My 8 1/2 year old Bernese x Swissy weighing around 155lbs

Today would have been Zumi's 11th birthday. We threw her a 10th birthday party this day last year. She had cake and candles and her own hamburger. I can admit to myself now that part of the reason for the party was that I knew she was slowing down and I wasn't sure how many birthdays we had left. Turns out, it was the last one.

We had to say goodbye to her five weeks ago after she experienced sudden paralysis in her back legs when she shot off to chase a rabbit. When we arrived at the emergency vet, we were told that she only had minimal responsiveness in one of her back legs, suggesting significant nerve damage. She had severe osteoarthritis and was already in pain every day. I knew that even if the cause was IVDD and not a spinal stroke or tumor and recovery was theoretically possible that it would be asking too much of her. Even with hundreds of dollars a month of steroids and antiinflammatories, she had days where it was hard to get up. My husband and I laid on the floor of the animal hospital and cried and held her until the very end.

But I don't want this post to be about her final hours. I want it to be about the almost 11 years before that. Her puppyhood in Alaska where we potty trained her over the winter. How when spring came, she hunted down the very last pocket of snow in the backyard because we couldn't convince her she was allowed to pee on grass. The time she saved me by drawing off a bull moose when we were hiking above the timberline. Then moving thousands of miles and getting to spend the second half of her life on a rural farm surrounded by family. Chasing chickens and getting a stream of her own to lay in on hot summer days.

Zumi was a ray of sunshine wherever she went. We called her a supermodel: gorgeous but not too bright. People were always trying to guess what she was (3/4 Bernese Mountain Dog and 1/4 Lab). For the first half of her life, she had a corgi brother who never understood why he couldn't remain an only child but was patient with her the way older brothers are. The second half of her life, she lived with a bunch of cats, that she, in turn, was forced to tolerate.

Zumi was pure love the way only those fortune enough to have lived with a Berner are familiar with. And in return, she knew nothing but love for her whole life. She was a world class snuggler. She loved water and snow and her people. She loved car rides and trips to the winery and chasing her mortal enemies: deer. She just... loved.

It still hasn't quite sunk in that she's really gone. Sometimes I cry at the thought that I may never get to experience a dog like her again. She had joint issues her whole life. She was diagnosed with arthritis in her hips at age 4 when we were trying to figure out a limp that turned out to be a CCL tear. We went to the best TPLO surgeon money could buy, but a bone shard was left in the joint and caused her pain for years until we got that properly diagnosed. I just don't think I can put myself through life with another heavy boned breed. When we're ready, we're thinking about something in the spaniel line. Smaller. Lighter. Maybe less likely to break our hearts when they're still young.

I know we will love the next dog. And the one after that. But they won't be Zumi. I will miss her for the rest of my life.

RIP Zuzu, Doozie Doo, my bubby girl. I hope you felt as lucky to have us as we did to have you.

Our little Saar had her beauty moment.

She posed for the pictures in the evening sun.

I think she knows she is a good looking girl🤔.

Just 9 weeks old and our first Bernese!! What are we in for?? Female

Got an important phone call and wandered into the other room for less than 10 minutes. Poppy decided to do some renovations 🤣 lesson learned, don't leave a 6 month old puppy unsupervised!

We brought her home yesterday!

Tips welcome from those who have 3+ Berners.

At least we invested in a really good vacuum last year. 😂

Also my Letterboxd profile picture.

This is my first view upon opening my eyes. Anyone else have a personal alarm clock that looks like this? I need pics!
This is Reese, she's 3 years old and she knows when mom gets up she gets fed!

Hi friends! This is Kiara 🥰

She has now lost 2 of her teeth.

She sometimes starts playing really ruff, even growling at my hand like it's a toy and my fingers are starting to not be able to take it.

I try and take my hand/arm/knee/wtv she's able to get away and even have her on a leash to try and correct her and help her calm down away from me but sometimes she comes back wagging her tail like it's a game, I'm a bit concerned that I'm not being a good owner or that I won't be able to teach her.

Does anyone have tips on how to handle teething fase?

Thank you 🐾 🥹

Hi! My 14 month Berner is going on 5 days of soft stool/ diarrhea. he’s been on chicken and rice the last few days and his stool has transitioned to bright yellow mush, with occasional small bouts of complete liquid diarrhea. The only reason I haven’t taken him yet/still deciding is because he is acting completely normal, scarfing down food and water and has the same energy level as normal.

So about a year ago my boy Bear (8) started to turn white. It started gradually with little white patches. He's completely happy and healthy overall bar the hair issue. Over the course of a year he has turned nearly completely white. Numerous visits to the vet pointing out this wasn't normal aging grey, I was fobbed off Everytime.

Two months ago he started to develop bald patches so I contacted a different vets practice in the hopes they would investigate. Thankfully they were very interested. They explained that this was beyond anything they had seen and referred him to a dermatologist vet who instructed for biopsys to be taken.

This week I got the results back from a lab in the UK who are very interested in his case and want to investigate my boy more.

He has not one but two rare Autoimmune condition running concurrent with each other and I'm now waiting to hear back about what treatments if any will be available to him. The two autoimmune conditions are 1.vitiligo and 2. Alopecia areata

Has anyone's berners had either of these conditions? Let alone both at the same time and was there any treatments available?

Baby boy turned 4 & I'm ao grateful to have had him for one more year. I know every year is a blessing. He loved his cake💜

His favourite treat is fingers and toes

So, the other day my sister and BIL came to visit, and they hadn't met Grover Bear yet. Well, him being him, he wasted no time in winning them over, in his classic "I'm just gonna get right in your face and make you love me" style. On the menu were on demand kisses, sploots, cuddles, belly rubs, Mach 9 sprints around the house, (obviously banging into EVERY freaking thing along the way), and well, just being a danged ol' idiot. lol

When she was leaving I apologized, saying that he was a just a single brain celled love machine, and he couldn't help it (he's still a pup).

She said, and I quote, "He's the sweetest disaster ever!!!"

So, that's now how I refer to him now. Our Sweet Disaster.

Oh, and here he is, getting caught where he shouldn't have been! LOL

Anyway, I just thought I'd share!

Oh, and for those that were following my other post on his, ahem, digestive issues, things have improved DRAMATICALLY since we switched him to Purina Pro Plan.

He's back to being a normal dog. Sort of... LOL

Cheers!

Hello friends !
I’d like to share what helped my guy nearly immediately after we tried everything to help his liquid poops .

It’s a product called ‘Bernie’s perfect poop’.

I 100 % do NOT work for or with them and gain nothing from this recommendation .
I mentioned it on another post and had others say it helped their dogs as well..and I’m sure there are many of you who have tried it too ! (I actually found out about it from this sub at the time )

Honestly this stuff was a miracle and turned things around completely for my dog . I bought the small bag and didn’t even use half of it ! (So maybe don’t buy the large bag at first ?)
I’d actually love to know if anyone tried it and it didn’t help their dog!

I really hope this post is allowed because I just want to help anyone else’s pup who is struggling with tummy problems!!

All my love to all of you and your precious doggies !!!

Time has flown and I've almost forgotten about all the shoes lol.

Our girl Cassie is 7 months old and she's an aggressive chewer. She wants to chew constantly, and she seems to prefer soft things like blankets and plushies, but she tears through them. Other chews she's enjoyed are Nylabones, olive wood branches, and yak cheese chews. The Nylabones and yak cheese have held up the best, but I worry that the Nylabones are too hard for her teeth. What toys do y'all recommend?