Berner 1 yr, not eating

[ChelseeBear]

Hello,
I own a Bernese Mt. Dog named Chelsee! She is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I would be lost if anything would happen to her. Unfortunely since I brought her home in early 07 she has made friends with all of the staff at her vet considering she is there all the time. The first week I brought her home she wouldn't eat and she had very bad Diarrhea. I called the breeder and she said the whole litter had Giardia but was treated I let my vet know and he gave me tylan powder to put in her food for the diarrhea. Now this is the second vet that I had taken her to the first sent her home with 5 different prescriptions and after she lost 7 lbs and continually got worse I took her elsewhere. After several trips to the second vet she was eating only wet I.D. and was in the process of switching her to dry. After a few months she seems to be Happy and has a shiny coat she is not growing to fast so the says that she can come off I.D. slowly and be started on food of my choice, Well after another few months we soon realized that the only hard food she was able to eat without getting sick is Royal Canin Large Breed Adult. So now this past few weeks she has gone from eating a little to not at all she threw up once so the vet took a urine culture which let to a second culture and blood work. Let just say my puppy is now more expensive than my vehicle But she is well worth it She still cannot eating anything but her biscuits and royal canin. If the vet perscribes any antibiotics the diahhrea comes back full blown I dont know what else to do she lost 6 lbs in 1 1/2 weeks Any Ideas what is wrong????

[Dr Lee]

I am sorry to hear all the problems Chelsee has had, as so young! Must be frustrating.

A few questions: have repeat fecal tests been performed? Are we sure that the giardia is gone? What are the results of the blood and urine tests? What does your vet say at this point? Food allergies? IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disorder), malabsorptive/maldigestive diseases, etc... With the urine tests is there a lot of protein loss?

I am sure many of the members here can suggest some food options that may be focused on high digestibility and to avoid food allergies!

Good luck.

[ChelseeBear]

Thank you for your reply! Considering everything that is going on with her it definatly does not affect her personality! She is very strong emotionally even though we have alot of bumps on the way..

The vet did 3 fecals in two days he has kept her overnight multiple times. He told me that he wanted to do them in the AM, Noon and PM. That was the first time I took her to him and two came back neg then he perscribed the Tylan Power to put on her food, he has told me many times to just give her Tylan powder when her stomach is upset but it never solves the underlying issue.
The blood test came back today and it was normal, the 1st urine culture was not they gave me Cephalexin they took a second culture and sent this one out and it came back normal but they still sent her home with Baytril and Sucralfate which she has had Sucralfate before with no response to it I believe they told me it would settle her stomach but she still does not eat. I am afraid to give her hamburger and rice for the fact that when she eats anything besides royal canin she gets diarrhea so bad that she wont eat that eighter.
I always get to talk with the Vet Tech instead of the Vet who seems to be to busy and I get the feeling that he thinks I am just being paranoid. But everytime I feel like something is wrong I take her in he says shes fine and we always come back when she is obviously sick (when before to him she was showing no signs)and has not eaten in days. He doesnt really listen he cuts me off and tells me what to give her and thats about it.

Thank you so much for your time it is greatly appreciated!

[ChelseeBear]

I just truly would love to see my puppy act like a puppy and not be sick, I only want what is best and I have run into a wall on what is best for her at this point. I just hope she can grow up and be happy and EAT! My stomach is in knots watching this young dog with so much potential to be happy and loving turn into a dog who is 68 lbs when her sister is over 78lbs, a dog who loves to play and go on walks but when you get a block away she gets tired and turns around and walks herself to the porch. A dog who drools and the treat aisle in the pet stores but has never had the chance to taste them for fear of getting sick. I have worked with horses for many years now and I know when an animal is sick, I know something is not right.
Kisses from Chelsee

[MOOSEDRY]

hi there.

read your posts and felt compelled to write. you must be so frustrated! is there another vet in your area you can take your puppy to? i wouldn't be too impressed with a vet who had done all this testing, charged tons of money and arrived at no answers - and then to make you feel like you are worrying needlessly on top of it!!! something is obviously being missed, and i don't blame you for being upset. please consider a second opinion. perhaps this is not something your current vet is familiar with. ask for copies of the tests that were done and any xrays they have to take with you. i hope you find out what is wrong.

good luck!
tracy

[breeze]

I understand what you are going through..
I too have a bernesse she is 1 1/2 year old.. we have had problems with her from day one.. she is only 70lbs but is supose to be 85lbs..

every month Bree seems to go through a period of not eating, then diareha, then has to be put on meds that make it worst, then won't eat anything.. so we change her food and it's ok for about a month..

I do find that the potien level in her food must be kept on the low side other wise it does not agree with her.. the best food I did find IMO was timberwolf organics, but they changed the size of the nuggets and bree chocks on them, she now will not even touch it..

I have noticed that when she get overly excited the dierrha coms back to a point it will not right itself regardless of what we do.. the vet thinks she might have what she calls as nervious/stress colitis.. but not to sure, if she does not improve within 3 days we will get blood tests done to see if that is the cause..

[ChelseeBear]

Thank you so much for all of your help it is Greatly Appreciated by Chelsee and myself.
I have been looking for a new vet I don't mind a drive believe me it would be well worth it. Breeze I am sorry to hear you are unfortunatly having the same problems, hopefully you will have better luck figuring out whats going on. My issue is that I am literally scared to change her food she was so sick the last time I changed her I thought she was never going to eat again. But she did so maybe it is time to try again.
Her Breeder wants me to try California Natural but I don't know too much about that peticular food.
Thanks for the help

[breeze]

ChelseeBear I here you, i too was scared of changing her food.. but somtimes you just have to make the plunge.. If she is doing so well on the food why do you want to change?? I beleive that if it is working don't mess with it.. JMOI .......I noticed with bree she did not toeral corn so we made sure that there is none of that in her diet, or corn gluten..

on this site there is excellent food fourm maybe tak a look and see if you can find some information that you need.. or open another thread seeking advice in the food forum....

it is hard to find what works best for our pets.. and when we do we would love to shout at the roof tops..

when you can we would love to see pictures of your wiggle butt..

[ChelseeBear]

I would LOVE to post some pictures but I dont have the pictures attachments yet in my Additional Options. The minute it is available I will add pictures!

[breeze]

Originally Posted by ChelseeBear

I would LOVE to post some pictures but I dont have the pictures attachments yet in my Additional Options. The minute it is available I will add pictures!

your pup and Bree look like they could be sisters!!!!
I showed hubby the picture and he asked me when did I take a picture of bree?? I told him nope it's not Bree........

how is she doing today?? any change??

[ChelseeBear]

Breeze Thank you for the Courage to try something new! I cooked some Hamburg and Rice for her this morning because she had not eaten anything. I called the vet and he said to call tomorrow to let him know how she is doing... Besides the fact that is the same thing he told me yesterday, How many days does he expect her to go without eating??? Anyhow She LOVES the Hamburg and Rice so at least she has some food in her tummy.. For the first time since I have had her she finished her food (Even though it was only a 1 1/2 cups.) I fed her a 5 a.m. and it is now almost 10 and there is no sign of her tummy being upset YAY She looked so relieved. I talked to her breeder and she suggested Wellness Core, so I was going to start looking into it.

[ChelseeBear]

I noticed the same thing. I have visited Chelsee's real sister and they actually look nothing alike Go Figure

[breeze]

Bree will go 4 days without eating.. (thats the longest) why we don't know, not that it's good for her.. it is soooo scary. I wish they could tell us what is wrong..

you can try feeding her small amounts throught the day so instead of 2 times a day maybe 3 times a day.. sometimes it helps..
I know with Bree it takes up to 14 days for her to be able to switch food.. we have to do it VERY slowly.. and even tht sometimes it does not help..

don't get discrougaged..

[breeze]

Originally Posted by ChelseeBear

I noticed the same thing. I have visited Chelsee's real sister and they actually look nothing alike Go Figure

does she have long legs or short?? is her hair long or short??

[ChelseeBear]

Chelsee would have been at 5 days today:sad: Hopefully she will keep eating the hamburger and rice until I can slowly switch her over.. I was planning on feeding her every 5 hrs. I just fed her about 2 min ago and then I have to leave the room. If I stay there all she is intersted in is what I am doing. once she has decided its not interesting then she may go eat or she may go keep herself busy with one of her chew toys. I thought that since I was not giving her very much in one sitting that I could at least feed her 4 times today and tomorrow and then I was going to give her more for 3 times a day and so on. When she eats 1 1/2 cups her belly is sooo full you can look at her head on and it stick out the sides. She just grunts and lays down on her cold pad. Which she absolutely loves.

[ChelseeBear]

Originally Posted by breeze

does she have long legs or short?? is her hair long or short??

There are not many berners in my area so the only other ones we have met is all the berners at the breeders house. (Which can be 5 +) But compared to her sister I think she is smaller and her sisters hair is longer. But I hope this eating issue we have had does not affect her physically. Her hair is very thick and unbelievably shiny.. Everyone asks me what she is getting or what I am doing to make her hair shiny and thats all her I have done nothing But I do believe it is short Hopefully I can post some pictures for you soon so you can get a better comparison

[breeze]

I here you.. unless it is quite in the house at breakfast or supper Bree want to be with YOU and forgets about her food....

silly dog..

after you get her to eat and things are good you can always give her satin balls (I have to find the link for you)
Bree loves these and it does not upset her tummy and it puts weight on her..

For Bree it is hard to keep the wieght on her.. she is just soooo active..

[breeze]

this is Bree it hard to see.. but she has short fur and long legs..

[ChelseeBear]

Originally Posted by breeze

For Bree it is hard to keep the wieght on her.. she is just soooo active..

Chelsee loves to play and is very active BUT when she comes inside you would never have known. She is very quiet and if she does get a burst of energy she takes it upon herself to stay busy and play with her toys! Now dont get me wrong when a 68 lb berner plays with her stuffed animal it is not exactly silent but it makes me happy to see her have some x-tra energy to spend... She goes on a daily 30-45 minute walk /(Jog only when she sees a couple of squirrels in a field ) She lived the first year on a horse farm so she is very good about being loose in a field and working around other animals. She also likes to visit my Boyfriends Mother and Father and they have a Big house to check out evey nook and craney and that will keep her busy for awhile.

[ChelseeBear]

WOW They look so much alike her body is exactly like chelsee. Chelsee def has short hair and I think she is a little shorter than bree. Bree is Beautiful

[breeze]

did anyone clone our dogs
you are decribing Bree.. very active outside and very quite inside. but she is not allowed stuffies.. she will eat them inside and out and then look at you saying "WHAT" I did nothing wrong..

[breeze]

Originally Posted by ChelseeBear

WOW They look so much alike her body is exactly like chelsee. Chelsee def has short hair and I think she is a little shorter than bree. Bree is Beautiful

thank you.. I see you change your your small picture (can't think of how to spell the word for it) it's like looking in the mirror!! well Brees mirror.......she is beautiful your chelsee

[ChelseeBear]

Originally Posted by breeze

did anyone clone our dogs
you are decribing Bree.. very active outside and very quite inside. but she is not allowed stuffies.. she will eat them inside and out and then look at you saying "WHAT" I did nothing wrong..

That is so funny! Chelsee Has Stuffies from when I first got her. Those are the only to survive!!! The rest have lost limbs and fins and are now destuffed and to say the least she has only a few new ones added to the club per year!!

Chelsee also loves to sleep on her back with her head tail and legs going every which way Every time she falls asleep she dreams it is incrediable she will run with her paws flinching and every once in a while you will hear her growl or back trying to get that dream squirrel I guess

[ChelseeBear]

I cannot believe the similarities our dogs have! I have pictures of chelsee online if you want to see them they are at www.williamfox.myphotoalbum.com/ and you will see a folder for chelsee.

[breeze]

OMG unreal.......do you know how tall she is??

are you on MSN??

I think we just thread jacked your thread..

[ChelseeBear]

I think you are right. I believe not positive but I would say between 20-22 inches right now. The vet says she might still grow some more but I dont know. I have AIM Instant Msg. I am not sure what MSN is

[breeze]

my son just told me that you don't get msn..

about tj your thread... guess i just got the WOW factor


when you are allowed to post those beautiful pictures of Chelsee we can compair notes
until then maybe someone can shed some light on why chelsee doesn't want to eat....
keep giving her the mince and rice and slowly change her over to the food you want.. just remember to do it slowly so as not to upset her stomache..

[ChelseeBear]

It is no problem I was just as excited about meeting a twin for my girl! Thank you so much for your time and Help it is very appreciated. I willl keep it slow and keep the Thread Updated.

[breeze]

chleseebear you can send me an email if you want.. just click on my name and then click on view public profile it should be there.. if you want to talk

Marko told me you have to be a member for 24 hours to be able to PM private message..

I got excited also

maybe together we can figure this out..

[breeze]

http://lowchensaustralia.com/health/diet4.htm



http://www.holisticdog.org/Nutrition...tinballs2.html

http://www.labmed.org/catalog/kong2.html

just a couple of site you might want to look at....