I just had a sweet female Great Pyrenees pick our house as her new home. She is extremely malnourished and flinches at most hand movements she sees. I was outside feeding our mare Sunday morning when my two Aussies started barking like crazy. I couldn't initially see what they barking as she was right next to the mare. To call her appearance as pitiful would a huge understatement, she's had it rough for a while. You could easily count her ribs from a distance and her hips stick out.
To make the story short the owner eventually came looking for her and ended up giving her to me. My wife thinks she's about a year old, hasn't had any puppies yet and has a ton of fleas. I have a seresto collar on the way and my wife is a vet tech so she is getting meds to deworm and shots for distemper and rabies, distemper and bordetella.
What's a good quality food for a pyrenees? She needs to put on a fair bit of weight, probably weighs around 60lbs right now. How much and how often do I need to feed? She eating science diet active since that's what we have for our aussies.
Any advice to get her back to health would be appreciated.

***Updated with pics.
The day she found us. This was later in the afternoon after a meal and she drank water like a horse. Just her being hydrated made her look better. She walked low to the ground pretty much the whole day.







***Day four
I think she's acclimating just fine. She stands up straight and comes when called, heck has the tail wagging already. Still very much a pup, playful and goofy.








**Day Fourteen**

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jlruiztx32,

If she is eating the food now and likes it, keep with that. Don't over feed her, thinking it will get her weight back faster, slow and easy is the way or she will get sick and set you back a few days. Feed her, give her the meds and shots, along with gradual exercise to put muscle (not fat) back on. If you are feeding your dogs twice a day, go with that. Get her into the pack's routine.

Get some recommendations from your wife and vet on supplements. Big dogs need more stuff for their big bones. Pyrenees is going to be a power sprinter compared to endurance runners like Aussie Shepherds.

If she is only a year old, she might be in that gangly "teenage" phase dogs go through, that coupled with no eating for a few days will make dog look like a concentration camp survivor. My male GSD just turned one year old and looks very a bit underfed right now, even though he is getting more than enough food.

Congratz on the new addition to your family. Once she has filled back up and gets older, you will have an excellent livestock protector to go with the herders (Aussies). In addition, once they are full grown, Pyrenees make excellent movable white couches. A friend has one, every time I go over I think they bought a new white couch, until it gets up to greet me.

I don't know if its the right choice for a Great Pyrenees or not, but I feed my hound American Journey Grain Free which is a Chewy house brand. It reviews very well, and my hound does great on it. And given how much a Great Pyrenees will eat over time, getting your food at a discount will likely be appreciated.

As to when to feed, if she's badly malnourished, you'll need to feed smaller amounts several times a day. As to what those amounts should be, I'd say trial and error should show you the way. Increase the amount until you see the results you're looking for, and then taper back if needed.

Best of luck to you. Very nice thing you're doing adopting her into your home.

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
Get some recommendations from your wife and vet on supplements. Big dogs need more stuff for their big bones. Pyrenees is going to be a power sprinter compared to endurance runners like Aussie Shepherds.

Best thing you can do for her, even beyond supplements, is to keep her trim and properly exercised. Big dogs suffer mightily when they're allowed to become obese and sedentary.

We had a similar male, very similar situation.

I fed him quality dry food but with half a can of ALPO or similar and some warm water. Also threw in eggs and veggies from time to time. Bought bags of frozen peas and carrots.

He came back in a few months. I think You are in for a LOVING and very LOYAL companion as ours proved to be. I really think dogs KNOW when we save them like this and love us accordingly.

Bless You! Good job. Keep us updated.

I

Tons of good food options out there. I like to feed a kibble in the morning, and stuff that takes a little prep time in the evening (by adding water).

My dog breaks out in hives when he has anything with even a little chicken in it, and also licks his feet anytime he's fed potato. Those two factors narrowed my options quite a bit.
Our food choices (all from chewy.com):
Morning - Wellness Complete Health Adult Whitefish & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Dog Food (this has barley and oats)
Evening -
The Honest Kitchen Limited Ingredient Diet Turkey Recipe Grain-Free Dehydrated Dog Food
mixed with
Stella & Chewy's Dandy Lamb Meal Mixers Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food Topper

His favorite is the Dandy Lamb, as evidenced by the shredded, empty red packages in the photo:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
American Journey Grain Free

Word to the wise; there is legit (I think) concern that grain free might be related to an increased incidence of cardiac problems in dogs in recent years. I'm pretty sure I first heard about it on this very forum. Did a bit of research and decided that unless my dog couldn't handle grains, I'd make sure they were part of his diet.

Our one male and two female Pyrenees / Anatolian crosses (the guardian dogs for the goats or goat dogs for short) and female Pyrenees / Anatolian mom x International Man of Mystery (?) dad rescue pet all get twice as much of the same food as our male & female (siblings) Aussie pets. Dry kibble only, though Mrs. slosig normally gets the pets a half can of wet food or some other treat on top on their birthdays. I think it as Adirondack Large Breed Adult, but I can’t swear to that. Everyone seems to be doing fine.

ETA: If your Pyrenees is going to be an outside dog at night, I hope you don’t have any neighbors within earshot. They tend to be nocturnal, to “patrol” “their area”, and to bark and raise heck when anything moves.

Our Pyrenees grew up with us and became the family guard. It loved having a job and was generally very quiet, a wonderful dog overall.

For dog food, we've had great luck with Victor 'Grain Free Hero Canine'.

quote:

Originally posted by rusbro:
Word to the wise; there is legit (I think) concern that grain free might be related to an increased incidence of cardiac problems in dogs in recent years. I'm pretty sure I first heard about it on this very forum. Did a bit of research and decided that unless my dog couldn't handle grains, I'd make sure they were part of his diet.

Yep, there is some reporting on that issue, but from everything I've read thus far there's no conclusive evidence of any correlation between grain free and heart issues yet. I continue to follow this to see if it will mature into anything worth being concerned over.

We’ve switched to Fromm based on recommendations on here. It’s been really good for our dogs.

Smaller portions more often to start, maybe some hand feeding to help get over the flinch. I’d try some boiled chicken and white rice if she gets an upset stomach.

Great resource of foods here:

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/...-reviews/dry/5-star/

Our Golden and Black Lab enjoyed Blue Buffalo at 1st - till they one day wouldn't touch it.....too many recalls and incidents after that moment - smart dogs.
Switched to Taste of the Wild and they're happy.

A few comments: the previous owner should be able to nail down her age exactly, and then you’ll have a better idea what food/protein level you need to work with. Large breeds (or at least giant breeds) have much different requirements than your avg dog when growing, and a lot has to do with the rate of their bone growth, iirc.

As a vet tech, I’d suspect your wife should already know this and will adjust diet accordingly. One other thing: unless something has changed tremendously in the last few years, I’d never put a flea and tick collar on my dog. There are many other products that work more effectively systemically over the animal’s whole body versus just a collar around the neck that concentrates the poison in that area. I’ll have to read up on this collar as I’ve not heard of this product, and back in the day we would take flea and tick collars off the dogs we saw and educate the owners on their uselessness and dangers, but perhaps times have changed. As a vet tech myself I wouldn’t use a collar, instead using the products that are effective in your neck of the woods.. frontline comes to my mind, but I know there are better.

Again, maybe things have changed since I’ve been in a dog/cat practice, but be cautious, esp with a potentially malnourished dog. Get your new pup into your vet for a checkup, chances are there are some internal parasites to address, esp with the flea infestation. Be mindful of your Aussies collecting whatever your new pup brought home as well. Hopefully the previous owner will let you have the vaccination records so you don’t have to double up on rabies vaccination unnecessarily.

Only a vet is allowed to give the rabies vx, so you gotta bring her in anyway, and your wife should be running a fecal to nail down the specific wormer you should use, if the pup is malnourished, I’d think twice about shotgunning this treatment with a general wormer.

Slabsides and Jeff Yarchin are two people on this forum I’d solicit advice from, if I were you. One is a vet, the other has a pet store and has done extensive research on the diets he provides in his store.
Best of luck with your new pup! Sounds like she found her home!

Check with your vet but we have had great results with Purina Pro Plan with all our dogs.

Be cautious when asking a vet for food recommendations. Before I was educated on it, we found out my old dog was diabetic. The vet put her on "diabetic" prescription food along with insulin. Then I started working for a pet store that sent us to seminars & extra training about all things pet related. Well, come to find out, many vets get kick-backs by selling/promoting certain foods & products. Come to find out, corn was the 1st ingredient in her diabetic food. Come to find out corn is also very high on the glycemic index which is bad for diabetics!!!

Always do your due diligence & do your own extra research to make an informed decision. Personally, I always look for meat based food. Meat as the 1st ingredient, limited or no grains, & definitely no corn.

It is also hard to tell what progress animals are making when you are around them all the time. I find it helpful to take "progression" photos with the same background, same basic poses every week to compare the differences. Also keep a journal indicating weight, skin, fur condition, etc. What foods, supplements, meds the dog is taking & when.

And please feel free to post pics.

My mastiffs eat diamond natural’s chicken and rice

We just switched from a no grain formula because apparently the giant breeds were having kidney issues with them


Good on you for rescuing the girl. My first mastiff was a rescue. He had led a hard, abused life when I got him. He was a good boy.

I will probably always have a mastiff. I’m a big guy, so we are natural companions. My 17 month old male is sitting on my legs as I type this

Lots of good info already posted, but I'd second the do your research. Quality food, look at the ingredients. We stuck with the grain free formulas, more expensive, but worth it.

Had a Great Pyr for 11 and a half years. Was deployed when it was time to put him down, lucky I was able to fly home for a couple days and be there when he passed away. Fantastic dog that loved his family. Best dog I ever had. Very strong willed. Will get another one when we settle down.

I've been buying Nutro for a few years now. It's a lot better than the dog food you can buy at the grocery stores.
Current rescue I have was fed Alpo and I slowly introduced Nutro.
Quite a few good dog foods out there.

quote:

Originally posted by Kevbo:
My mastiffs eat diamond natural’s chicken and rice

You are aware that Diamond products are the most recalled dog foods on the planet? I bought them at one point years ago, but I no longer trust them.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

quote:

Originally posted by Kevbo:
My mastiffs eat diamond natural’s chicken and rice

You are aware that Diamond products are the most recalled dog foods on the planet? I bought them at one point years ago, but I no longer trust them.

Diamond owns Taste of The Wild. Lots of good options available.

quote:

Originally posted by Kevbo:

I will probably always have a mastiff. I’m a big guy, so we are natural companions.

Mastiff's are GREAT family dogs and companions. Our Jesse was a friendly playful pup until cancer took him, all too soon.

The only time that he was not friendly was if he sensed that a stranger might be a threat to my wife. He would place himself sideways between them, lean his 200-plus pounds against the other person to push him away from my wife, while a rumbling sound originated in his chest. He never had to tell anybody twice!

I am a fan of the Orijen/Acana brand.

No recalls and whole, high quality ingredients. The contents list reads like a gourmet meal in some parts of the country. I'd follow the feeding guidelines for the food you choose. The nutritional and caloric difference between foods and brands is too broad to give a recommendation. Perhaps you could start off with a large breed puppy formula and then transition over to adult.

When my pups are feeling blue in the stomach I boil a chicken breast and steam some rice. It's good meal for gently bringing their appetite back...kind of a doggy comfort food that is easy on the stomach and stool. I also let the "boiled chicken" water cool and they will happily lap that up as well when I place it on the floor.

And then there is pumpkin. Canned with no preservatives. It is good for bringing back a pup's sour stomach.

Indeed, Acana produces a small batch dry food with pumpkin already in it - "Beef & Pumpkin".

A bad flea infestation will flat out eat up a dog. It's awful to see in person. Glad you're a good soul and taking in that pup.