We are looking to adopt a less than 1 year old in about 10 months (first baby (girl) due in June). I want them to grow up together. We are definitely looking at adopting a rescue.

Any advice? I am not new to big/shedding dogs (have had two Akita's) as well as a husky/German shepherd. We need a puppy bc the husky mix doesn't get along well with adult dominant breeds, and the Akita is pretty laid back but would still feel more comfortable bringing in a puppy. I feel after what we went through with the husky mix (digging/climbing/jumping), we are prepared for anything.

I have two Great Pyr mixes (and we also have a baby due in June).

Pyrs are great dogs, but they're not for everybody.

Based on your post I'm assuming you're in town and this is going to be a pet Pyr instead of a LGD.

You have to have a well fenced yard (6' fence). If you don't, they will jump it and go on a walk about. Pyrs like to roam, so a secure yard is necessary, especially for pets that don't have sheep/goats/livestock to guard. You're also going to need to exercise them with daily walks, etc.

Speaking of neighbors and yards, Pyrs kept as pets almost have to be kept inside at night. Night time is when they bark to scare off predators and alert others to danger. If they're left alone in your backyard in the dark, they will bark at everything. Trains, cars, falling leaves, their own farts...everything. They also have a booming, loud bark...so your neighbors will hate you. I keep mine inside and they only occasionally bark at night. But if you can't take any barking whatsoever...don't get a Pyr. They're going to bark, it's just in their nature as guardians.

They are stubborn. You mentioned a husky so you're somewhat familiar with stubborn dogs. Pyrs are more stubborn than Huskies, IMO. They were bred to be smart, independent animals. If you want a dog that's easy to train, don't get a Pyr.

They're also huge. My two are mixes. One is 65 lbs and the other is 85 lbs. Most pure bred Pyrs top 100 lbs easy. Speaking of size, their double coats shed a ton and require a lot of maintenance. You have to brush them out at least weekly and daily is better or their coats get matted. Thanks to their long hair, they also tend to drag leaves, sticks, grass, and anything else they can find from the yard into the house. They also tend to be "jowly" in the face and so a lot of them drool some. If you're a neat freak, a Pyr is not for you.

Now, that being said: My two (and most Pyrs I've ever been around) are incredibly great dogs to have around kids. They're patient, gentle, and kids love them because they're like giant fluffy ponies. They will "adopt" your kids as their charge, and love watching/protecting kids. While protective, they're also friendly to new people and not overly aggressive...though they do pick up on cues and I have zero doubt my two would go after anyone trying to hurt my wife or a kid.

They're also pretty calm once they get settled. Mine spend most of the day napping on the couch (they're a lot more active in the morning and in the evening).

So if you can handle a big dog that sheds and needs to be kept inside at night and has some exercise needs, I think the right Pyr is one of the greatest dogs to have around kids because they are so gentle, protective and make great companions.

Check out an organization called Bluebonnet Animal Rescue Network. They specialize in big dogs like Pyrs, Anatolians, etc and can help guide you towards the right dog for your family from their big collection of dogs who need homes.

http://www.bluebonnetanimalrescue.org/

My two Pyrs doing what they do during the day...napping:



If you think of any other questions, let me know.

Bender is right on.

We have two GP (male and female) that have grown up together for the last year. Take the barking advice to heart.

We use ours as livestock dogs, but we imprinted on them for a long time to avoid issues as we have five kids.

They make great dogs for your family, and they can be trained, but you have to be extremely patient.

Enjoy them!

And just to share a story about what a great breed they can be:

Odin the Great Pyr

Quote:

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Roland Hendel said he thought he'd never see Odin, a Great Pyrenees, ever again. He packed the car and escaped with his family as the ferocious wildfires were advancing on his home near Calistoga early last week.
"Despite the sounds of exploding propane tanks, twisting metal, and the hot swirling winds, Odin refused to leave our family of eight bottle-fed rescue goats," Hendel said. "Hours later when we had found relative safety we cried for Odin and our goats. I was sure I had sentenced them to a horrific and agonizing death."

Days later, he returned to his property, which had been decimated by the fire, fearing the worst.
"We found a burned, battered, and weakened Odin, surrounded by his eight goats, and several small deer who had come to him for protection and safety," Hendel said.

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Refused to leave the goats, kept them save through a wildfire, and adopted some deer along the way. That's the type of dog Great Pyrs are.

Bender nailed it.

Great dogs, but they got their own quirks.

Our yard used to look like a WW1 battlefield till I built ours a sandbox. We still got a couple foxholes around the yard, but it's helped a lot to give him a place to dig.

The only things he hates are buzzards and fire trucks. Both will provoke an un-Godly amount of noise.

A.G.S. said:

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Great dogs, but they got their own quirks.

Our yard used to look like a WW1 battlefield till I built ours a sandbox. We still got a couple foxholes around the yard, but it's helped a lot to give him a place to dig.

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I forgot about that one.

I used to have two nice raised garden beds in my backyard.

My pyrs dug up the garden beds, ripped the wood sides out to play with, flipped over the potted plants and dragged the pots around the yard, dug up the weed mat underneath the gardens....

On a plus side, it hasn't been this weed free since I put the garden in over 5 years ago.

You currently have a husky mix and an akita, and want to add a young GP before your baby is born?

Neighbors had back to back Pyrenees, we all lived rural. As mentioned----LARGE, stubborn, and love to hear their own barking. And drool....big strands of slobber. Other than that, nice dogs.

reddog90 said:

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You currently have a husky mix and an akita, and want to add a young GP before your baby is born?

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He said after baby is born in the op.

In-laws had a GP, and all the above information is accurate. They must have space, they "protect" their territory(it's inherent in their DNA), they will jump the fence if possible, they must repeat must get good exercise, and they are "Giant Dogs" with "Giant Dogs" habits and quirks. They are wonderful family dogs(again inherent in their DNA). Just one final caveat, with a new baby on the way, and already two dogs in the home, you might want to hold off on a GP. In all fairness to the newborn and the dog. Just my humble opinion.

Bender nailed it and the Pyr is my all time favorite dog. I've been lucky enough to have three. They're amazing dogs. Like he said though, they do have their quirks that some people can't deal with.

My neighbor has one. We dog sit for it all the time. One of the best dogs I have ever encountered. Loves our dogs. I'll be on the couch and he (Snuggles) will come up and look longingly at me, please pet me. Then he takes is paw, the size of small car, say a C-class benz, and lays it on my arm and slowly drags it down while keeping eye contact as to say, "this is your fault, human, for not proactively petting me". He is constantly bolting from his owner's yard, which is bad because we have coyote den and a mountain lion in the area. They have wanderlust. They call him a Great Disappearennes. Wonderful dogs though.

MisterScott said:

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He is constantly bolting from his owner's yard, which is bad because we have coyote den and a mountain lion in the area. .

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I'd put a Pyr up against a coyote or three any day of the week. Those yotes wouldn't stand a chance. Not so sure about a mountain lion.

My ex and my kids have a big beautiful Pyr that I picked out when we were still married and he was just a pup. Just a big ole goofy loveable dog that loves everyone and everything but is terrified of cats. I guarantee no one would harm one of my kids with him around though. And even with a 6 foot privacy fence they can't keep him in. He frequently breaks the boards, wanders around the neighborhood all day and then is laying in the front yard waiting for them when they get home from school. Everyone in the neighborhood pretty much knows him and all the kids love him.

Anatolian cross?

jfbdvm said:

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Anatolian cross?

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You didn't ask me, but some Pyrs have those markings. Mine came from two solid white purebred Pyrs and he has a "mask" just like that.

Anatolians are another great breed though. Very similar to Pyrs in a lot of ways except with a coat more like a lab. We have one of those too.

Hoss said:

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Anatolians are another great breed though.

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I agree, but the funniest thing to me about Anatolians is that when someone doesn't know what the breed of the dog is or what breed got mixed with Pyr, they always call it an Anatolian or Anatolian mix.

They're the mountain lion of the big dog world.

20ish years ago, my uncle got talked into buying a flock of sheep. He farmed his whole life, ran cattle, and farrowed hogs but this was his first grass maggot experience. This flock of prairie maggots came with a great pyrenees. The dog was bonded strongly to the sheep. It never wanted attention when he was out tending the flock, or trying to figure out why he was having so many lambs die.

My uncle is a big duck hunter who spends A LOT of money on his labradors. It wasn't a week after he got his new lab back from the trainer (several thousand dollars on buying the dog, several thousand dollars in training) when he and the lab went out to check the sheep. He wasn't paying attention to what the lab was doing until he hears a dog yelping like it is being eaten alive. Over at the dead pile the pyrenees has the lab by the neck and is swinging him around and around. That dog was so serious about guarding those sheep that he wouldn't even let that lab around the dead pile.

BenderRodriguez said:

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Hoss said:

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Anatolians are another great breed though.

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I agree, but the funniest thing to me about Anatolians is that when someone doesn't know what the breed of the dog is or what breed got mixed with Pyr, they always call it an Anatolian or Anatolian mix.

They're the mountain lion of the big dog world.

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^This.

We are almost positive he isn't purebred, because he's a lot skinnier than most full pyr's (ONLY about 85 lbs). He was a gift from some friends of ours. They have one male and 2 breeding females that roam their ranch watching over their goats. His dad has the "badger" mask.

The vet mentioned an anatolian cross as a possibility, but we never really cared enough to dig into it deeper.

Only health issue we've had is his teeth. I heard its an issue with pyr's sometimes, but we think his was exacerbated because he wasn't weaned until super late, and he ended up with even more of an overbite than most pyr's. It doesn't affect his day to day, but his lower teeth between the canines are receding into his gums.

My sister was mauled by my parents' pet pyr when she was a little girl. We currently use anatolian crosses for guard dogs at our ranch but have had pyr and kangals as well. They are big, bark a lot, and have a lot of hair. imho there are better options for a family pet for your baby girl to grow up with.

reddog90 said:

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My sister was mauled by my parents' pet pyr when she was a little girl. We currently use anatolian crosses for guard dogs at our ranch but have had pyr and kangals as well. They are big, bark a lot, and have a lot of hair. imho there are better options for a family pet for your baby girl to grow up with.

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Was she ok?

If you're open to another breed, we have a Bernese Mountain Dog. He's great with kids and other dogs.

It was a big incident back then but she's fine.

We have a Great Pyr as well.

We adopted her at 2 and I must admit I was against it initially. I did not know anything about the breed but my wife insisted.

I love that dog. She is stubborn for sure but she knows I'm the alpha at our house. We keep her out side in our 3/4 acre yard. She use to bark alot at night but I have broke her from that for the most part. She is absolutely terrific with kids. My two young girls love her.

One time we had her in the house, I am watching tv and she was laying behind the couch I was sitting on. All of a sudden I hear this weird moaning sound coming from her. I looked over and saw my 3 years old was just crawling all over the dog. All she did was just moan about it and never moved. I had a good laugh.

Great dogs!

EskimoJoe said:

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This flock of prairie maggots came with a great pyrenees. The dog was bonded strongly to the sheep. It never wanted attention when he was out tending the flock

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Yep, lots of Pyrs are like that...no interest in human companionship or attention, just leave them alone to watch their goats/sheep. I've heard of guys having trouble even getting them rounded up to take them to the vet once a year, because they do not want to leave their flock, ever.

That's part of why I recommended the rescue I did: They have goats/chickens and pastures and test the dogs that come their way. Some LGDs have no interest in humans, and some have no real interest in watching the goats. They evaluate the dogs and try to make sure they're matching up dogs who want to guard livestock with ranchers who need that, while placing dogs who are more interested in humans with people looking for pets.

If OP is getting a puppy that will be less of a concern, just make sure you socialize it to people and kids like you would any other dog, but for rescue Pyrs some of them have no interest in ever being a pet and you need to be more careful you're getting the right type of Pyr for you.

I know very little about the dogs other than the annual warning they give to folks here when the sheep get released in the foothills above Boise. basically, they will see another dog as a threat to the sheep. If mountain biking get off your bike and walk. Pretty cool:

Quote:

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the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission puts the word out about when the sheep are entering the foothills, and how to coexist and interact with the sheep and the guard dogs.

"Unfortunately, when recreationists have their pet with them, the guard dogs consider that a predator. We don't want to see any negative thing happen to somebody's pet," said Gretchen Hyde, executive director of the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission.

Jim Guiffre, a Boise resident and mountain biker, saw a news report about the importance of getting off the bike when encountering sheep. He was on a bike ride in the Corrals Trail area when he and his son, Jess, ran into a band of sheep.

"We dropped down the draw and sure enough, there were hundreds of sheep out there," Guiffre saids. "And I say, 'I'm getting off my bike.' And then two giant Great Pyrenees guard dogs come running down at us and come within 10 feet of us, and then they stopped, looked at us and went away. And Jess and I looked at each other and went, 'It worked!'"

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https://www.idahopress.com/members/a-year-in-the-life-of-a-sheep-rancher/article_64887832-f700-11e2-a42d-001a4bcf887a.html

I knew some people who had a Great Pyrenees when I was a kid. They lived in the only house on a 10k acre ranch. Big rough country. So quiet at night that you could hear everything for miles. No blacktop roads, no traffic.

This dogs name was Buck. He was probably 140 pounds or so. He would put his front paws on my shoulders and look me right in the eye. Very gentle with people, slept on the front porch most of the day. His buddy was a blue heeler. An onery little dog.

The rancher said at night he could hear him whipping coyotes' ass in all directions. I've always imagined that blue heeler was out there starting fights and letting Buck finish them. Buck was a coyote killing SOB by night and a dog who wanted his ears scratched by day.

I'd get a dog just like him if I had a big piece of land.

We have owned Pyrs for over 16 years. And what everyone has said is spot on. We thought we had the only Pyr that chased buzzards. One thing that has worked for us is that if the Pyr is digging in a area where you don't want them digging is to put some of their droppings there. Our Pyrs have always done their business in an area not close to the house. Know that doesn't help if you are talking backyard spaces. We have almost 5 acres which we have wired with PetSafe. Does the job. Our Pyr hangs out with a donkey, two cats and about 50 chickens. She will find a an egg every once in a while and will bury it until about two or three weeks go by and she digs it up for a snack.

Our family adopted a 5 month old Pyr puppy from the "Pyr Paws and Fluffy Tails Rescue" in Kiowa, OK. Our newborn baby was 5 months old at the time as well. This is an AMAZING rescue and they mainly rescue Pyrs or any big long haired dog (like their name suggests) such as golden/pyr mixes and Newfoundland/pyr mixes. They usually have an range of ages available, including puppies. Our son, pyr, and other dog get a long great. Our pyr lets our son crawl all over him. He has been a wonderful dog. You can find Pyr Paws and Fluffy Tails on facebook--they are very active in posting new intakes and do a great job of keeping up with prior adoptions. They also communicate quickly. Here is their website as well: https://www.pyrpawsandfluffytailsrescue.com/

This reminded me about a previous thread.

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/2855918/1

My last dog, Whiskey, was half Great Pyrenees. He was a great dog, but also the dumbest dog I ever saw. Every dog we've had on the farm learned to stay away from porcupines after, at most, five encounters. Whiskey probably had close to 20 encounters.

One time I told the vet that he hadn't seen Whiskey in a while because Whiskey had denuded every porcupine for miles around. The vet got a laugh out of that.



A couple of months ago, I talked to the local guy who gave Whiskey to me. I mentioned that about the porcupines and he said that the mother and the one brother of Whiskey that he kept were both exactly the same.

Whiskey didn't mind skunks either. He always smelled like a skunk.

Our previous half great pyrenees mix, Baxter, learned to avoid skunks after five painful encounters. Baxter's big thing was finding a dead calf and dragging the carcass to the yard. Whiskey never dragged a carcass home, but he sure liked to crawl into the rib cage and get covered with goo that you didn't want to touch.

Before Baxter, we had two purebred great pyrenees. Unfortunately, they liked to chase and play with cattle -- we ended up buying a couple of steers that they had mangled before they were both shot by an irate neighbor.

My next dog is more likely to be a small indoor dog. Unless it drives me crazy with its yipping.

BenderRodriguez said:

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I have two Great Pyr mixes (and we also have a baby due in June).

Pyrs are great dogs, but they're not for everybody.

[...]

If you think of any other questions, let me know.

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Sorry for the necrobump but Bender (love that screen name!) seems to really have a handle on Pyrs and I'm hoping he's still around and can offer me some insight:

Originally posted to a dead Pyr forum yesterday: I have two sweet mutts, a happy-go-lucky 40lb neutered middle-aged female (Bella), and a sort of meek 50lb neutered senior male (Milo), and after trying to feed and support a stray (likely abandoned) adult female Pyrenees (Fish) on my road for the past four months, I decided to take her into the family last week. She's been nothing but sweet and gentle with me and the other pets running this country road (cats, kittens, chickens, occasional neighbor dogs), and she's very gentle, mostly, but a couple of incidents have been a bit alarming.

First event, Milo, my male, tried to stick his nose in her dish while she was eating a few days ago and she jumped him. My bad entirely, I knew better but absent-mindedly left the room while the three dogs were eating. No real harm done, nobody got hurt, and they broke it up when I shouted at them in a panic. I feed them separately now.

Today (yesterday now), she started occasionally locking her eyes on Milo and kinda staring him down when he got close to her, and that's what she did tonight when I returned to the sofa with a bowl of taquitos to snack on. Milo started creeping in for a sniff and before I knew what was happening, the Pyr (currently in heat, if that's relevant) had jumped up and locked her jaws on the top of Milo's neck. It looked more like a correction than an attack, maybe a herding thing? I freaked and shouted again and she broke off, and again no injury, just me getting nervous now about having this big girl around my other dogs. The Pyr is also showing a lot more sort of intense interest in Milo tonight when I'm handing out treats in the kitchen, but things have been going really well until tonight (again, last night and things have been fine today, so far), except for the food dish incursion a few days ago.

Any thoughts are much appreciated.

These dogs shouldn't be allowed to breed. Didn't y'all know they are the 23rd most dangerous and unpredictable breed. They should all be exterminated.

CMayo said:

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BenderRodriguez said:

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I have two Great Pyr mixes (and we also have a baby due in June).

Pyrs are great dogs, but they're not for everybody.

[...]

If you think of any other questions, let me know.

---

Sorry for the necrobump but Bender (love that screen name!) seems to really have a handle on Pyrs and I'm hoping he's still around and can offer me some insight:

Originally posted to a dead Pyr forum yesterday: I have two sweet mutts, a happy-go-lucky 40lb neutered middle-aged female (Bella), and a sort of meek 50lb neutered senior male (Milo), and after trying to feed and support a stray (likely abandoned) adult female Pyrenees (Fish) on my road for the past four months, I decided to take her into the family last week. She's been nothing but sweet and gentle with me and the other pets running this country road (cats, kittens, chickens, occasional neighbor dogs), and she's very gentle, mostly, but a couple of incidents have been a bit alarming.

First event, Milo, my male, tried to stick his nose in her dish while she was eating a few days ago and she jumped him. My bad entirely, I knew better but absent-mindedly left the room while the three dogs were eating. No real harm done, nobody got hurt, and they broke it up when I shouted at them in a panic. I feed them separately now.

Today (yesterday now), she started occasionally locking her eyes on Milo and kinda staring him down when he got close to her, and that's what she did tonight when I returned to the sofa with a bowl of taquitos to snack on. Milo started creeping in for a sniff and before I knew what was happening, the Pyr (currently in heat, if that's relevant) had jumped up and locked her jaws on the top of Milo's neck. It looked more like a correction than an attack, maybe a herding thing? I freaked and shouted again and she broke off, and again no injury, just me getting nervous now about having this big girl around my other dogs. The Pyr is also showing a lot more sort of intense interest in Milo tonight when I'm handing out treats in the kitchen, but things have been going really well until tonight (again, last night and things have been fine today, so far), except for the food dish incursion a few days ago.

Any thoughts are much appreciated.

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This dog has an obvious resource guarding issue and you continue allowing it to perpetuate. Feeding dogs together when she has said issue is not the smartest move.

Seek out a balanced trainer in your area to help her over it. Beating her, choke slamming etc is not going to work. If you don't know how to fix it, find a trainer who does.

Calm down complaint investigator lol. I think you are overacting just a tad. Take deep breaths

Sounds like resource guarding to me. I had the same issue when I adopted my dog last month