Great Pyrenees Dogs Anyone have one?

[blackthorn]

A friend of mine, (many years ago) when my kids were small, had two of those big dogs. When we were up at the lake and went over to their cabin the dogs never let our kids out of their sight. They would walk us back to our cabin sitcking close to the kids all the way. The lady who owned them spun the hair off them into "wool" and she knitted sweaters and such from it. The only down side to having them is that they slobber constantly and they do produce a LOT of slobber!!

[AK4570]

There is a lot of wisdom in the preceeding posts (by current and prior owners, that is) but let me add this: If you own them as a pet and not a working dog, you will never find a more gentle dog with young children. Our 8 yr. old female is a jungle gym for our youngest daughter (23 mo.) and has been since the baby began crawling... We're talking full on lip twisting, ear pulling, fingers in eyes and nose, yanking hair and tail, body slamming and every other toddler activity you can think up; all with equinamity and grace and the sure knowledge that there is 100 pounds of bridled protective fury laying there napping and drooling on the carpet...

If you have children in the house and you can put up with the shedding and barking, you absolutely can not go wrong with this breed.

I will own another and there is no higher complement I can pay the breed.

God Bless,
John

[Silvercreek Farmer]

My wife's co-worker had one for a pet. Apparently it was great with people, then one day the neighbor's lap dog ran towards her co-worker with the GP present and leashed. The GP picked the lap dog up by the head, gave it a shake and rendered it deceased. Everyone was shocked when the GP did exactly what it was supposed to do!

We keep sheep and goats and have only had dog trouble once (and I have replaced my fence charger since). I told my wife if we have any more trouble I am getting a GP or a donkey. I just have to make sure the guardian doesn't consider my kids a threat. I like the fact that a donkey eats the same as the other stock. I hear Llamas work, too.

[Rik]

don't own one but there are several in my area guarding goats from predators. wouldn't want to go up against one hand to hand.

[redneckdan]

This is Sven our 7 month old pyr. He is not a dog, he's a Pyrenees....big difference...



June is Bear Awareness Month. We are Bear Aware... and waiting...



He was very well socialized from a young age and actually likes people more than other pyrs. He is very gentle with kids and lives to snuggle. He is however very protective. Not aggressive like some guard/attack dogs can be. When something is hinky he gets that Dirty Harry " was that 5 rounds or 6... Go ahead make my day" kind of look. And positions between the threat and us.

For the first few months he stayed in his crate at night okay. In April when I was gone a lot for work he started whining a lot at night. Near as we can figure he assumed some one was stealing me at night cause i was always gone. One night he wouldn't stop barking so we let him sleep on our bedroom floor. He hasn't acted up at night since. He does tend to stare at me at night, which oddly enough can make it hard to sleep.

My wife likes to have the bed room door closed due to the farm light shining in the living room windows. She will close the door, climb into bed, Sven will look up at us huff then saunter over and bump the door open with he nose then flop back down. Jen will go close the door again and the scene repeats. She hasn't won yet...they went at it for half an hour one night. We think he likes having the clear line of sight into the yard.

When he is outside he alternates between laying in front of the storm door and laying in the bushes at the far side of the yard where he can watch the drive way/road.

His one weakness? Plastic bags...for some reason the noise frightens him. His first night camping in a nylon tent was pretty rough but he relaxed. Fluffing out a trash bag sends him running.

[km101]

The guy across the road from our deer lease has two. A few years ago when he bought the place it was covered in heavy underbrush. He bought a herd of about 30 goats to clear the underbrush. After about 6 months (winter and spring) he was down to about 15 - 18 goats due to coyote and cougar predation. He bought a burro, because he had heard that they were good herd animals and would protect his flock. He continued to lose goats!

By the time he got down to 8 or 10 goats he got the two dogs. In about 18 months he had more goats than he started with, and now he has so many goats that he is starting to sell them. The dogs don't ever seem to get off the property. I have often seen them near the fence at the road, but never on the outside of the fence. We have gone over to the owner's house a few times, but the dogs don't seem to pay any attention to vehicles entering the property. They don't run along side the truck and bark like most dogs. The stay with the animals. If the goats are at the barn, the dogs are there but they have never seem interested in people.
From what I have seen they are the ultimate guard dogs! And you cant argue with their success in protecting his herd. The owner says that he has not found a dead goat since he got the dogs.

[Twstanley]

We had one back when we had goats and cattle, he was great watching over all of them, as well as good with our toddler, he would bump into her trying to play but never was upset regardless what she did to him....sat on his back and rode him around.

He brought in a preemie calf one day, calf was hairless and stillborn, but he brought it to us as he knew something was wrong...

Sold him with the goats, still miss him.

[Surculus]

Post relocation Barbie and her GF want 3 of these dogs to watch over calves.
I know nothing about this breed other than they can take down a Rottweiler like a cat would take down a bird.
The neighbor down the way has one and were going to meet him.
I like em. Their fuzzy and fluffy.

They are the other end of the spectrum of "sheep dogs." In this case, they were bred to be great big sheep with teeth by the French/Spanish/Basque sheep herders living in... [wait for it!] Pyrenees.

Herding the sheep wasn't the job, protecting them was, ergo, the "sheep with teeth" camouflage profile: great big dog lies down in the middle of the herd, & lets the wolf come to him...

Love'em, but I don't live someplace cold enough for one. Better have stock in a lint-brush company if you have them, because you'll be using one a LOT. Still, I could put up w/ the constant shedding if I didn't feel that keeping one in So.Cal. was just plain cruelty to animals... Great, devoted family protectors, I've never encountered one that wasn't good w/ kids [much like St. Bernards in that regard, Cujo notwithstanding... ]

[Phoenix]

I have one. Great dog. One word of warning. If they think something is a threat. They will kill, not maim, not hurt, Kill whatever it is that it finds as a threat. They are meant to live with the herd, They are best either or not both. If they live with the herd they live with them regardless of weather. They eat with the herd and they will kill anything it thinks is a threat to the herd. Mine has killed more than one mountain lion. They can make good family dogs but it is not a good idea for them to hold both rolls. Also if they are the family protector be very pro-active about warning guests not to alarm the dog, or do as allot of people do and separate them while guests are around.

I love these dogs but outside what they were bred for can be a problem if the dog perceives someone as a threat. Housesitters are a bad idea. Dogsitters are OK because they are in strange territory. Someone the dog does not consider 'part of the flock' entering your home without you in front could be hazardous to the strangers health.

Dont get me wrong mine is as friendly as it gets to strangers. But god forbid they raise a hand at me. As big as they are they can be a concern around visitors and friends of your kids. Just a word of warning, I would never get one of these for in the house as an adult. Puppies only. they need to bond with your entire family and everyone you want them to not consider a threat. Getting a previously 'rescued' protector could be a very bad idea.

Hope I didnt scare anyone off the breed. It is a great dog but not the best for all situations.

[redneckdan]

I have one. Great dog. One word of warning. If they think something is a threat. They will kill, not maim, not hurt, Kill whatever it is that it finds as a threat. They are meant to live with the herd, They are best either or not both. If they live with the herd they live with them regardless of weather. They eat with the herd and they will kill anything it thinks is a threat to the herd. Mine has killed more than one mountain lion. They can make good family dogs but it is not a good idea for them to hold both rolls. Also if they are the family protector be very pro-active about warning guests not to alarm the dog, or do as allot of people do and separate them while guests are around.

I love these dogs but outside what they were bred for can be a problem if the dog perceives someone as a threat. Housesitters are a bad idea. Dogsitters are OK because they are in strange territory. Someone the dog does not consider 'part of the flock' entering your home without you in front could be hazardous to the strangers health.

Dont get me wrong mine is as friendly as it gets to strangers. But god forbid they raise a hand at me. As big as they are they can be a concern around visitors and friends of your kids. Just a word of warning, I would never get one of these for in the house as an adult. Puppies only. they need to bond with your entire family and everyone you want them to not consider a threat. Getting a previously 'rescued' protector could be a very bad idea.

Hope I didnt scare anyone off the breed. It is a great dog but not the best for all situations.

I agree with ^ 100%. We got Sven from a breeder who is in it for the right reasons and breeds to the euro standard as show dogs with a keen eye toward temperament. Sven is one of her 'family grade' pups, ie one that doesnt quite cut the mustard for future showing but is a great dog none the less. There is a breeder down toward the cities that is more of a puppy mill and has a history of aggression problems.

In my non professional opinion the biggest contributor to having a family pyr is socializing. As soon as you bring the puppy home go start having neighbors and friends visit your house to socialize with the pyr. When We go to town on the weekends Jen goes in the store to go the groceries and I sit on the tail gate with Sven. He gets lots of attention.

[uscra112]

I'd be leery of one in any situation where their defensive instincts could become a legal liability. Never owned one, but friends who live in Idaho with sheepherders nearby say "never ever approach one if it's guarding a flock".

[gandydancer]

they are great dogs.drool a lot. not really a house pet. my friend here in wytheville had two he raised from pups. to guard his miniature pony's. and they worked out real well until he got some miniature donkeys. one day he came home to find two of the donkeys torn to shreds the heads almost removed from their body's. the male dog was covered in blood. at a loss as to what happened or what to do he put the dog in a pen to keep a eye on it. a few days later while putting the dogs food in the pen a donkey got by mike into the pen and went for the dogs food. the dog had him in a heart beat and snapped his neck like a twig. mike put the dog down that day. all the time with the pony"s the dogs never ate all of their food. with the donkeys around there never was any left. mike says he thinks the dogs went days with no food because of the donkeys eating it. and the male dog had had enough. very sad indeed.

[LUBEDUDE]

Many years ago we got a Pyre female puppy for our girls as a pet. She was great with the kids. We had an Alaskan Malamute male as well, about 3 years old. When the Pyre got to be about 7-8 months old, she decided that she had to be the Alpha dog. She did not fight the Malamute, but she just beat him down so much, she took the life out of him. So we found a new home for the Pyre on a ranch gaurding cows.

[dantoweed64]

My daughter had 2 of them. They don't live long...7-8 years

[leeggen]

I have 2 one house dog pyr.and one working guard dog pyr. for goats. have sold several to homes and farms. If you want a house pyr. get it at 12 wks old. If you want a farm animal working dog purchase one that is raised with the animals and wait til 6 month old to get it. The mother will teach it protection from 3 months to six months old. It is also a natural instinct to protect they just need to learn HOW to protect. I never let a guardian leave the mom until 6 month old. all have worked out to be wonderful dogs,they will love kids and hate adult strangers. I don't allow my friends in the area of my goat guardian dog Just the way I do it. Oh by the way my field dog is 13 yrs old and he still backs cyotes, and strangers down
The house pyr. is 12yr old.
CD

[shdwlkr]

decades ago a friend at the time had 3 pyrs they worked well together. Watched one day when I was visiting when some coyotes thought the sheep would be easy pickens. Those dogs beat feet to the sheep and the one dog went in among the sheep and the other two went after the first coyotes in the field. The funny part was the one that went in the sheep a coyote made the mistake of going after one of the sheep next to the dog never made another step the dog broke his neck in one snap of the head. They got around 5 coyotes that day and came back to us only wanting a pat on the head from both of us and I was the stranger sort of. I was allowed to pick up the pups and do anything with them as long as I stayed in the barn go to far towards the door and all three went into a guard role and it was kind of scary even with the owner just a few feet away. Never got bit but I wouldn't have wanted three of them on me in an upset mode either.
I would never have one if I didn't have a large place for them to run and patrol. Yes they like to check the perimeter out to make sure no undesirables are inside the fence line. People, animals, predators you name it if it is not a usual an accepted item it goes. They back down to nothing. This friend I was talking about had draft horses and even the stallion didn't challenge these dogs. He was big enough that his back was at my head line I stand now a little over 6 feet tall. I loved working with the stallion as he was so well behaved and would do things for me the owner couldn't get him to do. Never did figure that one out.
Pyr's and other big dogs need space to run and things to protect.
I had german shepards when my first kids were small and they did and excellent job of protecting the kids. Never seen any like them in the over 40 years since I had them. They were very different from the ones you see now. More like the ones you see sometimes from Germany.
I have had sheep dogs also only problem is they don't live long and you need to have two so they keep each other company. Never once ever left the property. Took them around the 33 acres I had at the time and they never once crossed the line any place on the property. Only issue I had was one jerk thought he could shoot my dogs on my land. He was lucky a cop really a state trooper stopped by. I had my sights on him and if he shot at one of my dogs I had a surprise for him. The trooper informed him that they were my dogs on my land and that he had better not be caught shooting from the road at animals that had every right to be there. The guy got lippy with the trooper and that ended the issue. The trooper by the way was a friend on the way to my house to ask me some questions about events in the area that were not good. We had a good laugh about the stupid fool but you know it happened three times more before the dogs died. Never did figure out why some folks think it ok to shoot whatever they want where ever they want.

Over the years I have had many different breeds of dogs and loved them all and right now have a miniature Austrialian Shepard. She is getting older like most of us and is uneasy when strangers come around but once she knows you are safe will come around for a pet and some good scratching. She sleeps on the bed next to me at night and if she doesn't wake me up to strange sounds my male cat gets the job and he has never failed in the task. Ha Ha Nope no claws just a very loud purr in the ear does it every time.

Pets the more they are around you the more like family that they become and you know something they tend to be more loyal then many people.

[redneckdan]

a few days later while putting the dogs food in the pen a donkey got by mike into the pen and went for the dogs food. the dog had him in a heart beat and snapped his neck like a twig. mike put the dog down that day. all the time with the pony"s the dogs never ate all of their food. with the donkeys around there never was any left. mike says he thinks the dogs went days with no food because of the donkeys eating it. and the male dog had had enough. very sad indeed.

Pyrs can have food/toy aggression issues. The first few weeks with Sven I fed him from my hand to help him understand it is MY food but he gets some when I say. I made a habit of reaching in his bowl and stirring things up, occasionally adding treats when I do this so had understands this is a good thing. I have never had food aggression issues with him. Treats however, are another issue. Sometimes he gets stupid with things he is not suppose to have like plastic bottles or trash.

This soup bone for instance. These are like crack to a pyr. Literally ten minutes before this picture I took it away, inspected it and gave it back. No issues at all. I took this picture just before I tried to take if away so we could go into town. He went into full idiot mode and things got rowdy. He is getting better about this. It takes time and training.



The absolute harshest thing you can do to a pyr is ignore it. Used too much this can be damaging to their disposition.

[shdwlkr]

ignore my miniature Australian Shepard and you have the same issues.
She is smart and knows how to get what she wants and if not how to make you pay attention to her.
No dog or person for that matters likes to be ignored for too long!!!

[Just Duke]

We finally met one that was living up the way. He was fluffy and huggable.

[Just Duke]

Thanks for the info guys.
Dan are those Barred Plymouth Rocks? They make for some good fly tying of mosquito's on #22's Mustads. If I could still see them though.