we are talking about getting a great pyrenees and would like to talk to someone who owns one.
thanks

bremerton6

 

I used to buy bread that had that name.

 

was it big white and hairy?
if so we need to talk you have REAL issues!

bremerton6

 

Aren't those the mountains where Lance Armstrong rides his bicycle?

 

A friend of mine had one a while back. As I remember, it was a good dog but the thing just wouldn't quit barking. He had it 'de-barked' by the vet...I guess they cut the vocal chords or something. I used to laugh when ever I saw it because it looked like it was barking, but all that came out of it's mouth was this little wheeze. Anyway, it finally died of some disease that the breed gets...bad bones, or liver, or something. I'd read-up on them before I bought one.

MR

 

I grew up with one--we named him Odin after the Norse god of war. He was a great dog. You have to build your life around them a little because of their size. We always had a pickup with a cap that we would cart him around in. He slept indoors, so we had a lot of vacuuming and brushing. We thought he drooled a lot, but after he died we got a Newfoundland and realized the Pyr wasn't so bad. He died at about 11 years old in his sleep. He never got hip displacia. Actually, many breeders have guarantees against them getting hip displacia, as ours did. Find a reputable breeder and spend good money. The breeder interviewed us to see if we were good enough for his pup.

I'll warn against letting him spend too much time with one family member. My father had his own business, and took the dog to work with him everyday. Those two were together all the time. They may have become too attached and the rest of the family became secondary pack members. At deer season one year, I was standing next to my Pa and the dog must have thought I was going to hurt him, because he bared his teeth and growled. Dad kicked him in the mouth and took a notch out of his tongue. After that, he stopped taking him to work with him, to try and diffuse the bond a bit, and we never had another problem.

What questions do you have?

 

Never owned one but my mom had several. I do know that they are a herding breed and do your research before you buy one. You need to socialize them w/plenty of people not just one or they get to attached and wont be easy to live with. If you have children they may try to "herd" them to say and nip at there heels. They are a working dog and therefore have a very strong desire to do there job. In all honesty i wouldnt get one unless you have lots of room for it to run. They can be territorial of other animals to. Go to the web site www.dogbreedinfo.com to read up more.

 

we arebuying 4 + acres that backs up to 300 acres of forest land that is protected. we were thinking of one due to buying a calf or two and some chickens. the main thing we wanted to know is do they bark ALL NIGHT LONG?
we don't want to **** our neighbor off.
he has a very cool rottwieler ( SP) and a chow mix so we have to get a puppy just because we want them to establish thier dominace first otherwise we'd get a rescue.
mainly worried aout barking all night.

bremerton6

 

yes they bark all night long, our closest neighbor is about 3/4 mile away as the crow flies and he is working on the second one. we can hear it when the wind is right and it does bark all the time (gets our cattle dogs going) Also they are wanderers if you dont keep them penned and will harass stock if they're not trained. I wouldn't have one up my a$$ if I had room for a sawmill

 

glad to know that we had a suspition about that.
not sure what other kind of dog to get out there to watch out for the stock.
we can't have anything mean just because we have people/family who just drop by.
we were thinking of a cattle dog but not sure about the guarding abilities.
we are worried about night time, and the racoons around the chickens.

bremerton6

 

My neighbor has 5 or 6. They dont bark all night. Has several hundred goats.
I have a Red Healer (cattle dog), Blue Merle Aussie Shepard, Ridgeback, beagle mix, cocker, lab. They dont bark all night either. Healer and Aussie work cattle on occassion, when needed.

I would suggest asking the farmers and ranchers around your area. Helping someone get a dog over the interent is like telling a girl her hair looks bad from the way she types.
Have to think......animals, predators, terrain, weather, kids.......

 

we raise great pyrenees. we run them with sheep, goats, cattle, and chickens. they are great dogs. ours only bark when they smell something. they are great at keeping the coyotes away. if they are not fenced in they will circle the entire place to guard it. if they are fenced they will walk the outside fence. i suggest keeping them fenced. if not they will roam a very large area. mostly they sleep during the day and roam all night. many of them are shy around people. i greatly suggest buying a puppy and raising it with the type of animals you want them to stay with. they grow up practically thinking the are a goat or chicken or what ever. before the dogs we were loosing one to twenty chickens a week to coyotes. since we got the dogs, the only chickens we have lost were chickens that ventured outside the fence and out of the dog's protection. sorry it took me so long to reply but i have been out of town for a while. if there is anything i have not answered just ask. good luck you will love the dogs!!!


P.S. i have NEVER seen a Great P that was violent toward a person. most are shy around people. but i feel they would if they truley felt the person was endangering their stock. just make sure you raise them with the animals. we have not had one yet that we had trouble with if we raised them from a pup with the animals. occasionally you will get a puppy that tries to play to rough with the chickens or baby goats but they will grow out of that and that is when you need to be there to repremand them. they are very smart and will learn that they are not to do that really quickly.

 

There isnt a thing GOTDIESEL just said that I wouldnt agree with just by watching my neighbors dogs.

 

thanks i appretiate that. i know of no other dog that is as good at protecting stock.

just remember that anytime a great p is barking it is working and that is what you want it to do. if it has to bark all night to keep the coyotes at bay than that is what it will do. its one goal is to protect the stock. it doesnt really worry about whether you are asleep or not.

 

sounds like a dog we may like to have. ssssooooo how MUCh grooming do they need?
do you shave them in the summer?
i have read that they can be aggressive to people they don't know too well.
have you seen that in your dogs?
we will have chickens and a calf but we have a lot of woods and we know there is bear at the least.

bremerton6