The Great Pyrenees has wonderful qualities. They are intellegent, trustworthy, affectionate, gentle and, if needed, protective of their family and their territory. They can be strong willed, independent and reserved.
This is a breed that makes a wonderful family member or can be trusted to protect the farm stock from predators. The strength these breed characteristics are exhibited in a particular individual varies. One puppy may show more independence and be better suited to looking after farm stock, while a different member of the litter may prefer to lavish his love and attention on his people. Our puppies are whelped and raised in the house under foot where they become used to the hustle and bustle of a busy family. We introduce them to the barns and livestock when they are between 5 and 6 weeks of age. The majority of our puppies are placed into family situations where they become valued family members.
If you think a Pyr is for you, are you prepared to dedicate yourself to weekly grooming? All that hair needs attention and they do shed in small amounts year round and "blow" their coat annually. When the coat blows, well, there's a reason it's called blowing. The undercoat sheds out and there's massive amounts of hair, fists full of hair, bags upon bags of hair coming off your pyr until you swear if anymore hair falls off his hide, he'll be naked.
Then there's the barking. They've been warning predators of their presence by barking for hundreds of years. It's a stratagy to avoid conflict by warning the predator of their presence with the livestock. It's a "Hey you, wolf, stay away from my sheep or else" message. In modern neighborhoods all those warnings can potentially develop into hot issues with close neighbors. He's doing what he's genetically hardwired to do; he's trying to protect his territory from what he perceives as a potential threat.
Independent, strong willed and reserved: if your looking for a dog that's going to obey your every command, this isn't the breed for you. They're more apt to humiliate you. Bred to think independently and make decisions by themselves, the Pyr owner needs to be quietly (yelling at your pyr will only hurt his feelings and be the cause of many reproachful looks) and consistently firm in their expectations. Pyrs should have basic obedience training to grant you some degree of control so they can go for walks, car rides and have house privilages. As an aside; if your pyr is off leash and you try to recall him, don't be suprised if he looks over his shoulder and then completely ignores you and carries on with his own business. Pyrs absolutely should not be be off leash outside of a securely fenced area. They will "disapyr". The rescues are full of pyrs that escaped their fences and wandered off to guard their resident county.
Affectionate, gentle, patient and laid back: a well bred Pyr is amazingly tolerant of small creatures: children, lambs, small dogs and cats.
Is your yard lovingly landscaped? Your Pyr will lovingly landscape it too. They love to dig and dig and dig. I laughed myself silly when I read one woman's account that described a hole in her yard as "a four person fox hole". That's not far from the truth. We have a couple holes that the dogs can crawl into and completely vanish from sight. It's an annual spring chore at my house to order a truck load of top soil and fill in the holes....
Do they drool? Yes. Ours don't drool excessively unless they're staring at someones plate of yummy food and then the water works really start.
Please diligently research the breed and aquire a full understanding of their charactor and requirements before committing to a new family member.
This is a breed that makes a wonderful family member or can be trusted to protect the farm stock from predators. The strength these breed characteristics are exhibited in a particular individual varies. One puppy may show more independence and be better suited to looking after farm stock, while a different member of the litter may prefer to lavish his love and attention on his people. Our puppies are whelped and raised in the house under foot where they become used to the hustle and bustle of a busy family. We introduce them to the barns and livestock when they are between 5 and 6 weeks of age. The majority of our puppies are placed into family situations where they become valued family members.
If you think a Pyr is for you, are you prepared to dedicate yourself to weekly grooming? All that hair needs attention and they do shed in small amounts year round and "blow" their coat annually. When the coat blows, well, there's a reason it's called blowing. The undercoat sheds out and there's massive amounts of hair, fists full of hair, bags upon bags of hair coming off your pyr until you swear if anymore hair falls off his hide, he'll be naked.
Then there's the barking. They've been warning predators of their presence by barking for hundreds of years. It's a stratagy to avoid conflict by warning the predator of their presence with the livestock. It's a "Hey you, wolf, stay away from my sheep or else" message. In modern neighborhoods all those warnings can potentially develop into hot issues with close neighbors. He's doing what he's genetically hardwired to do; he's trying to protect his territory from what he perceives as a potential threat.
Independent, strong willed and reserved: if your looking for a dog that's going to obey your every command, this isn't the breed for you. They're more apt to humiliate you. Bred to think independently and make decisions by themselves, the Pyr owner needs to be quietly (yelling at your pyr will only hurt his feelings and be the cause of many reproachful looks) and consistently firm in their expectations. Pyrs should have basic obedience training to grant you some degree of control so they can go for walks, car rides and have house privilages. As an aside; if your pyr is off leash and you try to recall him, don't be suprised if he looks over his shoulder and then completely ignores you and carries on with his own business. Pyrs absolutely should not be be off leash outside of a securely fenced area. They will "disapyr". The rescues are full of pyrs that escaped their fences and wandered off to guard their resident county.
Affectionate, gentle, patient and laid back: a well bred Pyr is amazingly tolerant of small creatures: children, lambs, small dogs and cats.
Is your yard lovingly landscaped? Your Pyr will lovingly landscape it too. They love to dig and dig and dig. I laughed myself silly when I read one woman's account that described a hole in her yard as "a four person fox hole". That's not far from the truth. We have a couple holes that the dogs can crawl into and completely vanish from sight. It's an annual spring chore at my house to order a truck load of top soil and fill in the holes....
Do they drool? Yes. Ours don't drool excessively unless they're staring at someones plate of yummy food and then the water works really start.
Please diligently research the breed and aquire a full understanding of their charactor and requirements before committing to a new family member.
