The Great Pyrenees is a strong and muscular breed of dog, which at the same time is loving and loyal to its family. They have been known throughout history to be guard dogs of livestock so they have it in their blood to protect. This not only makes them wonderful watchdogs, but also a dog that will fight for its family.
When the Great Pyrenees are puppies, they are very active. Normally this is the case with all breeds of puppies, but this breed is more active than most. When they are puppies, they tend to wonder off or escape. Make sure to keep these puppies under lock and key or you are going to have puppies wandering off everywhere. It is kind of the same with adults as well. You will need to keep the adult dogs on a leash or in a well fenced in area or they will wander off as well.
The Great Pyrenees are a bit stubborn, so this is something you need to remember. You will have to spend a little bit of extra time during your training sessions. One thing to keep in mind during their puppy years is to make have them around people so they learn to be sociable with people and other pets in the home. If this is not done, they are sure to protest new people or pets coming into the home.
This breed is great with other animals and loves to play with kids. They make wonderful family dogs. Try to raise this breed from a puppy with kids around. This way you are sure there will be no problems with them around your kids or other kids that may be in the house.
This breed is a wonderful family dog to have around and one dog that you can believe your family will love as much as the dog loves them. With their wonderful and caring attitude, they are bound to have everyone fall in love them within a short time of meeting.
Appearance
The Pyrenean Mountain Dog is a very beautiful dog. Do not let their size fool you. Just because they appear to be a big dog, does not mean anything. This dog may resemble a brown bear, but with this dog, they have a lighter color that of the bear. This breed has a black nose. Their eyes are almond shape and are dark brown in color. Their eyes are thoughtful with a smart look. Their ears are a triangle type shape. Their tail is feathered and long. Their tail curls towards the tip of their tail. This breed has only one dewclaw on the front legs but with the back legs, they have double dewclaws. Their body shape is very square. They have a muscular body, which is very strong.
Their outer coat is course and long. Their coat can be either straight or slightly wavy. Their undercoat on the other hand is soft and very thick. The Great Pyrenees has a water repellant coat which helps to keep their skin healthy and dry. With their coat being so thick and heavy, it is also weather resistant. This means that this breed can survive any climate and can be a great outdoor pet. The coat color can come in a solid white color, white with patches of tan, wolf like gray, or a pale yellow.
The males height is between 27 inches and 32 inches and the weight is somewhere around 100 pounds. For the females, their height is between 25 inches and 29 inches. The females weight is somewhere around 85 pounds. Some dogs though can average around 40 inches whether male or female.
Personality
This dog is a loyal and loving family member. They do not take well to strangers whether it is human or another animal, unless taught at an early age to accept strangers of all kinds. This breed does best with children when they are raised with the kids from a puppy. This dog can be a gentle dog and loves to show affection to their family. They can be a good guard dog. His or her loud bark will let everyone around know someone or something is in your yard or home.
This dog is known to bark a lot and can kind of slobber and drool quite a bit. This breed will do well with other dogs, but does the best with non-canine animals. It has been said that this breed of dog loves cats.
Apartment life is not recommended for this breed. They need space to run around. A large size yard is best with the Great Pyrenees, as they love to run around and play.
Care
For the Great Pyrenees breed, you will need to do regular brushing. When they are shedding, make sure to take extra care and grooming of their undercoat. Lucky with this breed their outer coat does not mat or knot up so it will be easier to care for. They only need a bath when you know for sure that they need one, otherwise they are a pretty clean dog. This breed sheds heavy about once a year.
Make sure to take this breed out to get exercise. The more exercise it gets the better shape he will be in. This helps to keep them in shape. To sum it up, this is a pretty easy breed to take care of.
History
The Great Pyrenees are descendants from the Hungarian Kuvasz and the Maremmano-Abruzzese. Relatives of the St Bernard and the Newfoundland it has a history of being a guard dog in France for the sheep and chateaux. There were remains in Europe that resembled the Great Pyrenees as far back as 1800 B.C. but many scientists believe it was much earlier in Asia or Siberia for the origin of the Great Pyrenees.
Over the years, they have been found in many different environments. In 1407, they were guards of the Chateau of Lourdes. Then in 1662, they were guards for the new settlement of Newfoundland. In 1675, they were the royal dog of King Louis XIV. Queen Victoria of Britain had a beautiful Great Pyrenees in 1850. Here is where they started to see different coats because of breeding with the Newfoundlands. The coat was to become black and curly.
The breed gained great popularity as a guard dog for French nobles and then soon everyone wanted one of them. They would have them guard their flocks against wolves and bears. The Great Pyrenees wore spiked collars that helped with protection against wolves and bears that would try to attack the throat of the dog attacking them to protect their flock.
They finally made their way to America by way of General Lafayette giving a pair to his friend J.S. Skinner, well-known author. In 1931, Mr. and Mrs. Francis V. Crane imported several to launch the breed in North America after they all but vanished over seas in the mountains. This started the breeds gain to popularity again by developing a successful dog again. The American kennel Club became involved and recognized it in 1933 and they were finally licensed to be in shows.
They have been used in sledding and avalanche rescues in the high mountain regions that they were once so used to. Now, they are used for sled dogs for fun and carrying large packs for camping. They are a very devoted family member and will defend you and your property.