Shayla
05-20-2009, 12:21 PM
Knowing me, this will probably be a bit long winded so I apologize. I also couldn't locate any area on here to post introductions so I figured the general forum was close enough.
I am the very proud owner of a Great Pyrenees named General Kael. But before I start gushing about him I'd like to share about my other boy as well. I always refer to both of them as my boys, I have no children and don't have any plans to.
I come bearing pictures. :D
http://www.shayabrams.com/myboys/J&K_9-12-08_3.jpg
http://www.shayabrams.com/myboys/J&K_9-12-08_4.jpg
They really love each other. :p
http://www.shayabrams.com/myboys/J&K_9-12-08_5.jpg
Those are actually a bit old. They were taken last September. Kael had just turned 6 months old.
Jake is just about to turn a year old in those pictures and he looks the same (even the same weight) today. He is the black dog (obviously) and I know what your thinking. Oh look at the black Lab. Nope, no Lab in there at all. He is half Anatolian Shepherd, 1/4 German Shepherd Dog, and 1/4 Rottweiler. Interesting mix isn't it? His mother Naynay a GSD Rottie mix and father Gary an Anatolian are owned by neighbors of my Mother-in-law. Jake was born on September 27th 2007 from Naynay's 4th litter, she was only 4 years old the poor thing. Her owners don't believe in fixing their dogs. They also don't believe in collars and leashes or even that a dog should be allowed indoors. They never bothered with dog food, they just threw trash out for her to eat. She was not well taken care of.
As a matter of fact this litter almost killed her. All of the pups died except Jake. She passed to them some horrible parasites and I'm not talking about just worms here. At 5 weeks old Jake had to be put on Metronidazole as well as various other meds to save his life. As a result of all the health problems he went through as a pup his growth has been stunted and he has a lot of allergy and medication issues. He was supposed to reach 80 pounds at the least but he is only 60. People think he is still a puppy because his feet look so large. He has a severe allergy to beef. I gave him heartguard once and his whole head swelled up. He looked like he'd been in a boxing match and lost. He's also allergic to other things that I don't even know about. Something was causing his hair to fall out and he had bald patches for a while. We tried so many different foods and finally we found the right one and his hair grew back in and is soft and beautiful.
Now Jake's just a happy dog and my forever couch buddy.
You can see a more recent picture of Kael as my avatar. But here is another.
http://www.shayabrams.com/myboys/Kael_5-14-09_2.jpg
That picture was taken last Thursday. General Kael, or just Kael as we call him, was born on March 6th, 2008. His parents were owned by LSG breeders and they were very new to it. IMHO they really didn't know what they were doing. Here was the first clue. They told me when I went to pick out Kael that they thought there was some Anatolian Shepherd in the bloodlines. I asked why (both parents looked just like Pyrs to me) and they said because their coats weren't very fluffy. *face palm* They had no idea of the difference between working lines and show lines. Luckily they are not breeding anymore. Kael came from their last litter which was an oops litter that almost killed the mother. They learned their lesson, almost the hard way. So they put the pups on craigslist for $25 to cover first shots and worming. As to whether or not he has Anatolian in him I don't know. If you shaved the two breeds down and put them side by side you couldn't tell them apart anyways. Since he just looks like a Pyr that's what I tell people he is.
He came with a few behavior issues we're still working on. He has redirected aggression and is food aggressive as well. When we first brought him home at 7 weeks I couldn't even go near his food without him trying to bite me. He couldn't even eat in the same room as Jake. Now I can put my hand in his food all I want and he and Jake can eat side by side. But if Jake makes any sort of move towards his food he gets very upset. So far all he's done is growl and snap at him. I'm more concerned about the redirected aggression at this point. Everyday we work on it and it is getting better.
Kael has also had his share of medical issues. The past few months have been particularly rough. He kept having these bouts where he refused to eat and if he did eat he would just throw it right back up. It kept getting worse and the vet couldn't find anything wrong. We finally got a second opinion a few weeks ago and the vet looked over him and said oh yeah, it's Acid Reflux. I didn't even know dogs could get that. So after Metronidazole (I don't even have to look up the spelling anymore) and some pepcid he is back to a healthy appetite. Unfortunately his weight is only 65 pounds. He's about 28 inches at the withers so that's not good. We have to get him up to 80 pounds at least. He's on a prescription low fat food because of the reflux which makes this quite difficult and not to mention expensive. But we'll get there.
I'd just like to add that Kael is the most stubborn, hard-headed, exasperating dog I've ever owned. But for some reason I love him to death and both my husband and I are planning on getting another Pyr. I had to beg him to get this one! He finally caved in and after wards was so glad that he did. I have to be honest, Kael is his dog. Even though I named him and picked him out he is much more attached to my husband than to me. It's fine though because Jake is my baby. Even though my husband picked him out and named him, lol. I've taken care of him since he was 3 weeks old (Naynay abandoned all of the pups at 3 weeks) so he thinks that I'm his mother.
So that about sums it all up. If you ever need someone to talk to about allergy issues and even a lot of medical issues chances are I've been there and done that. Jake has had numerous parasites including Giardia and also had Pneumonia and Bronchitis. I warned you this would be long winded but I like to get things right out in the open in the beginning.
I know this forum is not too active but it's far more active than any of the other Great Pyr forums I've come across. I hope to hear lots of stories about all of your Pyrs! They really are the most interesting breed I've ever known. I've got some great stories to share but I'll make them a thread of their own.
See ya around!
~Shayla
I am the very proud owner of a Great Pyrenees named General Kael. But before I start gushing about him I'd like to share about my other boy as well. I always refer to both of them as my boys, I have no children and don't have any plans to.
I come bearing pictures. :D
http://www.shayabrams.com/myboys/J&K_9-12-08_3.jpg
http://www.shayabrams.com/myboys/J&K_9-12-08_4.jpg
They really love each other. :p
http://www.shayabrams.com/myboys/J&K_9-12-08_5.jpg
Those are actually a bit old. They were taken last September. Kael had just turned 6 months old.
Jake is just about to turn a year old in those pictures and he looks the same (even the same weight) today. He is the black dog (obviously) and I know what your thinking. Oh look at the black Lab. Nope, no Lab in there at all. He is half Anatolian Shepherd, 1/4 German Shepherd Dog, and 1/4 Rottweiler. Interesting mix isn't it? His mother Naynay a GSD Rottie mix and father Gary an Anatolian are owned by neighbors of my Mother-in-law. Jake was born on September 27th 2007 from Naynay's 4th litter, she was only 4 years old the poor thing. Her owners don't believe in fixing their dogs. They also don't believe in collars and leashes or even that a dog should be allowed indoors. They never bothered with dog food, they just threw trash out for her to eat. She was not well taken care of.
As a matter of fact this litter almost killed her. All of the pups died except Jake. She passed to them some horrible parasites and I'm not talking about just worms here. At 5 weeks old Jake had to be put on Metronidazole as well as various other meds to save his life. As a result of all the health problems he went through as a pup his growth has been stunted and he has a lot of allergy and medication issues. He was supposed to reach 80 pounds at the least but he is only 60. People think he is still a puppy because his feet look so large. He has a severe allergy to beef. I gave him heartguard once and his whole head swelled up. He looked like he'd been in a boxing match and lost. He's also allergic to other things that I don't even know about. Something was causing his hair to fall out and he had bald patches for a while. We tried so many different foods and finally we found the right one and his hair grew back in and is soft and beautiful.
Now Jake's just a happy dog and my forever couch buddy.
You can see a more recent picture of Kael as my avatar. But here is another.
http://www.shayabrams.com/myboys/Kael_5-14-09_2.jpg
That picture was taken last Thursday. General Kael, or just Kael as we call him, was born on March 6th, 2008. His parents were owned by LSG breeders and they were very new to it. IMHO they really didn't know what they were doing. Here was the first clue. They told me when I went to pick out Kael that they thought there was some Anatolian Shepherd in the bloodlines. I asked why (both parents looked just like Pyrs to me) and they said because their coats weren't very fluffy. *face palm* They had no idea of the difference between working lines and show lines. Luckily they are not breeding anymore. Kael came from their last litter which was an oops litter that almost killed the mother. They learned their lesson, almost the hard way. So they put the pups on craigslist for $25 to cover first shots and worming. As to whether or not he has Anatolian in him I don't know. If you shaved the two breeds down and put them side by side you couldn't tell them apart anyways. Since he just looks like a Pyr that's what I tell people he is.
He came with a few behavior issues we're still working on. He has redirected aggression and is food aggressive as well. When we first brought him home at 7 weeks I couldn't even go near his food without him trying to bite me. He couldn't even eat in the same room as Jake. Now I can put my hand in his food all I want and he and Jake can eat side by side. But if Jake makes any sort of move towards his food he gets very upset. So far all he's done is growl and snap at him. I'm more concerned about the redirected aggression at this point. Everyday we work on it and it is getting better.
Kael has also had his share of medical issues. The past few months have been particularly rough. He kept having these bouts where he refused to eat and if he did eat he would just throw it right back up. It kept getting worse and the vet couldn't find anything wrong. We finally got a second opinion a few weeks ago and the vet looked over him and said oh yeah, it's Acid Reflux. I didn't even know dogs could get that. So after Metronidazole (I don't even have to look up the spelling anymore) and some pepcid he is back to a healthy appetite. Unfortunately his weight is only 65 pounds. He's about 28 inches at the withers so that's not good. We have to get him up to 80 pounds at least. He's on a prescription low fat food because of the reflux which makes this quite difficult and not to mention expensive. But we'll get there.
I'd just like to add that Kael is the most stubborn, hard-headed, exasperating dog I've ever owned. But for some reason I love him to death and both my husband and I are planning on getting another Pyr. I had to beg him to get this one! He finally caved in and after wards was so glad that he did. I have to be honest, Kael is his dog. Even though I named him and picked him out he is much more attached to my husband than to me. It's fine though because Jake is my baby. Even though my husband picked him out and named him, lol. I've taken care of him since he was 3 weeks old (Naynay abandoned all of the pups at 3 weeks) so he thinks that I'm his mother.
So that about sums it all up. If you ever need someone to talk to about allergy issues and even a lot of medical issues chances are I've been there and done that. Jake has had numerous parasites including Giardia and also had Pneumonia and Bronchitis. I warned you this would be long winded but I like to get things right out in the open in the beginning.
I know this forum is not too active but it's far more active than any of the other Great Pyr forums I've come across. I hope to hear lots of stories about all of your Pyrs! They really are the most interesting breed I've ever known. I've got some great stories to share but I'll make them a thread of their own.
See ya around!
~Shayla