Bernoulli may be a little less nuts

Hi all! We hope you are happy and healthy out there!

In the last few weeks our Substack has grown a TON, and we have received some really fun notifications from the platform—like that we are in the top 100 publications in all of Canada and sometimes in the top 100 in certain categories on Substack! (Woot woot!) I enjoy the writing because it’s so different from building reels for social media. It allows for much longer-form, thoughtful conversations and information.

Anyway, let’s get to the newsletter!

Yeah, there is no real delicate way to say it, but yes, Bernoulli is now neutered. This did surprise some folks, as they either thought he already was or thought we weren’t going to because of his vasectomy.

Here is the power of Substack—I can write out the whole story and decision path much more easily than on social media.

As Bernoulli approached 10 months of age, when the boy hormones go a little crazy, many places that train dogs and offer boarding or daycare simply do not take intact male dogs. Bernoulli is non-aggressive to people and other dogs, but there is always that chance, as he is a huge dog and he has all that testosterone in him. Also, other dogs treat intact males differently. There are a host of things that intact male dogs may do that are annoying for people who train or board dogs, and Waggles has a strict rule about intact males. They are only allowed in private classes—no group play and no daycare with groups—and we were worried about Bernoulli’s socialization.

I had found a research paper, which I broke down on our podcast, about large-breed male dogs and neutering. The research was pretty overwhelming in recommending you wait as long as possible—up to the two-year mark—to neuter them. Large-breed dogs neutered before that point had much worse health outcomes as they aged, particularly with their joints, and perhaps we are seeing that with Bunsen, as he was neutered at one year.

We pulled Bernoulli out of everything when he aged out, and for about four months everyone was pretty miserable. Bernoulli still got plenty of exercise and we continued with private training, but he was missing the socialization aspect of being a dog. Bernoulli has a TON of energy too, and we noticed that energy becoming so pent up that things had to change.

We heard that dogs could get a vasectomy, and we approached Waggles with a compromise. Though Bernoulli would still technically be considered “intact,” he would also be considered “neutered” to a certain extent. Waggles knew Bernoulli, knew how charismatic he is, and knew he is a good boy, so they took a chance. He would be the first dog they had ever allowed under these circumstances, and they reserved the right to end the arrangement if Bernoulli became a danger or if other dogs became a danger to him.

The first four months were pretty stressful. Bernoulli wasn’t aggressive, but he was SUPER interested in all the lady dogs and developed a ton of “girlfriends,” some who welcomed his advances and others who wanted him to take a hike. He got into trouble a bunch of times in those early months and had to spend parts of the day in timeout. The Waggles team was super patient. Bernoulli wasn’t dangerous—he was just a bit too much of a ladies’ man.

As time went on, Bernoulli calmed down a TON, and he now rarely gets into trouble. He still does some intact male things occasionally, like showing off when new dogs arrive and marking inside buildings over other dogs, which we really have to watch for. (Like if we’re in a dog-friendly store such as PetSmart and another dog has peed in the store, if we aren’t paying attention Bernoulli will try to pee on that spot too.)

Kris and I had no real intention of making Bernoulli a daddy and having a bunch of tiny Bernoullis (though that would be adorable). Kris did inquire about reversing his vasectomy just in case, but it was all pretty expensive and outlandish. We want Bernoulli to have more opportunities in life, and still being intact limits him. The danger period has passed, so this week he went in for the operation.

Bernoulli is in a cone, and yesterday he was a bit uncomfortable and not his normal happy self. Today, however, he is full of nonsense and smashing everything in the house with his cone. We did try the inflatable cone, but he can squish it down and get at his incision, so sadly it’s the hard plastic one. Five more days and he’s free of it!

I’m sure folks are worried about Brix, and trust me, we are too. We watch that little cat like a hawk, checking his breathing every single time he lies down. He is doing just great. He is playing, running around the house, and stealing food. So... normal kitty behaviour!

I’ll keep saying it, but it is wild that three weeks ago that little man was so very sick, and today all signs point to healthy. Brix has a checkup on Monday, and we may do further diagnostic tests, like X-rays, if there are any concerns.

Because he was such an atypical FIP diagnosis, there is still a chance that he doesn’t have FIP and simply got better while an underlying condition is still there. Also, not all cats survive FIP even with antivirals, so we are always watching for signs that Brix is getting sick. I’m not a vet, and neither is Kris, so it’s best that we talk to the experts instead of fretting.

All the dogs had checkups this week (including Ginger!) and received their vaccine updates. Bunsen was diagnosed with mild arthritis, as he had four of the six common symptoms: slower getting up, slipping on tile, not liking to jump, and occasionally struggling with stairs. We have started him on the first stage of treatment, which is glucosamine. Sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn’t, and the next step would be an arthritis injection, which the clinic has seen really positive results with.

Bunsen likes the arthritis chews, so we shall see how he does on them over the next couple of months. Kris still takes him for red-light therapy once a week, and the vet team doesn’t think water therapy is needed because he walks well and still loves coming on long walks without lagging behind.

Bunsen is nine, and for a large-breed dog—especially one that has had major surgery—these ailments are normal.

We know dogs get old, and we know they develop many of the same issues humans do as they age, but it’s sometimes hard seeing our Bunsen as an old guy instead of a puppy. That being said, I also see it as a gift that we get this time with him. Not every Berner parent gets the chance to watch their Berner grow old, and we didn’t get that chance with Kahlan, our Golden before Bunsen. Though her face was sugar-kissed, cancer ended her life at seven, and I would gladly give years of my own life for her to have lived longer.

Beaker and Ginger, in their separate checkups, both had cracked teeth! Both are being monitored to see if they worsen. We have to check Beaker’s every couple of days for inflammation, and Adam is doing the same with Ginger. If either tooth gets worse, it will have to come out.

Ginger now weighs a little less than Brix, and I figured that would be the case because when Ginger visited, I was pretty sure Brix had become the bigger cat.

We talk about cat related science, including a breakdown of what FIP is and some storytelling of Brix in the ICU. You can find The Science Pawdcast everywhere podcasts can be found!

I was really hoping to start the Brix stuffie presale this weekend, but I am waiting on final confirmation from our stuffie company on Monday. Look for a special Pupdate about it later next week, as our Paw Pack community will get first access to the presale.

Folks everywhere ask us how they can support what we do, so I’ve made a little list.

• Become a Paw Pack Member! The Paw Pack is our paid community where we post a ton of bonus content and chat live every Sunday, taking questions as friends. It’s super fun!

• Subscribe as a paid member here on Substack or on our social media platforms.

• Listen to our podcast—it’s free, fun, and informative!

• Just keep liking and commenting on our social media posts. It really does make a huge difference!

Thank you and talk next week!