Tag Archives: Berners

A Tough Dog Weekend

Molly had a surgery a week-and-a-half ago to remove a growth. It was sent off, and was found to be a cyst, not cancer. That’s great news. However, this weekend, her stitches weren’t quite holding well, and she’s gotten an infection in the sutured area. It’s not a big, big deal, but it was another visit to the vet for her yesterday morning.

Fast forward to last night. Bailey started being ill around midnight, and after a quick phone consult with our vet tech, we thought we were out of the woods. Just a short bit later, she was ill again, and it was obvious that something was wrong. Beck took her to an emergency vet hospital, and it was good that she did. Somehow, Bailey’d gotten hold of two socks, and had swallowed them whole. Her stomach was full of them, and they were starting to work their way through her system. This was nowhere near as bad as it could’ve been, but it meant a surgery. Bailey’s still at the hospital, and we’re hoping to bring her home tomorrow or Tuesday. She’ll have a week or more of recovery, and I don’t know how we’ll keep her still, given her six-month-old puppyhood, but we’ll find a way I’m sure.

Not a very cool weekend, but it could’ve been a lot worse.

Go Leo!

We just got word that Bailey’s dad, Leo, is off to Westminster for the big dog show there this weekend. (You can see the owner’s blurb about it here.) I knew Leo was a big name dog, but I had no idea how much so. Take a look here to see more about his #1 ranking amongst Berners in 2009.

From the Westminster Kennel Club site, it looks like the Working group will begin airing live Tuesday night.

Go Leo go!

Berner Picnic

Every few months or so, many of the Bernese Mountain Dog owners in The Lou get together at a park somewhere for a walk or picnic. One of our friends, Harriet, manages to reserve a spot, e-mail everyone, and basically act as our Julie McCoy to coordinate all the nuts of bolts of these gatherings.

Today’s event had a tremendous turnout, with over 30 Berners, and plenty of folks to go along with them. We met new faces, and re-acquainted ourselves with folks we’d not seen in a while. And of course, we played with the dogs. There’s been a lot of puppies born in/around The Lou over the last year, so fuzzballs and lanky legs were everywhere. And we all missed some Berners that, sadly, weren’t with us any longer.

Harriet’s girl, Amber, is now the grande olde dame of the group, creeping up on 11 years old. Even Molly is starting to creep into the eldest echelons — third oldest in attendance today. You’d never know it to see her run and play — she’s still like a pup.

A couple from Illinois has been talking with us about draft, and brought a draft harness for Molly to try on. She took to it like she’d been drafting all her life. We attached a lightweight backpack to the harness for her to drag around, and she did quite well with it, only occasionally looking behind her to see what the noise was. It was so cool to see her doing what the breed was bred to do. I don’t know that Molly’s got the obedience skills to get any kind of title on her, but I woulda bet against her getting a rally title, and yet I can see her Rally Novice title hanging on the wall across the den.

It was a great day, full of sun and fun, fur and spit — I can’t wait ’til next time!