Re: New Favourite
Great point Pat. You are one of two people who have responded with that point. I should definitely clarify that because I'd hate to have someone misunderstand and think that giving the entire cob to the dog to nibble on is a safe idea. EEK! That sounds pretty scary and definitely could cause a bad experience! We actually (yes, we really are this sucky when it comes to our pups!) hold the cobs for them so that they can nibble the kernels off the cob. They don't get any of the cob itself. Thanks for making sure everyone understood the dangers of the cob! Melissa - Original Message - From: Pat Long Paul Dangel [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: 'Melissa Leaist' [EMAIL PROTECTED]; 'Bernese Mountain Dog Mailing List' [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2003 8:40 PM Subject: RE: New Favourite Melissa, Be very very careful with corn on the cob! It can cause a life threatening blockage! Pat Long, a babysat Daisy Buddy, ( LUTHER!!!) Berwyn PA
Re: Donna and her freckles!
Rose, I'm glad to hear that freckles haven't stood in your way in championships. I find the freckles an endearing quality on my Jude. She has quite a few as do many of her litter mates. It's probably the first thing I noticed about her physically and fell in love with.those and the small rust coloured patches over each eye that look just like human eye brows and really make each change in her facial expression very noticeable. Cheers, Melissa - Original Message - From: Rose Tierney [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Bernese Mountain Dog Mailing List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, July 28, 2003 7:13 PM Subject: Donna and her freckles! Hi Donna, I'm famous for my freckles:-) It hasn't stopped me finishing championships on my dogs and those that folk have bought from me. My Oska (Ch.Tertzo's Jester) has freckles, stamps them on his kids and along with that we've had a nice record of sound hips and elbows from him. In the grand scheme of things a few freckles are nothing! I would certainly hope you don't discard her for what is a minor cosmetic fault. Rose T.
Re: Dogs left in cars in summer
Wow! After my terrible ordeal with Jude on Friday, hearing this story sure makes me mad! When you consider that a pup can get heat exhaustion or heat stroke without much warning anyways, why put them at such risk in a car! Bad people! Bad! Thanks for the warning, Melissa - Original Message - From: Gail Miller [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Bernese Mountain Dog Mailing List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2003 1:29 PM Subject: Dogs left in cars in summer I was in town today, at the fabric store buying vinyl so the dogs can eat their bones in the house (irrelevant really). When I came outside there was a vehicle (Toyota 4 Runner) parked next to mine, windows up, not running, with a black and tan coonhound in the back in a wire crate. The hood on the 4 Runner was up so I assumed the owner was in the auto parts store next to the fabric store. I walked into the auto parts store and asked who was driving the Toyota 4 Runner. A man just in front of me said it was he. I told him that he would kill his dog in short time, leaving it in a closed up vehicle in this weather and he needed to roll down the windows to give the dog some air. It was close to noon and our heat index was 110 degrees yesterday. I went back outside, pulled away and waited to see if the man came outside. When he did, he made no attempt to open the car. His wife and daughter came out of the fabric store and I assume he told her of my 'rudeness' and she went over and opened the door to the back seat of the vehicle. I headed for home, then turned around to make sure the door continued to remain open. They had opened the window on the back of the 4 Runner by then, no reason why this could not have been done initially, as the dog was in a wire crate and could not have gotten out. I can't imagine a dog living more than 15 minutes in a closed up vehicle sitting in the sun. My next move would have been to call the police if the owner had not at least given the dog some air. Gail Miller Cynosure Bernese in Arkansas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Scare of my life
Hi all, I just had to writeif for no other reason than to help myself calm my frazzled nerves. We just took my girl Jude (2yo) to a park with trails to visit the breeder we got her from and her litter mate Abbey. We got to the end of the boardwalk, about a 20 minute walk. Up to that point, Jude was having a great time. Not really running, just strolling. Panting but not looking overheated. We'd been giving her water, etc. All of a sudden she started to wheeze and pant terribly. We tried to get her cooled down enough to get back to the car which is air conditioned but finally had to send someone to get the car and beg a town worker to unlock the gate so they could drive out and get her. We then, with the help of these great folks working on the landscaping at the park, hosed her down and raced off to the closest vet. By that point she was so weak Unable to walk on her own. We are so fortunate to have had a vet so closeby, less than 5 minutes. The girl working at the park called ahead for us to give them the information and the breeder drove ahead of us as well. We got to the vets and I jumped out of the car. They ran her into the room, carrying her because she wasn't able to get there on her own. There must have been 5-6 vets and vet assistants working on her. Her temperature was through the roof. They couldn't even get a reading at first! But they were slowly getting it back to normal with the help of ice packs, some medications to slow her breathing a smidge and some cool fluids by IV. They think she'll be just fine, but my god, I'm shaking. I can't believe how quickly she got ill! They say we did all the right things for her, but I can't help thinking that if we had to go further to make it to the vets, we'd have lost her just like that. She's staying with the vet until later this afternoon just to get her cooled off and under their careful watch. I hate leaving her there.wish I could hold her. I just pray that she really is better. I'm just not going to feel a bit better until I can see her myself. Melissa
Update on Jude
Hi everyone, Thanks so much to those who sent such kind notes of support about our ordeal with Jude and her scary bout of heat exhaustion. I don't think I've ever been so scared for a pup in my entire life. I'm so pleased to say that we have her home with us now. She is quite sedated from the meds they gave her to calm her breathing, but she's not showing signs of any lasting damage to her health. The minute I saw her tail wag in response to my voice from a distance, I knew she was getting better. I also got a lovely bump from her nose shortly after getting her home...I've never been so happy to get arm whiplash! I guess this is a great lesson to us. We had carried lots of water and she'd been drinking, but wow! she got sick so fast. I owe a great deal to the young woman working at the park. She broke some rules letting us get the car down into the trails. Not only that but she followed us to check that everything was okay, helped us to the shed to hose Jude down and called the vet to warn them we were on the way. She'll be getting a nice bouquet of flowers very soon because I have no doubt that her assistance may have gone a long ways towards saving our Jude. The staff at this vet clinic I'd never been to were wonderful as well. If I didn't have a great vet of my own, I'd certainly consider taking my pups there all the time. The staff was very knowledgeable and spent a lot of time calming us this afternoon while we had to leave Jude with them. I see plenty of pampering in store for that Jude over the coming weeks! Even her sister, Bear (a husky chow cross) was scared for her and is so excited to have her home. She's sitting watching Jude sleep now. What a good big sister she is! Take care all.and be careful of those pups in the heat. I don't wish this ordeal on anyone! Melissa
Re: Petsmart Classes
I had a good experience with a Basic Class at PetSmart as well. We took our 18 month old Berner Jude there because she was in great need for socialization when we got her from the breeder. At that time, she LOVED other animals but was quite shy with people. We included our 5 year old Husky/Chow cross too to keep things consistent and out of hope that having her big sis there with her would make her more comfortable. We took to the classes as though they were play group. I think having realistic expectations, a sweet (and extremely enthusiastic) young trainer and a great group of other dog owners helped make the experience quite successful. I certainly can't say that Jude is ready to do the obedience circuit, but we got everything we'd hoped for. She loved going, got lots of social interaction and even learned a few things! We'll be continuing the work with her but we see immense improvements in her confidence during new situations. All in all, I think that the classes tend to be a good start for the average owner. They are well-priced and usually easy to access. Plus, the positive approach will certainly do no harm. If nothing else, it can be another fun outting to enjoy with your pup. I'm looking for other activities now that it is over because I really enjoyed it. It was fun to have the dogs start getting excited every Saturday morning at the mere mention of 'playgroup!' Berner bumps to all, Melissa - Original Message - From: Amanda [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Bernese Mountain Dog Mailing List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2003 9:49 AM Subject: Petsmart Classes I'm in a Petsmart class with my 6 month old Berner right now. My parents took their Golden when he was a pup and he did well so I decided to give them a try. They use positive training methods all the way- no negativity at all. I would think the methods are consistent, seeing as it is a corporate operation, but each trainer will obviously have a different personality so check it out in your own store. My only complaint is my pup is too advanced for the class- he already knows everything they are teaching =). Amanda Jersey Shore [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: PetSmart...puppy classes What's the story on these. One of my puppy people wants to take classes here. My first reaction is UGH. What do you all think? Does anyone know their training methods? Are they positive or negative trainers? Does it vary by area or is it consistant? I am located in CT. Thanks. Briana Bunsen Berners __ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com
Re: sit down strike
Hi Mandie, We had a similar problem with an 18 month old name Jude. For us, the problem was more related to her being really very shy after coming to us from the breeder and needing a lot of socialization but I do hear that Berners have a feisty stubborn streak anyways! For us, putting Jude on a leash was the more effective way to get her to go from stubborn mule to cooperative pup. If she was doing a sit down strike, if she was nervous about trying anything new, that leash somehow gave her a huge amount of confidence. She'd do exactly what we were hoping for instantly. Don't get me wrong though, we didn't tug her along on that leash! She just seemed to instantly understand that the leash meant that she was safe and needed to follow us. Of course, when she did what I was hoping for, she'd get a great big enthusiastic good girl! with lots of loves and when she was now comfortable I would ceremoniously remove the leash telling her oh...you don't need this anymore, you're such a good brave girl! She got so used to that, that we now only have to say something like do I need to get your leash? and touch her collar and she usually gives me a smile, an infamous Berner bump and then follows along behind me. It sounds silly but may be worth a try. Good luck! Melissa - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2003 10:46 AM Subject: sit down strike My name is Mandie - I have a 8 month old female named Liberty problem is when she doesn't want to come with me - mostly in from a cool night to the inside ( a coll 63 defrees)she goes on a sit down strike and wont budge. Then to make sure I can't move her she lies down and rolls over. Now -if I get near her neck and collar she mouthes me to let me know she doesn't like it. I have to physically turn her over and lift her up from behind and push or stand her on her hind legs! Now this behavior is popping up in other places. I don't think a different collar is the answer - have been training to come, heal and lets go with great treats but food doesn't matter if she doesn't want to go. Anyone have any ideas? thanks
