baka: no blockages but still having hind end problems
i'm greatly relived to know baka's diarrhea problem was unrelated to the hind end weakness and pain. baka's been blood tested (came back perfect except showing some dehydration), xrayed (intestine walls stomach looks 100% normal now), examined by hand multiple times (nothing gets a negative reaction, she just grins wags), and ultrasounded (nothing out of the ordinary). last night baka ate several small bland meals (she was ravenous), peed fine, no vomiting, no nausea, no dry heaves nor grass eating. baka even pooped last night, the first half was a little soft full of grass, but the second half looked perfectly normal formed. the digestion problem should be cleared up completely by tomorrow night i think the vet is very confident there is not a blockage. unfortunately that leaves us without an explanation for baka's inability to stand up the other day. baka is standing up on her own as of yesterday and she'll walk from spot to spot when she's in the mood, but she's still arching her back walking strangely with her hind legs. baka's also still slow to rise and slow to lay down, as if she were stiff or sore (like she used to before her hip surgery a couple years ago). our vet didn't feel or see anything obviously wrong, so we're a little confused. and we don't want to put any pain killer in her system until we're certain the diarrhea is completely resolved (she lost 6 lbs! in just those 4-5 days). i'm thinking of taking baka to see the chiropractor vet who is 30 minutes away. my thinking is that maybe her hands are more sensitive could feel something being off that our regular vet might miss? either way, my vet is expecting my call monday to see how baka did over the weekend decide what to do next. i'm trying not to worry, but this is certainly confusing. i don't like seeing my baby hurt not know ho to fix it (and baka *so* unhappy now that the weather's cooled off i won't let her go to the dog park, every time we walk past the car she whines at it). thank you to everyone who's emailed their support advice. laura baka chapel hill
baka spends yet another day at the vet
i came downstairs this morning to find my almost 3 year old baka unable to stand. we rushed off to the vet. baka did stand and walk a few steps at the vet, after being carried in on a stretcher. her back was all arched her rear end looked weak. i told the vet about a diarrhea problem we've been home treating (fasting, boiled beef rice, the usual). it started up a couple days ago, after a little too much recreational bone. but other than that, baka has seemed healthy and happy. the vet couldn't find anything that felt strange, baka's temp was at the high end of normal, but still normal, and the vet couldn't identify any specific places that hurt from her exam. she did notice baka seemed to be a little more full of gas than she'd normally be. they did two sets of xrays. the first showed baka's hips back looked fine, but the vet said baka's intestine wall was strangely thick. it also didn't appear to be doing anything (though i'm not sure how you could see that in an xray). the second showed baka's stomach which the all the vets at the clinic agreed didn't look normal- there might be something in there causing problems, they're just not sure. so they took some blood, gave baka some sub-q fluids, a shot of pain killer, a shot of anti-vomiting meds, and sent us home with anti-diarrhea pills. they think baka's rear end weakness is a general weakness from the diarrhea. tomorrow morning i'm to call the vet tell her how baka did overnight if she's getting up at all. then we'll have the test results most likely re-xray to see how baka's stomach looks see if they can get a better look at the part that doesn't look normal. baka is home, crashed out on her bed next to my computer while she did walk down the ramp into the house on her own, she hasn't moved since. i guess i'll be sleeping in the office tonight. laura baka chapel hill, nc
Re: baka's lump - update
got the results for baka's lump last week, but its been so busy i haven't had a chance to write up an email. turns out it was just a really nasty looking follicular cyst nothing scary. the day after the cyst was removed baka was clearly feeling a thousand times better wondering why we were being so mean as to keep her away from the dog park make her wear that silly funnel on her head. thank you to everyone who sent information, suggestions their support - it meant a lot! have a wonderful weekend! laura baka chapel hill, nc
baka's lump
well, we saw the vet today. he shaved some fur off around baka's lump to get a better look at it. she was very good stood wonderfully still for us earning herself a few hot dog bits. it was rather gross to look at it had clearly opened up a great deal more than we'd thought. i didn't see anything brown curd like (though i probably wouldn't know what i was looking for too well) - the edges looked like an open wound surrounding a core lump of something. he was a little concerned over its appearance wanted to take it off completely, just in case. so baka spent the afternoon in surgery - wagging her tail even while most of the way under the sedative (she knows this vet the tech who was working today likes them both very much). the vet didn't find quite what he was expecting, as he was removing the lump. there was the core lump and then a kind of offshoot. its the offshoot he's worried about. we agreed that we should send it off for further analysis. we'll have the test results back by next friday. in the mean time baka's home, groggily coming out of the sedative being snuggled as much as she can stand (which is a lot). we're going to have to resort to an elisabethan collar i think as she keeps wanting to lick at the stitches staples. any all good thoughts are welcome over the next week, while i try to not to let my natural need to worry run away with me. laura a sleepy baka chapel hill, nc
Re: oozing cyst?
if i'm standing behind baka - its on her back, just before you get to her tail. just a little off to the left. the area of a berners back that is usually being presented for a good butt rub *giggle* this had been a solid dry lump around the size of a nickel raised a quarter inch. we went to my vet several months ago, when we first found it, to have it checked it. she stuck a needle in it pulled out some stuff that she said felt greasy between her fingers. she said that meant it was a fatty cyst we should just keep an eye on it because it would eventually burst. later i learned from looking for a fatty cyst on the internet that she got her names mixed up (fatty lipoma or sebaceous cyst, not fatty cyst). i learned from reading berner-l posts that she really should have put it under a microscope before she told me what she thought it was. so we're going to see a different vet tomorrow. i'll make sure to mention biopsy lab analysis this time. i'm hoping the right wording will help me get the kind of care i'm looking for. thanks for your help thanks to everyone else for their suggestions! laura Rose Tierney wrote: Hi Laura, Exactly what part of the hip/butt area is this lump? High on the pelvic bone or actually located on the back of the upper thigh high up similar to a position like the cheek of a human butt or lower down? Sebaceous cysts that can break open ooze curd like debris but wet sores that are lumpy might be more ominous. I would request a biopsy and lab analysis. Do not delay. Rose T.
oozing cyst?
hi all, yesterday i noticed baka's lump (on her hip/butt) had grown ( changed shape somewhat). when i touched it lightly to feel its size, baka growled to let me know i was hurting her. so i called our vet today to make an appointment to get it checked out again. today we noticed that baka's fur was wet around the bump she no longer minded if we touched that spot ( its back to its original shape). so, i'm guessing it was a cyst like the vet suggested its in the process of bursting. our appointment with the vet is friday. in the meantime, does anyone have any home treatment suggestions - anything i should do to take care of it, prevent it from getting infected, etc? or should i just let it alone till friday? i didn't find anything in my doggie health book haven't gone internet searching yet. thanks! laura baka (ow that hurt!) chapel hill, nc
Re: berners on a card?
heh :) i did think *real* hard about buying the 5 that were left. but i'm kind of unemployed at the moment, so i'm trying to be good curb my spending a little. laura chapel hill, nc [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Laura, You bought only one!?!? How could you?!!??
berners on a card?
i wandered into my local hallmark today to pick up some wrapping paper and a card for my sister-in-law's baby shower present. as i flipped through all the cards, searching for something slightly less goopy than most new baby cards, what did i see... ? a card with two beautiful berners on the front cover blank on the inside! i just had to buy one! not for the baby shower of course, but i'm sure i'll find some use for it. laura baka chapel hill, nc
Re: keeping cool
our first canine cooler, bought a little over two years ago, came without instructions (which you wouldn't think are that necessary, i mean you just put water in it, right?) - it quickly sprung leaks that we duct taped closed. then baka, who was still teething on those last molars, chewed off the cap. so that one was dead. i'd heard such good things about the canine coolers though, that i had to try another. this one, just purchased a year ago, is much more study. it came with instructions on how to fill it, maintain it make sure i don't have air trapped in it that can help create leaks. so far its working well hasn't leaked at all, nor been chewed on this time. baka's cooling down from her nightly walk on it right now. so, we like ours very much. laura baka chapel hill, nc
Re: Elbows and Obedience Training
my baka had all kinds of trouble with down too. she did great at puppy kindergarten and obedience I - everything except the down. now of course if we had a treat and lured baka into a down, no problem. but take away the lure and we'd get that blank stare. baka also has hip elbow problems, so we too wondered if they were causing problems. for us it turned out that baka just wasn't understanding what down meant. we couldn't sign up for obedience II class while we were waiting to have the hip surgery, so i picked up a book on clicker training we started our own little training sessions at home. i was amazed when we got to working on down - you could literally see when baka finally understood what down meant. she looked at me and you could tell she was thinking, oh! that's what you've been yammering on on about. that's easy! why didn't you explain it better the first time? of course this was just my one experience its only something else to consider. maybe watch maddie during the day, when you're not training she's doing what she wants to do. does she seem uncomfortable laying down or getting up then? laura baka chapel hill, nc
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.
berner sighting!!
there was a berner ( his/her owner) wandering around not far from my home today! i *never* see other berners in our town. how exciting! i wanted to say hi pet the beautiful berner, but i was on my way to a job interview couldn't risk being late. laura baka chapel hill, nc
Re: Berners and Cats
oh absolutely! baka has two older kitty brothers loves them to death. unfortunately they both rather wish she'd go back to where ever she came from, though they're tolerating her presence fairly well. baka even plays like a cat, using her paws all the time. we have to look out - those clodhoppers she calls paws pack quite a wallop. she learned that from her best friend, simon the tuxedo kitty. she's been a bit lonely since he died this past fall. i've been wanting to bring her a new brother or sister, kitten or puppy, but have been threatened with major relationship problems if i do it before we find a bigger home. kirk just needs a little convincing, that's all. ;) laura baka chapel hill, nc Hmm! New poll suggested here! How many Berner Owners have Cats? I have three of each and my Berners love small critturs too! (could include rabbits, ferrets!)
