Ursiform Cool Jazz

17/07/00 - 01/09/09

Hips 3:3 (total 6), Elbows 0:0

X-rayed and scored at 23 months of age

 

 

Jazz on the left with her littermate Bastian at 4 1/2 weeks of age

Jazz at about 7 weeks old with my neighbour K. Jacobson
 

Jazz has probably been best described by a good friend of mine who thinks she is a "total Mummie's girl". Jazz started out as a very bold little puppy with a very strong temperament. Pushy is another word one could use for her and I'm sure if she had things her way she would be running the ship here! She demands rather than asks for attention and many a spelling error has been made while I sit at my keyboard because Jazz comes along and flings my arm skyward with her nose! Jazz also has a habit of dancing on the spot...I sometimes wonder whether A.D.D.S. is restricted to children! She certainly is a very tizzy girl. By the same token, she is usually very focused on me and on getting my attention and when I put in the effort I find her to be quite a quick learner...almost too quick for me. She is desperate to do the right thing and I think only my slackness prevents her from becoming a highly trained dog.

Jazz at 10 months of age

Jazz at 2 years
Sometime after Jazz turned 12 months old she developed some different behaviour patterns. She started to get a little shy with strangers...at first just keeping her distance for a minute or so before going to say hello. This has developed into sometimes just keeping her distance for a moment to sometimes displaying outright fear and jumping over furniture to get out of the way of strange people that are welcomed into my house. This is something many Bernese owners experience, sometimes earlier and sometimes later. It can be just a stage or it can be their inherant nature. Some people put the timing of the behaviour down to their hormones kicking in. Some Berners develop not only a fear of strangers but a fear of all kinds of things...noises, cars, torchlight...you name it. There is often no rhyme nor reason to their phobias. This is the unfortunate reality when you buy a Bernese Mountain Dog and the temperament of the parents are not always a certain indicator but of course, two parents with a fabulous temperament gives you a much better chance that your pup will end up with an equally fabulous temperament. This is where researching bloodlines is of great value, and knowing the traits and temperaments of as many of a dog's relatives as possible will help you make the best decision when purchasing a puppy. Unfortunately though, there can never be any guarantees so, in my humble opinion, one should not even consider adding a Bernese Mountain Dog to the family if they are not willing or able to deal with the temperament extremes. In actual fact, I don't believe any kind of dog should be added to the family if one is not willing to make allowances for the deviations from the ideal breed temperament. A goldfish would be a much safer bet!

To see Jazz's litter details and pedigree click here

 
 

 On 27/09/02 Jazz produced 12 puppies by caesarian section. This was the result of an accidental mating (as far as I was concerned anyway!!) on day 5 of Jazz's heat. To see Jazz's puppies click here. I can report that her temperament has much improved since becoming pregnant and having puppies but I have since had her spayed.

 

 
Jazz, just like her mother Nathalie, started developing back end issues. First feacal incontinence, then noticeable muscle wastage of the back end and obvious weakness. Urinary incontinence eventually developed and her back end just got weaker and weaker. On the first day of spring 2009 I let Jazz go, with suspected degenerative myelopathy. The condition progresses very slowly but I was determined not to let it progress as far as it did with Nathalie before I got her put down as I didn't think she'd cope with it as well as Nat. When one of her back legs went I knew it was time to say goodbye. The photo to the left is one of the last one's I took of Jazz, about 6 weeks before she was PTS.