WhiteMountainsRanch Kidding/Journal Thread; Summer Update

[babsbag]

I can't even imagine how sad and shocked you are! That would be such a shock and I assume you loved her like you seem to love all your animals! Who will stand guard against the coyotes now?

Little Diego has to grow up in a real hurry and he has no one to learn from now He has to be the man of the barn all on his own.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I am so sorry.

At 3 yrs old that is very odd. Please consider a necropsy.

We talked about it all morning, and I called two different vets to get pricing and procedure. As it turns out it's roughly $200 for a necropsy because she was so big (160 pounds). We debated on wether or not too, but after talking to one of my friends that runs a Saint Bernard rescue and posting on the Mastiff forum I am on, it seems the logical explanation was her heart. My friend that has the Saint Bernards says that she has SEVERAL friends who's YOUNG (<5 yrs) dogs have died in their sleep, and the Mastiff forum says it's very very common for them to die young because of heart problems. I just can't believe it happened to Maya.

And well, as much as I would love to KNOW that that is what happened to her, we've decided that we should save the $200 so we can use it towards another LGD pup to help replace her.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Oh Cari I am sooo sad for you. It is so hard to lose them when they are old and it is just thier time, but at such a young age....I am sure you are devasted.

Is there any chance she got bit by a snake? It is that time of year, especially where you live. I worry about my dogs all the time and try very hard to keep things picked up so the snakes have no where to hide. But then there is grass.... A friend found 3 under her dog's house a few years ago.

I am devastated. I loved that dog. I wanted to breed her and keep a couple of her pups as property guardians. She was really amazing.

It has just been an extraordinarily crazy day! You guys will not believe this; after we went out and buried her I was taking care of the rest of the animals and there was a 3' RATTLESNAKE INSIDE my rabbit cages! He was in the one with the baby rabbits obviously looking for a meal- only problem was he wasn't big enough to eat them. So he bit and killed 4 of my baby rabbits.

So this morning we buried Maya, four baby bunnies, and a rattlesnake.

That makes 8 we have killed so far this year.

We initially did think of that as a first explanation for Maya, but she was fine last night, and I looked her over really well; no swelling, no puncture wounds, nothing. And I used to work as a vet tech so I have seen A LOT of snake bites. And not saying this is fool-proof, but she was up to date on her rattlesnake vaccine.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I can't even imagine how sad and shocked you are! That would be such a shock and I assume you loved her like you seem to love all your animals! Who will stand guard against the coyotes now?

Little Diego has to grow up in a real hurry and he has no one to learn from now He has to be the man of the barn all on his own.

He still has Dakota to learn from. Though Dakota has to be on a dog run (other than eating the livestock) he is a really good coyote guardian.


In fact, I have to praise Diego this morning... my neighbor brought her dog up and Diego started barking and barking at her, like "what is that and why is it on my property"... Good boy.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

So you guys won't believe this; we went to go horseback riding and the truck broke down about a 1/2 mile from the house so we had to unload all the horses and walk them back. It's a brand new 2012 Ford Diesel too.




Can I just crawl under a rock and not come out now?

 

[alsea1]

Sorry to hear you lost a good dog.
The truck issue is no good either. Hope it don't cost ya too much

 

[Mossy Stone Farm]

I am so very sorry to read this.. It is heartbreaking.. Sending you all the prayers and good thoughts i can.. Iam just so very sad for you....

 

[perchie.girl]

I am so sorry.

At 3 yrs old that is very odd. Please consider a necropsy.

We talked about it all morning, and I called two different vets to get pricing and procedure. As it turns out it's roughly $200 for a necropsy because she was so big (160 pounds). We debated on wether or not too, but after talking to one of my friends that runs a Saint Bernard rescue and posting on the Mastiff forum I am on, it seems the logical explanation was her heart. My friend that has the Saint Bernards says that she has SEVERAL friends who's YOUNG (<5 yrs) dogs have died in their sleep, and the Mastiff forum says it's very very common for them to die young because of heart problems. I just can't believe it happened to Maya.

And well, as much as I would love to KNOW that that is what happened to her, we've decided that we should save the $200 so we can use it towards another LGD pup to help replace her.

My goodness Cari. I have had two horses necropsied (sp?), and thats what was charged for a thousand pound horse.... That was several years ago though. I read the next few posts and at first I would have thought snake bite like you and i am soo glad you know the evidence to look for. I read about the snake as well. Dang just Dang. One that big is scary but the littler ones are even worse because you cant hear their rattles. Too bad you arent set up for pigs. Pigs are death to rattle snakes. Pretty good at chasing coyotes too. But they are extra work to contain.

This is your first year at this new place hopefully the longer you are there the Predators will eventually be pushed back. BTW Rattle snake meat is supposed to be pretty good. one that size probably would make a meal for two, or Three.

deb

 

[bonbean01]

I am so very, very sorry!!!! How terrible for you...no words to express this, so a cyber hug...

 

[BlondeSquirrel04]

Sad sad sad day on the farm today. I went up to milk the goats and my mastiff Maya didn't come out to greet me like usual. I went over to her dog house and she was laying on her bed outside of it sleeping- and not breathing. Maya died last night in her sleep. I have never ever in my life just had a dog drop dead like this. She was acting fine except for limping a little from a cut pad on her foot, she was just up and chasing coyotes two days ago. She didn't eat much dinner last night but that's kinda normal for her since we free feed her she doesn't wolf it down. I just don't know what happened. She was all up to date on all her vaccines, de-worming, everything else. She seemed fine and healthy in every way. I've heard that Mastiffs can have heart problems, but we had her heart checked by the vets when we got her and no murmurs and she used to go hiking and running with us all the time. She loved dogs beach. She was only 3 years old. RIP Maya.

It sounds like she may have bloated. It's sudden, and affects large breeds, especially Mastiffs. My bulldog bloated and almost died, and my mom's St. Bernard passed away from it.

I'm sorry for your loss