Welcome and bienvenue to the July 2023 edition of ZENFULdog of the Month featuring Bergy! Bergy is a resilient, joyful and social Goldendoodle who spreads love and receives love everywhere he goes! He is a bionic pup who doesn’t give up and is cherished by his equally impressive pet-parents, as well as by Kendra and the entire ZENFULdog Training community.
Bergy
Birthday: Born in December 2021
Age: 1 and a half
Meet Bergy’s Family
(Sophie—Bergy’s pet-mom): Sophie never had a dog and was a cat person before Bergy. She describes Bergy as her second child with a special place in her heart: “He has taught me that we are both learning and it can be quite a learning curve. He has taught me to push myself and enjoy life to the fullest even when you have big obstacles in front of you. Bergy means the world to us. I never thought I would bond with a dog like that.”
(Ian—Bergy’s pet-dad): Ian grew up on a dairy farm with farm dogs but Bergy is his first non-farm dog: “Bergy is also like my child. He depends on us but, in return, he brings us so much joy.”
Sophie and Ian describe Bergy's Personality: Bergy is a very social dog who loves everyone and every animal. He can be easily scared at times but is a love machine: “We never saw him growl, au contraire, he has a good temper. He can be goofy at times, especially when he digs while he is lying on his side. If you ever see a Goldendoodle at ZENFULdog digging a hole while lying down…well that's Bergy!”
Bergy is curious and loves to learn (loves to train and have treats). He has a special good morning routine with Ian and Sophie: “He gets out of his crate; we say good morning and he walks between our legs for a good scratch. He then does the wiggle butt dance.”
Sophie and Ian Share The Most Unique Thing about Bergy: Bergy is a bionic dog. He was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia at 8 months old: “ This news hit us like a ton of bricks and we knew it was going to be a journey, but Bergy was a champ. When we met with the surgeon (Dr. Gatineau from DMVet Montreal—who is awesome by the way), he told us that we had no other choice than surgery. Due to Bergy's severe dysplasia, he recommended the replacement of both hips. Unfortunately, the hip dysplasia was so severe that it also caused luxating patellas (knee dislocation) in both knees, one being worse than the other. Right after the recovery of Bergy's hip replacements, we proceeded with surgery to fix his left knee as it was the worst.”
Like Bergy, Sophie and Ian went into many moods and emotions during these difficult times but now, no one would know that he had surgery: “He runs and walks like a normal dog. When we saw him run for the first time, we both wanted to scream ‘Run, Bergy, run!’”
Bergy was a superstar at the specialist where he had to stay for a minimum of 3 days post-surgery: “The staff would provide us with daily updates and would inform us how he was a superstar. Everyone loves him.”
On a funny note, Bergy is also known for his long lashes!
Bergy's favourite Treats/Foods according to Sophie and Ian: Bergy’s favourite treat is a treat that they limit to one small amount per week— mangoes! As soon as he sees one, Bergy starts to drool like a St-Bernard. Other than that, Bergy enjoys:
Any type of fish: cod, salmon and sardines. Unfortunately, Bergy seems to be intolerant to some treats hence the reason we only give him fish.
He enjoys a good piece of ice when it is warm.
Let's not forget the peanut butter!
Sophie and Ian Describe Bergy’s Favourite Activities: Sophie and Ian have a saying at home: “The cup of joy is full—which means that Bergy has fulfilled all his favourite things to do:”
Walking/ running (when they go for their walks, he likes to stop by the side of the roads, relax and look at the horses)
Swimming (when we can)
Searching for treats outside and inside
Digging in his designated area
Being on the patio to people-watch. If he could, Bergy would stay there all day and watch people, cars, bikes, etc..
How Bergy Unwinds After a Full Day of Activity: Sophie and Ian’s patio is, without a doubt, Bergy's favorite place: “He constantly asks for it and this is the place where he unwinds while being able to look at the traffic and say hello to friends and neighbours passing by. Fun fact—now people wave and say hello to Bergy. He is starting to be the star of the town. He also likes to cuddle in the evening and have a benebone.”
If Bergy had a human voice, which celebrity would he sound like?: This was a funny question for Sophie and Ian as they always use a different voice when they ‘talk on his behalf:’
“Bergy holds a special place in our nephew's life and we often include Bergy in videos we send to him (Sophie does the voiceover). Their nephew loves receiving videos of Bergy singing “Happy Birthday” or just saying ‘have a good day.’
Ultimately, “Kevin Hart would be the voice of choice [because he] likes to have fun, wear expensive designer (hips) LOL and he is very funny.” Ian bets that if Bergy was a human, he would be a standup comedian.
Bergy’s Training
Sophie and Ian started at ZENFULdog Training in puppy class then moved onto level 2. When they returned after necessary time away, they were more advanced than level 2 but went back to level 2 to ease Bergy back in. Bergy was with younger dogs and got along with them. He was able to enjoy off-leash play during class with the right care and attention to make sure nothing went wrong that could impede the progress of his surgeries and recovery. As the older, more experienced student, Bergy was the better behaved, calmer, more attentive dog who learned quickly and showed less impatience. His presence was enjoyed by the younger dogs who were calmed by him as well as motivating for pet-parents who could see that their goal was attainable. Level 2 can be a tough time and a steep learning curve for many so it was motivating for everyone to see Bergy as an example of what can be attained with time, effort and perseverance.
Sophie and Ian Tell Us How Training Has Shaped Bergy: They credit training for increasing Bergy’s confidence. Bergy loves to learn new tricks and to be praised by Kendra: “oh la la, Bergy and Kendra have a special bond. HE LOVES KENDRA! When he hears her voice or the name ‘Kendra,’ he gets very excited. With [her] help, we have worked on a few challenges and we have seen a big difference when we walk him, get out the door, play with other dogs, greet people (we continue to work on this one as loves people), etc.. Bergy has shown us that he loves to be praised by treats but also by saying ‘good puppy!’”
They explain that ZENFULdog Training has changed and shaped Bergy, but most of all, it has changed them as pet-parents: “The lessons learned at ZENFUL has helped us continue our training at home, which makes Bergy the great dog he is.”
Sophie and Ian Describe Bergy’s Biggest Training Challenges: As a social dog, Bergy can get over-excited when he sees people and dogs which can be tough to manage at times. Bergy took Level 1 and 2 classes as a puppy and was performing quite well. Bergy and his family were then faced with extra challenging obstacles: “Unfortunately, we lost a lot of these good habits after his three surgeries (due to severe hip dysplasia) from September 2022 to March 2023 where he was forced to stay indoors with restricted movements. Since his surgeries, the biggest challenge was to not have him pull when we were walking as he was overjoyed to be able to do activities again. ZENFULdog helped us a lot and we can proudly say that we are now enjoying our walks with Bergy.”
Sophie and Ian Name Bergy’s Biggest Training Successes:
Loose leash walking
Recall (still working on this but a big change)
Learning the sign of triggers (green all good, yellow losing a bit of concentration and red not listening) and how to work with them
Getting out the door (sitting, letting us out first and then coming out with a recall)
Sophie and Ian Describe Bergy’s Most Rewarding Training Moments:
A recent moment was the most rewarding training moment with Bergy. Sophie and Ian brought Bergy to doggy daycare and were not sure that he would have made the cut if he had not attended ZENFULdog Training classes: “We were proud parents when we were informed that he did awesome and that he has a great temperment.”
Another rewarding moment they had with Bergy was seeing him run at ZENFULdog after he was given ‘the ok’ to start his training again: “Bergy was so happy and enjoyed every bit of running. It was a proud moment that we will never forget. Ok, we will admit that we cried a little as this was a big milestone for us.”
Sounds like well-earned, happy tears to me!
Kendra adds: “I am infinitely impressed with Bergy and his pet-parents. I share a very special bond with Bergy, my Bergy Boy I LOVE! I often joke with his pet-parents about our mutual obsession. Sophie and Ian are funny, thoughtful and sweet. They trained Bergy straight away as a puppy but needed to give him doctor prescribed bed-rest after multiple surgeries. Even when they cannot be at training due to Bergy’s physical issues, they stay connected with me and even think to send me congratulations for my certification with everything else they have going on. They are very real, authentic, phenomenal people who jump straight back into class as soon as it is safe to do so and they run with little things they pick up in training to change their lives. They apply all the little teachings that can make the big differences.”
Un gros “Merci beaucoup!” à Ian et Sophie! You are fantastic pet-parents and we appreciate you sharing your incredible story with us!
On top of all this family has already done, they also hope that, one day, Bergy can be a certified therapy dog as he brings so much to people. They know they have a lot of work in regards to training to do but they are up for the challenge!
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