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Topics - Berner_Mom

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1
So, Tucker is 16 months old now, and has been doing his business the whole time in our backyard- on grass.

Hubby has finally completed a 8X50' fenced in dog run for Tucker to do his business in one restricted area (to make clean up easier, and save our grass), but its cement patio tiles.  Its a beautiful dog run, shaded, but Tucker will not #1 or #2 on the cement! :o

We put some of his recent #2's in the dog run, thinking the smell would give him the idea it was ok to go there, but nope.   :(

I was off work yesterday (Canada Day) and my plan was that Tucker would pee when he really needed to pee, so he spent the entire day in the dog run,(well, going in and out of the house into the dog run- but not allowed onto the grass) with me keeping an eye on him, ready to shower him with praise and cheese the second he did his business...but he never did. :-\

He held it for about 11 hours!  Hubby and I felt just horrible, and we could see him stressing out, a few times he'd pace and look like he was just about to pee....but then he'd change his mind and stand in front of the gate that would give him access to the grass.

Finally, as we were entering the better part of the 12th hour, we decided to let him into the grass to go (I'm sure it can't be good for him to be holding it that long, and believe me we were feeling guilty as heck about it) BUT I went with him, and used an old juice pitcher to "catch" the pee.  I then was able to pour it out inside the dog run, to get the smell there. I ended up doing this about 3 times last night, to "mark" different spots on the cement floor, hoping the smell would intice him to pee the next time.

Anyway, this morning, Tucker is back outside, restricted (for now, we'll have to go to work soon) to the dog run- but is still not going.

Any advice or ideas on how to potty-train to go on cement after a year and a half of going on grass??  It is frustrating all three of us!

Thanks, and sorry about the lengthy post.
-Sarah

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Ok first of all- no offense to anyone who IS a veterinarian, or who KNOWS a veterinarian!

Tucker is 15 months old, and we needed to take him to the vet to get his boosters, and we wanted to get him weighed, generally get checked out to make sure he's grown (growing) properly etc...

Of course, first question "What are you feeding him?" is what comes out of vet's mouth.

Brent and I had discussed it prior to going to the appointment, because I knew of course the vet was going to lecture us on feeding raw etc... and tell us of all the bad, scary stuff that WILL happen to Tucker because of our horrible food choices for him etc....  And I told Brent to let me do the talking (because it was me who did all the timely, extensive research on feeding raw in the first place) and he agreed.

Until we actually got in the exam room with Dr. B.  Of course, she lectured us for about 20 minutes, not letting me get a word in edgewise to defend my decision.  Not only did she lecture on the raw part of Tucker's diet, but she lectured on how BAD Orijens kibble was (which Tucker gets for breakfast) because its basically raw food in pellet form!

AND she even stated that because she knows Tucker has been on a raw food diet, that she can refuse him service in her vet clinic because of the potentially HUGE risks to other animals and even to staff!

  Then- Brent looks at me, this horrific look on his face (and I thought "oh no! she got to him!") and in front of Dr. B. he exclaims he can't believe I never told him all the bad stuff about raw, that he can't believe I'd risk our puppy, our health, the health of our cats, heck even the health of the neighborhood (!) like this, that he's so disappointed in me etc...  It was pretty humiliating, but at the same time infuriated me because I had warned him the vet would do this!!

And then to Dr. B he states we will be changing Tucker's diet immediately, doing everything she recommended (like throwing out his food bowls, toys- ANYTHING that may have contacted his mouth after he ate raw...oh please) and he apologizes for getting wrapped up in the raw food trend, it won't happen again... and what food would she recommend we switch to?  What is the BEST out there? What does she feed her two dogs?

Of course, surprise surprise... Dr. B. recommends the Hills Prescription D/D food, that (conveniently) she sells in her office- the ONLY food she sells in her office.  We leave the vet office (Tucker is in great health otherwise, though Dr. B. says he's about 6lbs overweight, but HELLO!  He's still only 15 months old, and still growing, right?) with me feeling a little shell-shocked at my husband's abandonment of everything we've discussed before about Tucker's diet, and I'm also at the same time furious with him!!  Especially when he buys a bag of Salmon and potato Hills D/D food to take with us!  ARGH!

Of course, once we were in the truck on the way home, our arguement began and got pretty dramatic.  Brent is set on keeping Tucker now on the Hills food, he seems to have blocked out how much the raw food diet has worked for Tucker, how healthy he's become, how his skin has stopped itching, his bald patches went away etc...

It looks like I've got my work cut out for me again.  I'm going to research this Hills stuff and see what I can find to dispute the vets claims. 

Have any of you had vet experiences like this?  How bad is Prescription Hills D/D food anyway?

Thanks for listening to me vent!

3
The same Merrick brand of dog food also offers a canned variety of "Wingalings", which is whole, cooked chicken wings in a stew of fruits and veggies.

The company promises that the wings are slow cooked, rendering the bones soft and easy and SAFE for the dog to eat and digest..

What do you guys think?  I was given a free sample can of this one too, and am iffy about actually feeding it to Tucker.

Thoughts?

4
I was given a few cans of different varieties to try with Tucker, and the first one last night, "Working Dog Stew", was a huge success.

It has beef tripe, and an assortment of veggies and fruits, really good stuff, and Tucker was so excited by the smell he could barely wait for me to get it out of the can before diving in.

Anyone else feed this brand to their dogs?  How did they do on it?  Its more easily availble in my area then the Halo brand canned food, so I may end up switching Tucker to it, and putting it in his rotation of Orijens, Raw, canned...


5
Hubby and I felt brave enough to take Tucker to his first dog park on Friday night, where we met up with some friends and their 5 month old black lab.  Tucker did great, we loved it, and were instantly addicted to the experience.

So we took Tucker again on Saturday for a couple hours, and again on Sunday for about 3 hours.  It was beautiful weather, sun shining, warm- just great.  Neither one of us thought of the possibility of sunburn (for us or for Tucker) and now, looking at Tucker's nose this Monday morning, I'm sure its a little pinker than usual.

(Its the part of his nose that would be called the "bridge" of his nose if he were a person.  What's the word?  Snout? I can't think of it....)

Anyway, it definitely looks pinky-red to me, is there anything I can do for it?  I don't think Tucker is hurting or uncomfortable at all because of it, its just to me, it looks pinky-red, so I'm thinking it must be sore/tender?

Also, for future dog park visits, what can I rub on this spot to prevent it from burning again? Do they make doggie sunblock?

Thanks, have a great Monday!
Sarah

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Food Discussion & Information / Anyone feed "Halo" brand canned food?
« on: March 28, 2009, 02:17:12 am »
I've seen Halo advertised in DogFancy, I've seen it on the shelf in my local Tail Blazers store, and was wondering if anyone on here feeds Halo to their pups?

If yes, how do the dogs like it?

The latest ad I've seen in my May issue of DogFancy is of the Spot's Stew flavor, and it looks pretty darn good to me, I'm wondering how it - nutritionally- stacks up to others.

Thanks!
Sarah

7
My Tucker turned 1 year old yesterday, and I was wondering - should we be switching from his Orijens large breed puppy kibble to an adult formula now?  Or should Tucker be staying on the large breed puppy for one more year, as Berners take about 2 years to complete the puppy stage (as I've been told).

What did you do?

Thanks!
Sarah

8
My boy Tucker is 1 year old today, can't believe it.  I'll post a few pics soon, got a cute one where he actually wore a birthday party hat for 5 minutes...

My food question is- we are feeding Tucker Orijens large breed puppy kibble (for breakfast, he gets raw for dinner) and now that he is a year old, should we be switching Tucker to Orijens adult food, (or some other adult food/ large breed adult food) OR do we keep feeding the Orijens large breed puppy for another year?

I am wondering as I have heard that larger breeds (and Berners in particular) take 2 years to become full grown, and 2 years to complete their puppyhood...so does Tucker still have another year to go?

Thanks in advance, and have a great weekend everyone.

Sarah

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Tucker will be a year old on Feb.27, and hubby and I were wondering about his fur...

He has lost his downy puppy fur a long time ago, but we are still waiting for the long, thick BMD fur to appear.

He seems to have quite a bit of it around his head, on his chest, and a patch right above his shoulders.  That part sticks up so much hubby is calling it Tucker's "shark fin" because that's what it resembles.

His tail is filling out, his haunches are filling out, but his sides and up on top of his butt seem to not be growing/filling out at all.  His fur is short there, and almost still has different texture.

Is this normal? How long does it take for the average BMD to come into their full adult coat?

Thanks!

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Anything Non-Dog Related / In Loving Memory of My Daughter
« on: January 27, 2009, 12:21:14 pm »
My daughter, McKenna, was stillborn May 27, 2007, at 40 weeks, 1 day gestation, after suffering a fetomaternal hemorrage while still in my womb.
She weighed 6 lbs, 15.7 oz and was 21 inches long. Her due date was May 25.

She is our only daughter so far.  It took us two years to conceive her, and we have been trying for another baby since August 2007.

Its the hardest thing my husband and I have ever gone through.  McKenna is very much loved and missed by us, and her aunts, uncles, grandparents.

She was with us only a brief time, but has changed all our lives forever.

Tucker (my BMD) is 11 months old today.  He was my Mother's Day present last May, because I should've been celebrating it with my almost 1 year old daughter.....n ot planning a 1 Year Memorial service.

I just wonder if there are any others out there on this thread who have lost children, and want you to know you are not alone.

((HUGS))
Sarah

"There is no footprint so small that it can not leave its mark on the world."


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General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Heartworm meds...??
« on: January 23, 2009, 09:36:43 am »
I was just reading another thread, about the vet charging for each monthly visit just to pick up refill of pills....and it got me wondering...

How old were your guys' pups when they started heartworm meds?  We don't have Tucker on any, should we?

Thanks!

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General Board for Big Dogs with Big Paws / Head shaking/ ear problem??
« on: January 23, 2009, 04:01:36 am »
Hello!

Tucker is almost 11 months old, and the past couple days he has been shaking his head A LOT.  Sometimes, several times a day.

I thought this could be a symptom of dirty ears, something stuck in his ears, fur in there needing to come out- obviously a sign of something wrong.  So we cleaned his ears, looked in there with a flashlight- and found nothing.

He's at the groomers today, so they'll remove any fur that's got in there, plus do an extra good job of cleaning (as hubby and I are not great at it yet)...so I figure if Tucker comes home today and the head shaking continues, its time for a vet visit right?

Hubby thinks I'm overreacting, but I figure if he's got an ear infection- that's bad and needs to be looked at.

Any thoughts?  What else could be causing the head shaking?
Thanks!

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I came across a website a while back when I was researching food and what best to feed Tucker that was fantastic and had every dog food brand imaginable on it, with all the ingredients listed, broken down, explained and compared.  Chart format, I think.  I was able to look up the TD Feline  food prescribed by the vet for my two cats (that they had eaten their whole lives) and I discovered how bad it was for them (in terms of poor ingredients), but of course vet had encouraged feeding this brand because she sells it in her practice.

Anyway, I can't remember what website this was on, or how to find it again.  I've been searching for 2 days and can't seem to locate it.

Anyone have any idea where to look, or anyone know what website I'm talking about?

I just remember being able to look up ANY pet food by name (dry only I think) and being able to compare it to others, being given the list of ingredients, what they all meant, how good/bad/useless they were etc...

Thanks in advance for help!

14
Morning BPO'ers!

First question- we had friends over with their 3 year old Pyr Jackson last night, and I noticed that when Jackson walked, I could hear his ankles clicking, I think on his back two legs.  It was the definite sound of joints clicking, I'm pretty sure from his ankles. I was concerned (at first I thought it was coming from Tucker) and mentioned it to Jackson's mom and she just said "oh yeah, that happens sometimes, since he was little." and didn't seem worried at all.  Now, I didn't hear the noise EVERY time Jackson was walking around, but I would say it was about 50% of the time he was in motion.

Any idea what this could be caused from? Should his mom be more worried and take him to the vet?  I don't think Jackson is hurting at all, but to me, joints clicking like that can't be good.

2nd question:  hubby and I had a "discussion" yesterday after Jackson and his parents left, on the topic of when should you stop calling your puppy a puppy and start calling him a dog?  Jackson's parents still refer to him as "our puppy Jackson", and yet Jackson is 3 years old.  I still call Tucker our puppy, because he's only 10 months, but hubby calls him our dog, because of his size.

Such a silly question, I know, but I'm curious as to others opinions.

I figure I'd call Tucker a puppy till he was at least 1 year old, and I do think its odd they call Jackson a puppy at the age of 3 years, but I also think hubby is wrong to call Tucker a "dog" already.

Hmmm.  Thanks for your input as always.

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Bernese Mountain Dog Discussions / Tucker is 10 months old today!
« on: December 27, 2008, 07:19:09 am »
I can't believe he is 10 months old today...It goes by so fast!  We brought him home on Mother's Day, May 11, 2008...at 10 weeks of age, and POOF!  It really does go by in the blink of an eye.

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