Anyone own a Great Pyrenees Dog?

My dog passed away several weeks ago and I've been trying to find that perfect, new family member. I really like all the qualities but google has instilled a couple fears that I wanted to check on and see if they are really that common.

Barking, digging and bloat. These three things are really the only things that are keeping me hesitant.

I'm fine with the grooming and other stubborn issues that come with the breed, but dogs that bark and don't stop drive me nuts.

I also understand that they can dig a bit, but I think I'm going to just associate that with predominantly outdoor dogs because it seems like something they want to do to cool off having such a dense coat.

Finally, bloat. This seems like a common problem and with a short life span, I'd hate to lose another family pet so soon. Can any owners comment on the general health of the breed? Thanks.

Nick

My old neighbor had one. Very polite dog. Would bark once or twice to say hello. Other than that not much of a barker. He lived to 11 yrs old I believe. He did have hip problem last 1 to 2 years. I have Boxers. I feed them 3x a day smaller meals and no running around or excess water for an hour after meal because of bloat.

Thanks Joe, do you remember if his backyard was torn up? I heard the barking can be trained out but they are a rather stubborn dog and need a bit of work to grow out of it. I saw some videos on youtube last night and it seemed like some would just go and go ... My last dog was really stubborn so if I'm prepared for one thing, it's being driven crazy

I have an appointment to check out some puppies tomorrow. I'll definitely have to remember the smaller meals. I think the best thing I like about this breed is that they can be nocturnal, which is great for me because my wife and I both work and I don't need the house torn up.

My uncle had several. I don't recall complaints about digging, but the dog was very polite and relatively quiet. The dog would only bark when someone or something came into the yard. Hips problems happened in every one of his dogs though.

I have a 4 year old working Pyr named Tater. He's a good boy, but you'll have to take my exp with a grain of salt as Tater is a working Livestock Guardian Dog not a house pet. That said, I have never seen Tater dig a hole, he has never had digestive problems (I feed twice a day morning and evening) and while he does bark he does not bark excessively like my Anatolian shepherds often do. Tater sleep during the day, is awake all night. He is an exceptional guard, patrols his fence lines regularly, runs under hawks to keep them from lighting to take a chicken, chooses high ground for his sleep time and comes awake to respond to alert barking by the Anatolian instantly. My only real problems with tater are his coat which is a problem in the underbrush and must be shaved a couple times a year to keep him from getting matted hot spots, he is overly protective of his food (he damaged an Anatolian puppy he was training when she got too close into his food and cost me a pretty penny at the vet) and he can sometimes be over protective of young stock going so far as to protect the babies from anything including it's mother if it continues to bleat in distress (which causes the baby to bleat in distress).

Tater would make a fine pet IF he had a job to do, guarding a home I imagine. Our plan is that in a few more years after Tater has trained a few more Anatolians for us we will move him to active porch cat guarding duty for his retirement.

Thanks Vanessa and Cheryl!

Originally Posted by Cheryl Marchek AKA JM

My only real problems with tater are his coat which is a problem in the underbrush and must be shaved a couple times a year to keep him from getting matted hot spots.

Do you have any issues with sunburning or sensitive skin? It gets pretty humid here and can pass 100F in the summer, and although he won't be much of an outdoor dog in the summer, I thought about heavy grooming/trimming in the spring. I read a lot of mixed reviews on this, the most common was sun sensitivity and burns. I grew up with Chow's and we use to give them annual shavings but there were never any issues with burns although they didn't appear much cooler.

It had some digging issues as a pup but after a couple years he was fine. My Boxers were bad at digging at young age. Toys help alot

^^^ is the majority of the dogs working in our area,many roam quite free and go visiting
at will.They fear nothing and require very little training to be social hero's.
These dogs are not urban friendly,they need room to roam and chores to do
A sedentary life style is most detrimental to this breed,they thrive on free range

If you groom down to the under coat you remove the natural insulation
Thick coated dogs stay cooler with a full coat

Originally Posted by Focal

Thanks Vanessa and Cheryl!



Do you have any issues with sunburning or sensitive skin? It gets pretty humid here and can pass 100F in the summer, and although he won't be much of an outdoor dog in the summer, I thought about heavy grooming/trimming in the spring. I read a lot of mixed reviews on this, the most common was sun sensitivity and burns. I grew up with Chow's and we use to give them annual shavings but there were never any issues with burns although they didn't appear much cooler.

we keep him in the shaded pastures if he has had a recent shave. It doesn't appear to keep him any cooler. The undercoat thing is correct. But since we do not groom tater regularly and he is out of doors 100% of the time often in the underbrush and briars he becomes matted and the easiest way to deal with it is to shave him clean a couple times a year and let him grow a new coat.

Several of my nieghbors also have "Free range dogs".....Thats why I keep so many livestock guarding dogs myself. More than once I've had a neighbor tell me "well my dogs have always roamed on that pasture"......What part of NOT YOUR PROPERTY IS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND? I frown on free range dogs. They are destructive to others property and livestock, they get hit by cars, they disappear (SSS.....Shoot, Shovel and Shutup.....not all free range dogs that disappear were hit by cars) I've spent a LOT of money on fences and on Livestock guardian dogs to protect my livestock from my neighbors "pets".