer walk at all, that we decided we had put her through too much already. We kept thinking - a couple more months and she'll be fine. And it kept turning into a bigger nightmare. I've started to wonder . . . did she have these problems due to bad breeding or was it just a "fluke". We have started the search for a new Berner - we love these dogs so much. But I just wondered if this is something that could have been prevented through bet
Curious about problems I had with my Berner...(long)
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boarding Kennels
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Kennels
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what's important to you?
Today is a nice cool 35degrees with a balmy 30mph breeze out of the north to chill the air as I take my guys for our afternoon walk. The cool air energizes all of us and I watch as my guys run and sniff in the pasture when it occurs to me what I like best about my dogs. I watch them strong, healthy and full of the enjoyment of the moment and realize that what is most important to me about this wonderful breed - They make me smile. Thanks Hank, Norma Jean, Bunny and Miranda for giving me the gift of a smile. It may be fleeting but today it is here. Susan Ablon Gweebarra BMD Balch Springs, Tx http://www.pageweb.com/gwebara
AKC Registration Problems
Just a thought. I may be way off and not know all the details, but if you are not showing in conformation, why not just get an ILP number. You can still show in all the performance events. It would save alot of hassle in getting all the signatures and sending papers back and forth. All you need to do is fill out the form, take pictures of the dog and mail in the fee. Barb down the Jersey Shore :) __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
inappropriate peeing
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AKC Registeration Problems
I need help registering my dogs. I have never really understood my BARC Boys paperwork. I don't know if he was registered in his native country. Amy sent two papers, each from different countries, and the paper from Bub Gage. My Greta Girl needs the transfer paperwork from her Breeders, Bestrom, sent to AKC. Barb says she hasn't received the necessary forms from AKC. (Yes, you probably are wondering how I lost the origional paperwork that I should have mailed in immediately) I hope some new owners on the List can learn from my mistake. I have been going back and forth between Bestroms and AKC for a year now A Cindy Dion (Case Management Dept.) in Raleigh says"you will need to submit the completed duplicate Dog Registration Application and any needed supplemental transfer statement to our office for processing". She didn't send an application and didn't say WHAT supplemental statements. ??? Very taxing! Happy Trails, Jeannie, Greta, and Gulliver __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
Re: BMD pups on angelsforanimals
The picture on Angels for Animals website was taken in the San Francisco Bay area around June of 1998. The picture is owned by the photographer and has been used many times. I have seen it in Petco flyers and Advantage Tee shirts. The puppy on the left is Reno and he is much larger now. You can see him on the Dog Fancy website in the BMDCA advertisement countering the puppy mill ads. Mike and Terri Whalen and Reno "Int, Am Ch Best Bet's Reno Gambler CGC TT" and Cash, "Ch Best Bet's Cash Advance" Reno's little Brother
BERNER-L digest 4229
I have a Berner, too, that used to eat her poop. At the advice or our vet, e used Deter, which you can get at any pet store, and that seemed to help. It makes their poop unappealing to them. Attached is a photo of the product we used. The term for dogs eating their poop is called Coprophagia, if you want to research it more. Good luck. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 8:29 PM To: Bernese Mountain Dog Mailing List Subject: Re: BERNER-L digest 4229 Hi, I, sadly, have 4 poop eating dogs! I used to think is was just a Dachsund thing. Now that I have other breeds, 1 Dachsund, 1 Golden and 2 Berners, I realize that it's a dog thing! Our year and a half old Berner, Rocky, is the worst. This is an activity he absolutely lives for! Our youngest dog is 14 week old Berner, Grizzly, and he's learning the behavior fast. We are now so disgusted, that we watch them EVERY time they go outside and follow with the shovel! I have even followed them around the yard with bitter apple, and sprayed their poop. I've tried hot sauce and red pepper. Nothing works for Rocky. Are we destined to always have a poop eating dog! Help! Dave and Karen Ransom and Gang - Original Message - Wrom: BXFGGMEPYOQKEDOTWFAOBUZXUWLSZLKBRNVWWCUFPEGAUTFJMVRESKPNKMBIP To: "Bernese Mountain Dog Mailing List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 11:01 PM Subject: BERNER-L digest 4229 > > BERNER-L Digest 4229 > > Topics covered in this issue include: > > 1) RE: Florida Vet Conference > by "Pat Long & Paul Dangel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 2) Baypaths Oberon V. Tallpines > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 3) re: eating poop > by Lisa Baldwin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 4) RE: eating poop > by Patricia McIlveen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 5) Re: Suckling Pup > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 6) RE: suckling pup > by "Laura Lopez Mendez" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 7) Colonel in Wisconsin > by "Lorece Aitken" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 8) Re: is my dog neurotic? > by barb wagner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 9) Re: BERNER-L digest 4227 > by [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 10) colonitis update and meds reaction question > by "Carol Bailey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ---REMAINDER OF MESSAGE TRUNCATED---* * This post contains a forbidden message format * * (such as an attached file, a v-card, HTML formatting) * *Mail Lists at Prairienet only accept PLAIN TEXT* * If your postings display this message your mail program * * is not set to send PLAIN TEXT ONLY and needs adjusting * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
costs of owning berner - just got cheaper!!
ok, this is slightly off topic. but i'm so excited i had to share... i just got a job at my vets new office!!! its walking distance from my home, which means no more 2 hour round trip commute and more time to spend with my beautiful baka. i'll be doing reception, so i get to snuggle all the adorable puppies that come in. best of all is the incredible employee discount - the costs associated with owning my berner just got drastically reduced! many thanks to those folks who were sending me good job hunting vibes! laura & baka chapel hill -- "thing's will get different - i can't promise that they'll be better, or wonderful, but they will change and be different".
Re: Gus ate a tree!
In a message dated 1/16/2003 11:01:56 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > Any suggestions that may save the lives of our other azaleas while still > allowing Gus to stay outside? Ummm... fence? ;-} Seriously...azalea (and their cousins, the rhododendrons) leaves are toxic. I don't know about the wood. -Sherri Venditti
berner rescue in Philadelphia
I got the below message on another dog list, Can someone forward to the appropriate rescue group for that area? I know he is a mix, but maybe someone out there is looking for a berner mix with some special needs. Please do not reply to me, I am just forwarding the message. The email address to reply to is [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Thanks, Tina *** From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 7:06 AM Subject: [ILdogrescue] Blind Bernese/GSD Male needs Help - Long Shot Well, I have to say I tried everything to help this poor boy, so I am poating him here. Please feel free to crosspost. There is about one week left to secure a rescue for this boy or he will be put down. There is a no-kill shelter north of Philadelphia that is closing its doors. Most dogs have been relocated to rescues, but one dog remains and there are no takers. "Stevie Ray" is a blind male Bernese Mountain Dog/GSD mix. He was found over one year ago hit-by-car. His head was "smushed" somewhat (term of the person I talked to, not my technical term :) ) and once they found he was blind, they presumed from the accident. A vet has recently told them he thought it was a correctable genetic problem (again, contact didn't have details). He is good with other small dogs, but nervous around large breed dogs, presume due to sight loss. He is about 50-55 pounds and under two years of age. He has been at this no-kill shelter for over a year. They don't know how he is around kids. They think he needs a home with fewer or no dogs and maybe no kids, depending on how he is. They are willing to work out transport to anywhere. I know it is a longshot, but I have been reading the posts about him and hate the idea of this one lone dog that can't be placed: he is literally the only dog at the shelter, with someone coming twice a day to feed him and let him out of his cage. One week remaining until he is put down. Contact me if you can help and I'll put you in touch with the rescue. Thanks. Chris Harris
Gus ate a tree!
Gus loves to be outside in very cold weather. Since I have an office in the house, and an invisible, he can stay outside safely for an hour or two. I noticed last night that our mischievous 19 month old berner boy has chewed or eaten a very large (and woody) azalea bush down to the stump. Any suggestions that may save the lives of our other azaleas while still allowing Gus to stay outside? Thanks Betsy Rich
one good thing about poop eating dogs
If it is any consolation to the owners of our poop eating dogs, when I did my unofficial bloat survery I found that the only difference in bloat vs non-bloat dogs, in all questions, was that the non-bloat dogs were a majority of poop eaters and the bloat dogs were a majority of non-poop eaters. My 5 time bloat king does not eat poop, perhaps he should start! Patt Wiegand www.canterbury-tails.com
poop eating dog
My Sophie is 12 years almost four months old and she has been a poop eater her entire life. I did it all to try to get her to stop and realize that no matter how diligent you are, they find stuff that you missed, etc. I give up. The only thing I am not happy about is that my young Pap has taken to eating it too. It is a disgusting habit. Everyone says it is normal, but what about transmitting some parasites? I know some come from fleas, but I wonder about the other kinds of creatures. I also put the other three dogs, the Border Collie and the paps on a raw diet, not Sophie, as she has a sensitive stomach and now the only poop that Sophie eats is the Border collie's. We have four other dogs that use the yard, couple of weims, another bc and a mix and she leaves theirs alone and only goes for the raw fed bc's. I started the raw in July of 2002. It is frozen already prepared food. I also have been speaking to folks on the raw food pap list and I am going to try some different types of digestive enzymes to see if it will help out the poop eating pap. Something in the raw might be causing his problems. Or he is just a bad dog :). The enzymes and things are coming in the mail next week. IF anyone wants to know how the dogs are doing after I get them on it after a time, let me know and I can tell you what they are getting as supplements. This includes the enzymes and probotic powder, salmon oil and vitamin e. Louise in Queens NY Sophie 12 year old BMD, Devin blue merle BC and 2 Papillons, Carmen & Riki [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Farm/5311/dragon.htm
RE: BMD mix on angels for animals site.
Here looks like her brotherSuture: ID# 02-776. -Original Message- From: Jeff & Mary Chapdelaine - SnoBear berners [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 3:03 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Berner-L Subject: BMD mix on angels for animals site. Hi Andrea and all, I found a 5 month old female BMD mix for adoption on the angels for animals site, Info from site: Name: St. Pauli: ID# 02-775 Look at that sweet little face! I am a 5 month old female bernese mountain dog mix who needs some love and affection. I am a little on the shy side so I will be going into the prison obedience program in order to bring me out of my shell so that when you come and meet me I will be all ready to jump right into your arms and your heart! NOTE: - St. Pauli entered the prison program on 12/3. She will return in 6-8 weeks housebroken, crate-trained and will know basic obedience. If you are interested in her we will be taking names and will call you when she comes back for adoption to see her photo: http://www.angelsforanimals.org/picsd3.asp http://www.angelsforanimals.org Bernerly, Mary Jeff & Mary Chapdelaine SnoBear Berners N. California, USA http://snobear.freeyellow.com "When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself." Wayne Dyer - Psychotherapist, Author and Speaker
Belated Birthday Announcement
The Rouillier family is thrilled to announce that Can. Ch. Berngold Sacha v Zurich, Can/Am Cd. (Sacha) turned a wonderful nine years old on January 12th.. The other dogs in the family thought that was great too because they shared her Lasagna breakfast. Sacha is our first Berner and at nine years old she still behaves like a puppy. She is one reason why we love this breed so much. This last year and a half she started agility training just to keep her busy and she is quite the star in her class. At night she keeps her human dad warm. Oh, if only they could all live as long and as well. Her Dam was a Zeder Hugel bitch, and her Sire came from Shersan`s Kennel. Sacha asks you all to celebrate her birthday by doing something special with your beloved Berner. Leon, Lesley, Angel, Trent, Emma and Whisper Rouillier
What Berner's will eat
After reading some of the eating stories, I just had to add this one. When our first Berner was a pup, we visited relatives in the UK. On a visit to a park on the southern coast we met a couple with a young Berner and approached them to get our Berner fix, having left ours at home. They had named their dog "Hoover" in honor of his propensity for scarfing up anything and everything that he could find. My first thought was that was what we should have named ours for exactly the same reason. Claudia Brydon in NW PA Barney OA NAJ (Aussie) Boomer (Bernese Mountain Dog) Mo (Gordon Setter Granddog)
berners on petfinder
The average number of berners listed for adoption on petfinder is about 44. Of those 44 it is likely that about one-quarter of them have some berner blood. So if you think that on any given day there are about 11 berners on Petfinder that's still a pretty high number. I put my application in for the girl at the Angels For Animals Shelter in Ohio on December 5. As the notice says, she's not available until she comes out of the training program she's in now, and as it says that will be 6 to 8 weeks (from December 3). This dog was discussed on berner-l around the middle of December.. Her brother wasn't discussed then and I still haven't heard about whether or not anyone has applied for her brother who looks less berner because he has no white on his face (he is less correctly marked). Anne, Minnesota.
Mary Beth's legacy
Many of you have heard of the passing of the Petrone family's Mary Beth. For those who don't know her, Mary Beth was diagnosed with a very severe grade of SAS (a hereditary heart defect) when she was 4 months old. The outlook was poor, Mary wasn't expected to live more than a year...two at most. Well Mary Beth beat the odds...BIG TIME! She enjoyed over 13 years with her family and she was a *real dog* for every one of them. Mary (who also had severe HD on xray) bounded over the stone walls and taught her baby brother, Hunter, to mind his manners. There are many legacies Mary Beth leaves with the many people she's touched. The following is one more lesson learned from her... (posted with Penny's permission) "Not all angels have wings. Some have brown eyespots and a white tip on their tail. I know this - for Mary Beth was surely an angel ...and that was her description. By now, many of you know that she ran out of miracles on January 12th...succombing, in 12 short days, to what the vets believe was cancer. That her heart kept working right to the bitter end is an amazing irony, but her end was "the most peaceful" my vet had ever seen, and at least I was with her, and she died in my arms. There is one piece of her story that I would like to share at this time. If it can help even one other Berner with SAS, then Mary Beth will have provided yet another gift of hope to the Berner world. When she was about 10, I started taking her for monthly accupuncture treatments to help her arthritis. It was a magic bullet and those treatments enabled her to continue to walk...she could still walk a mile a day - right up until her coughing began on New Year's Day. Her vet started to give her an extra needle "for her heart" when she was about 11. I took her to her cardiologist (Mark Stamoulis - if you ever need such a specialist, he is "the best") once a year for check ups. On her 12 year check up, he was astounded to note that her grade 5 SAS had dropped to a grade 4, and her heart function had slightly improved. This in a TWELVE year old Berner. The only possible explanation is that extra needle for her heart once a month. I hope none of you ever need this information, but if you do ever have a Berner with a heart problem, please investigate accupucture as part of your dog's treatment protocol. I will always wonder what Mary Beth's heart function might have been if I had started such treatment when she was first diagnosed as a puppy. God Bless You, Mary Beth. I know we will be together again someday. Penny, Frank, Chris, Nick and "Hunter" Petrone Mary Beth - October 19, 1989 - January 5, 2003"
Re: Happy Birthday to Cessi
In a message dated 1/15/2003 6:50:03 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > how exactly do you > explain a dog, who when left alone with the back of an SUV filled with > groceries, (what were we thinking???) only eats the hamburger meat and the > hamburger buns? There were so many other goodies in there, and the meat > and buns weren't even in the same bag - how did she choose the two things > that just happened to go together to make a meal? Wait til she's a veteran...and opens up the bottle of ketchup to go with it! -Sherri V. (Thanks for sharing a great snapshot of Cessi with us...give the birthday girl a mooch from me.)
eating habits
Took Louis for his usual walk in the woods this morning. ItÂ’s a nature reserve and maintained by park keepers. Louis thinks he one of them! He insists on eating all the tissues and wrappers he can find thus leaving the place clean and tidy! This morning he found some horse poop, something he usually only indulges in on weekends when my girls go horse riding. To wash it all down he waded through some thick mud and took a drink from some nasty looking water. Rhona and Louis in The Netherlands __ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
Website updated!
Hi all! The website has been updated!!! http://supercooper10.tripod.com/dog/ Enjoy! Lindsay, Jamie and Cooper
