There are multiple factors that come into play when deciding if Great Pyrenees Puppies are for you and your farm. Personally, we love them dearly and cannot imagine another breed of dog to help us run our farm, but I’ve lined out below what I believe to be some of the top reasons to get or maybe not get one.
Where did your Great Pyrenees come from?
First and foremost, if you’re looking for an LGD (livestock guardian dog), then you need to know where your Great Pyrenees Puppy is coming from. Do the parents work? What animals are they good with? What are their temperaments? It’s important that you’re getting a working dog to work. This doesn’t mean they can’t be loved and be a part of your family to a certain extent, but the livestock should be their first choice. Perk! They are really great with kids!!
They Bark A LOT
They BARK. They bark A LOT. They howl, they bark big and they will bark alllllll night long at times. But that big bark wards off predators both near and far. And if you have more than one, they both bark together until one stops and then the other will. It comes with the territory and it can be obnoxious to neighbors if you have smaller acreage.
Containing them can be a challenge.
They don’t like to be contained, but sometimes it’s necessary. Ours are contained with our livestock, except for Hank, our sire. He runs the entire farm. Has he ran off? YES. Is it annoying AF? YES. But from the moment we brought home our goats, he stopped running away. He had something worth staying for and job. With multiple paddocks, animals and chickens our Great Pyrenees is too busy to leave the farm now.
Warning though, they may very well dig out if they weren’t in a fence and then brought into one. Our girls Dolly and Gracie have never dug out, but they prefer their goats and sheep, but they’ve been within a paddock fence since they came to the farm. We run electric part of the year and they respect it.
They need a leader
They are incredibly sweet, but you must let them know who the pack leader is….it’s you! They can be stubborn, but you must be willing to assert yourself from the get go that you’re the ring leader and expect to be obeyed. It might take a few commands, but they will give in if you’ve trained them correctly.
Recall is an entirely different subject…instinct usually wins here. If they believe that something is a threat to their pack, they don’t care how many times you call them back. They’re going to do what their instincts tell them to do. And that is a positive in our book, but something to consider!
Two is better than one
They work better together. One is great and we only had one for many years, but two is better. They can work together to ward off predators and better protect their livestock. Our dogs aren’t all in the same spot, but they can hear each other. If the girls bark, Hank will bark as well and go check their perimeter and run anything off that’s close.
Weather Conditions
Lastly, they were bred for cold and snow. While you should always provide dry and warm shelter, you’ll often find them in the middle of the snow and rain with no issue. Or even napping on the snow! In the summers, they will sit in the the water trough or cool down in the creek if they’re running loose that day. I don’t love that they get in the water, but I can’t be mad at them. Often, you will see people shave them, but leaving their coat actually protects them and their skin from the sun and predators. Can you imagine trying to bite through all that neck fluff!?
