What Medications Are Harmful/Fatal to Great Pyrenees??

[Brokenhearted]

Hi Everyone...

This is my first post...i have a troubling question for you all and i hope you can give me some insight.  My sister owns 4 Pyrenees, mom, dad, and two brothers.  Luke (the dad) has a little bit of an agression problem (nothing drastic and it may be related to the fact that there are 2 other males in the barn/yard area and he feels he is the Alpha dog amongst them since he was their first Pyrenees) but he also has a great fear of thunder/lightening storms and fireworks (all of which we've had a lot of the past couple of days with the hot weather and the July 4th holiday approaching)  As it turns out (sadly...believ e me, this is why my id on the board is Brokenhearted) Luke bit his sons ear about 4 nights ago, it was a nasty bite, but not life threatening,  She was cleaning it with Epson salts and peroxide (not sure exactly, i'm too upset to ask the details) and called the vet who prescribed Ciprofloxin (sp?) for him, (i'm not sure what the dosage was or whether it was in pill or liquid form)  Petey seemed fine that night (i also think she only gave him the one dose) but the next morning he was dead.  The wound wasn't that deep and was beginning to heal somewhat which makes us think that it was possibly a drug reaction that caused his death.  The pup was only 4 years old and in otherwise great health. 

I've been searching the internet for the past 3 days trying to find some answers to what medications Pyrenees are allergic to (i know they have problems with anesthesia...p lease excuse my spelling...i'm so upset right now it's hard for me to even type this) but has anyone else had any problems with severe reactions to antibiotics or can you tell us what medications are toxic to Pyrenees?  I'm sure the vet wasn't aware of any fatal reactions to the medication or he wouldn't have prescribed it and maybe it was just something that happened to Petey (i myself have had reactions to quinoline (sp?) antibiotics)

Can anyone shed some insight on this question?  The answer won't bring our dear sweet Petey back, but we just need to know.  Please don't think badly of the father...he is a sweet dog,not normally that agressive and i truly believe the incident may have been the result of stress from either the severe weather or fireworks that set him off.   I also think my sister just has way too many goats (although they have plenty of space both barn and open fenced in area to roam) but we've suggested this to her before and she says they should be fine the way things are.  She's the goat expert, not us, so my mom and i have given up with our suggestions. 

I truly loved this dog (actually, i was going to take him when they had the pups, but i'm disabled and he was a bit too much of a big 'ol dog for me to handle and take care of the way they should be)so my sister kept him instead.   Our family is just broken-hearted over what has happened to our beloved Petey.

Any help with this question will be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you so much!!

[Bella's mom]

I am so sorry!  I wish that I could help.  There are plenty of Pyr owners here who may can help you.
 

[Gypsy Jazmine]

I'm sorry but the only meds I know for sure are harmful to Great Pyrs is certain anesthias & I know they need less than some dogs do...I am truly sorry to hear of your loss...I have 2 Pyrs of my own & would be devestated should something happen to them...Hopeful ly someone else will be able to answer your question....Ag ain, I am sorry.

[cricket36580]

I'm not a vet but I don't understand why the doc would give the dog Cipro for a bite.  Usually it's Keflex which is a broad spectrum antibiotic.  Cipro is too but it's used more for internal stuff.  The sudden death makes me think there was some sort of cranial hemmorage.  It could happen if he was rolled by a goat or thumped on the head or jumped.  If his physiology was just right, anything could have caused it.  Generally with drug reactions there are other tell tale signs like seizures, foaming, jaundice, vomiting, diarreah, etc. 

However, if she has 3 males, all un-altered, in the same pen she's asking for trouble eventually.  I promise I don't mean to sound harsh...Just if she has multiple lgd's in one open area, there's going to be dominance issues.  I don't know how big the place is though and so I probably shoudn't be saying anything.  It's not the number of goats but the number of pens that's important.

Also, if the pups are coming into the teen years, dady is going to give them occassional attitude adjustments.  That with the holiday and weather...well, the problems just keep getting compounded. 

I am so sorry about your loss.  It's hard to lose one at any time and it's got to be just paralyzing to lose one in this manner.  Your family is in my thoughts. 

[DixieSugarBear]

I am so very sorry for your loss. What has the vet had to say about the death? 

[tanimara]

In my humble opinion, Top Doggie Dog has said it right.  I will tell you from first hand experience that she is in for more experiences worse than this one as far as trauma goes.  Mulitple LGDs must be monitored for aggression toward each other.  Three intact males (If I understand this right they are intact?), is nothing but a receipe for disaster and as the young ones get older, it will only get worse.  Pyrs have been known to fight to the death.  Pyrs are very very people friendly.  But keep this in mind.  Pyrs are bred to be anti-predator dogs.  And what is another dog?  A predator.  So it's not unusual to get one that is extremely dog aggressive.  Also it's time for the old man to boot the pups out of the pack and that is what is going on here.

Now to your question:  Im not sure which drug you are refering to.  There is Cephalexin which is the generic name for Keflex and there is Cipro or Ciprofloxacin.  Never the less, they are both antibiotics.  Often seen with these types of drugs is an allergic reaction that can even cause death.  And I suspect that is what happened to Petey.

As far as what drugs are harmful to Pyrs... the list could be endless but outside of their needing less of a drug than most breeds the list of drugs harmful to dogs would be all the ones you want to avoid with Pyrs.  Tylenol/Aceteminiphine is the big one that is most commonly used and should not be.  Give Aspirin instead.

Here is a vet link for meds if your interested
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/pharmacy_center.html

I am so sorry to hear about Petey.  Sometimes these things can not be foreseen.

Jackie Wood
Tanimara Great Pyrenees

[Brokenhearted]

Hey Everyone...

Thanks so much for the kind words about losing Petey...today was the first day that i went over to my sister's house since this has all happened...my heart is so heavy...i went over to see Luke and he seems rattled...i really think it's just been too much for him with the heat, thunder and fireworks...he just doesn't seem himself, but i couldn't stay by the barn too long...i got too emotional...

Just a quick note...the pups were neutered, the father Luke has never been (obviously since he's a dad!!) They never had him neutered because they only had him first but then adopted an abused female Pyrenees about 5 or 6 years after they had him and i think they were concerned that he might be too old to put through the procedure.  Needless to say, Luke and his "wife" Lucy got along well and they had the pups about 4 years ago.  They were the most beautiful puppies i've ever seen!!  It broke our hearts when they went to their new homes!! We loved them all! 

Also...i'm not positive about the name of the medication now...my sister is so distressed about all that has happened (you have no idea the sadness she's had to endure the past two months...she also lost her collie and her austrailian shepherd to cancer) and i may have misquoted the name of the meds.  When i feel she can talk about things i will ask her again the name of the drug and post it. 

Again...i thank you all for the kind words...postin g on this board is kind of like therapy for me...it's not going to bring our sweet Petey back, but if i can somehow understand what might have happened or if someone has ever heard of reactions from medications, maybe it will help us get through this.  Time heals everything, but lately in our family we haven't had the time to grief for one dog, let alone 3 in such a short period of time. 

Any help you can give me with this question will be greatly appreciated...

I love the photos of all your dogs...they have such beautiful faces and are such lovable big 'ol lugs ya gotta just love them to pieces!  I wish i could have a dog again, but with my disabilities its too difficult.  I do have cats who i adore but it's really not the same as the companionship of a dog...

Hope to hear from more of you soon...thank you so much!!

[sparklingcrowz]

HELLO. I AM SO SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR LOSS....I KNOW IT HAS BEEN A WHILE- BUT THE LOVE AND SADDNESS NEVER GO AWAY. WARMTH SENT TO YOU! MY GREAT PYR LED ZEPPELIN IS VERY SENSITIVE. HE IS ABOUT 2 1/2 NOW AND ONLY 70 LBS. HE WENT TO THE DOC TO GET A RABIES SHOT- IT WAS A 3 YEAR VACCINE AND HE WAS SICK FOR 2 DAYS AFTERWARDS. HE GENERALLY HAS AT LEAST A DAY EVERY MONTH AT LEAST WHERE HE IS VOMITING AND GRAZING WITH MY GOAT ...NO JOKE. I KNOW THAT HE IS VERY SENSITIVE AND I AM THANKFUL IN A WAY BECAUSE I KNOW TO WATCH OUT FOR HIS HEALTH. I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH HIM GETTING ANY MEDS OR SHOTS. THE TRUTH IS I CAN'T EVEN SWITCH HIS FOOD OR GIVE HIM CANNED FOOD. HE'S STAYING ON THE LARGE BREED FOOD. I TELL YOU THAT THERE IS NO GREATER JOY THAN TO OWN A PYR ! HE MAY BE SMALL NUT HE HAS THE BIGGEST HEART  IV'E EVER HAD THE PLEASURE TO FEEL!  I WOULD SUGGEST THAT ANYONE WHO OWNS A PYR, ALWAYS BE ALERT TO THEIR SENSITIVITIES AND ALWAYS BE "PARANOID" (LOL) OF  ANY SHOTS OR MEDS. AGAIN I FEEL YOUR SADDNESS AND ALTHOUGH I AM NO AUTHORITY OR PERHAPS MY BOY IS EXTRA SENSITIVE--- I AM A PROUD MOMMA WITH THE LUCK OF KNOWING THAT PYRS ARE WONDERFUL LARGE GUYS IN SOFT PACKAGES!