Great Pyrenees

This page is educational reference material for preparing questions. A licensed veterinarian examines the animal, makes the diagnosis, and sets the treatment.

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The white dog on the hill

Great Pyrenees stand about 25 to 32 inches. Many charts start them around 85 pounds, and plenty of males are heavier. Lifespan is often 10 to 12 years. They are calm in the house and busy on a fence line. The double coat sheds in sheets. They are independent. Recall is a suggestion they consider.

Children in their own family usually do well. Strange people at the gate get a bark and a body block. That is guarding. Training should teach the dog that visitors you invite are allowed in, and it will not make the dog a greeter at the dog park.

Hips, bloat, and a night voice

Hip dysplasia, patellar luxation, and bloat are the structural worries. Entropion shows up under all that hair. A Pyr that starts retching without producing vomit needs a clinic that can operate, not a walk to settle the stomach. VCA covers hip dysplasia. Limping that lasts more than a day in a dog this heavy is the limping page.

Great Pyrenees questions

Will a Great Pyrenees stop barking at night?

You can reduce nuisance barking. You will not turn off a guardian that was bred to call across a pasture after dark. City neighbors and this breed often end in a complaint.

Are they good with other animals?

They were built to live with stock. A Pyr that was raised with animals is often steady. A Pyr that decides a strange dog is a threat does not ask your opinion first.

Do they need a job?

They need room and a reason to walk the boundary. An apartment with one lunchtime loop is a bad picture. A fenced acre and a family that accepts barking is closer.