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| Buddy
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Buddy is doing so well. He and Nicholas play here by the hour and then they crash on the couch! They both love the snow and are on the invisible fence so they have 1.25 acres to run on, chasing squirrels etc.. I have them on video playing in the yard but I don't seem to be able to send it. I caught Buddy yesterday licking Nicholas' face while Nicholas was sleeping, wish I had a picture of that!
Buddy's been up to the dog park several times and plays really well with the other dogs. On Monday there was a huge 4 year old Newfoundland female there that he really liked! Ran and played like crazy.They both went to the vet this week to have their nails clipped and get weighed. Buddy now weighs 86.6 lbs. or 39.6 kg. They are the same height now but Nicholas only weighs 66.5 lbs. or 30.5 kg.
I find it difficult to get good photos of the two of them together
because they move around so much. I'll find a few to send you but
they won't be great. Buddy thinks he's a lap dog and sits on my
husband's knee on the couch, I'll send one of those photos too.
One of my clients gave them both beautiful winter sweaters for the
cold, not that they need them with these big coats, but they do wear
them if it's really cold or in heavy snow it keeps them dry. They
seem to like wearing them and they stay in place well.
Update June '13 Buddy is a heck of a swimmer! We have them to this beach every weekend, he loves it. I can't tell you how much we love this big dog! He fit so beautifully into our family you would think we always had him.
Buddy & Nicholas now 1 year old!
Update September '13 Hope all is well. Buddy was to the vet last week for a check up. He's 121 lbs now, 15 months old, perfect health. Nicholas is 21 months now.
What a good boy! Buddy just finished a swim in the ocean & he watched our 2 year old neighbor eat cookies for 20 minutes on the beach. Never went any closer than this, just watched.
Update January '15
Buddy is such a beautiful dog, so loving and gentle. He and Nicholas
are best friends and are never apart. Picture
Our vet believes he is Newfoundland not Bernese because of his size and he is such a great swimmer! Do you think he could be a combination of the two? He is 165 pounds now.
Buddy is a fantastic swimmer. We take him to the cottage every weekend in the summer and he swims twice a day. Just loves the water! Floats like a boat.
He also loves to drive in the car. I have never seen such an affectionate dog. We are so lucky that we found him!
All
the Best to You
Update August '17 Buddy is doing very well. He turned 5 in May and Nicholas turned 5 on Christmas Day. They are such good pals to each other and such wonderful companions to us. We have rented a little cottage now for 11 years where we go on the weekends only 20 minutes from home. It's at New River Beach, one of the nicest beaches in the country, and it's on the ocean being the Bay of Fundy here. Buddy absolutely loves it. We take him swimming each Fri, Sat & Sun. When we open the car door he just runs for the water. He's such a graceful swimmer and the cold water doesn't seem to bother him. Nicholas on the other hand will fetch a few sticks thrown out and that's enough for him. We had a hard time getting Buddy dry after his swims and his coat would hold the water easily for 24 hours so we sent to Ontario for a special dryer for Newfoundland dogs called BearAir. It's 4 hp and blows room temperature air. He loves it and is now dry in 10 minutes (Nicholas in 2 minutes with his fine coat).
Update May '20 Buddy and Nicholas are doing super well!!! Just had them to the river for Buddy's first swim of the year last night. He'll be 8 soon and doing very well. I walk him each evening before dusk (miles of trails around our house) or take him for a swim (his favourite thing). A few years ago he did have lyme disease. Ticks are a serious problem in New Brunswick for animals and humans. A very bad case, the worst our vet had seen. He had seen a
German Shepherd with a count of 225 and our Buddy was 650! He had
started favouring the front shoulders (I thought it was arthritis, I
guess it's the first sign of lyme, joint inflammation). As he walked
into the vet he asked if he'd been tested for lyme and did the test
immediately. The recovery was a slow process that took 2 years in
total. The vet is a naturopath, from Romania, knows more than the
rest of them here put together. On that first day he said Buddy will
respond to the treatment or he won't and we'll know in 3 weeks. He
responded well. So... He had a high dose of antibiotics for 30 days, then you have to wait 6 months for an accurate test result which comes from a Toronto lab. He dropped to 450. So we repeated it, another 30 days of drugs then another 6 months with test. He dropped to 180. Repeated again and he dropped to 60. Then the last time he was clear!!! In the meanwhile we went to the vet every day from Monday to Friday the first 6 months, then 3 times a week for the next bout, then two times and then once a week over the 2-year period. He had water therapy in a big tank with a water treadmill and the vet would get right in with him. A 20 minute walk equalled 1 hour and 10 minutes on land. Buddy really liked it, he'd walk right in and the water would rise half way up his belly. He had acupuncture, massages, Chinese herbs in with his food and all his food home cooked (so of course I had to cook Nicholas' too). No dog food allowed and still the vet doesn't want him on dog food so we cook all the meals breakfast and supper. He has cooked meat, brown rice and different vegetables mixed in. He loves it and his coat just shines. Important to note for any dogs with arthritis that he's never allowed chicken not even in a treat. Vet says chicken inflames the joints so bad that no pain killer in the world can stop it. So Buddy has turkey (vet says this is the best), beef, liver, salmon (loves fish), pork, all different types of meat but NO chicken. As far as I'm concerned this man saved Buddy's life! He's active for a big dog, does well on our walks/hikes, swims and is such a happy guy. He's a great dog. Everyone loves Buddy!!! Vet bills were close to $15,000 but the main thing is it worked! He loves that vet so much that he'll cry when we drive by the clinic if we're not stopping in. When we go there Buddy just runs for the guy who gets down on his knees and wraps his arms around Buddy's neck. We're so fortunate to have someone like this in New Brunswick and he's only 5 minutes from our house. Plus he makes house calls!!!
Update December ‘20 Buddy and Nicholas are doing very well. Nicholas turned 9 Christmas Day and Buddy is 8 1/2. They are healthy and happy.
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Update
December '15
