Great Pyrenees - to buy or not to buy?

[Goose Girl]

Hi, this is a wonderful breed that works well with livestock. If your nearby breeder told you the parents of the pumps kill chickens give elsewhere. Their are many great AKC breeders out there that breed for this particular disposition. I have 2 Great Pyrs. 1 is with my geese everyday of his life since he was 4 months old. He has never harmed a feather on their heads. He removes all other critters from their area. He is worth his weight in hold and it took him a minute while he was young but Geeat Pyrenees want to work with you and then you can leave them on th their own ti do their job. My new Pyr is a rescue and us nearly 2 he us very playful and doesnt understand the job yet but I have the time for him. If you get a Pyr get them young and from a breeder who has working parents. Preferably featherhead guardian. They are an amazing dog and really want to help. Guarding is innate and you have to show them while they are young what needs guarded from what.

 

[sfulbrig]

Hi thanks for addressing my inquiry. Let me clarify, I spend a ton of quality time with my dingo-shepherd mix; he goes on all my errands and trips with me, and he is extremely friendly. All the cashiers at Home Depot and TSC have treats ready for him. However I did not have the discipline to do any formal training exercises with him; we flunked basic obedience school. Still a no-go with the pyrenees?

Still a no go. I have Pyrenees. They are independent and stubborn, perfect for quick thinking guarding. Must be trained and have review of skills they don’t do often. Coming when called is one.

 

[Imataken]

I have always had English mastiff for past 18 years my last one died 2 years ago my daughter who was turning 17 really wanted a new puppy we were planning on buying her a new car but she wanted a new puppy she picked this adorable little fluff ball which is a great pyrenees anatolian shepherd and let me just say after raising labs and 3 English mastiff this guy is nothing like any of them he is now 15 months old absolutely gorgeous but lives in the world of I do what I want... we have chickens which we got around the same time and he was fine with them till past 4 months now when he's outside all he wants to do is Chase them he does not recall at all even after 4 months of expensive training I have 3 acres and he kept getting out of the yard he is a expert escape artist he was hit by a car at the end of my driveway after getting through the 6ft wooden fencing now we have to have a metal cable type run leash attached to his harness anytime he is outside he chewed through or figured out all the chains from the petstores even inside my house we have had to make custom homemade gates since every pet gate baby gate he figured out how to break and let's not talk about the 3 vacuums that have broken this year from all the hair now I use a shop vac to vacuum all that said we absolutely love him he is extremely smart knows so many tricks plays dead roll over give me paw high five and if u say guard he will go between your legs he's amazing if you can deal with the chasing chickens and never coming when you call and escaping from yard and he's my 1st yard digger we are experienced large breed dog owners and even with the high cost for personal dog boot camp trainer said to us certain behaviors are in the dog.. does great with goats and other dogs especially little ones he lays down to play with them knowing he's 5 times the size

 

[Meeka]

I have a gp and she is great around my chickens.

 

[629864]

Bought electric fence. Would Anatolians be better?

My two Anatolians do great at guardimg our sheep and goats. They also are very good at defeathering and/or killing any chickens or guineas that dare to hop over the fence into their enclosure. Anatolians don't need much training to instinctively know how to guard livestock. But poultry is too tempting for them. Everyone I know who has Anatolians says the same....can't resist a free chicken dinner. I would NOT put an Anatolian as a chicken guardian unless you were dedicated to extensive and long-term training. You've said (and I appreciate the honesty) you aren't, so I'd steer away from Anatolians.

 

[629864]

Also, Anatolians can jump like a Jack Russell Terrier, will escape anything but a full 4.5'+ fence with additonal double hotwire (top 5'+ and bottom at 8-12" to prevent digging under), and will NOT listen to recall if in pursuit of a predator or something fun like a rabbit. They've been bred for over 6,000 years to do one job...guard livestock...and to do the thinking for themselves while doing that job. So an Anatolian's outlook on life and anything you tell them to do is "give me a reason why I should". They do NOT respond well to negative training techniques (a.k.a. punishments). They DO respond well to positive reinforcement and redirection. They get their feelings hurt easily and need loads of love and affection from you.

 

[Heidis29]

We had a Maremma and he was a wonderful protector for all our animals including chickens. He did roam a lot though!

 

[frostypenn]

I had a G.P and he never killed chickens - perhaps some do and some don't. They need training to establish human dominance; otherwise, they decide how things should go and dominate the barnyard. My guy never offered to run away. He stuck with the goats when they went out to browse. His instincts were evident, but they can be bothersome if he doesn't have good judgement and doesn't obey you.

 

[addctd2plnts]

All guard dogs still require training. Pyrs are no more likely to kill chickens than any other dog. But they are more likely if they have never been trained. It takes 6 mos to a year, of never having the dog alone with the poultry, till you really have a dog trained for poultry. If you aren't willing to do that, I'd look for an adult dog that is ok with poultry. You will still need your yard fenced, because Pyrs are known for wandering and barking. I personally love the Pyrenean Mastiff's and Spanish Mastiffs, but they are too much dog for a newbie and 10x the cost of a Pyr.

 

[mons537]

Hi all, new to the forum. I have 27 lovely chickens, 5 goats, and one dog (friendly dingo-shepherd mix). We do have foxes, bears, and large coyowolves here. I lost one hen last summer, not sure what happened to her. The different animals mostly get along mingling in the barn. The pyrenees seems to be the most popular breed in my area (northeast ohio) for protecting herds from predators. However, the breeders I have spoken to (one a backyard breeder, and one an AKC breeder) both said their puppies' parents have killed chickens. How much of the dog's behavior is nature and how much is nurture? Also unrelated to chickens, Pyrenees are known for running off, and I don't think I can handle a dog with no recall, it would be too stressful for me if it got out and I had to chase it across town (if it survived the cars). Also, I know myself and I would not have the time or patience to devot to extensive training. (The way I trained my current dog, I told him loudly, if he peed in the house again, I was taking him back to the pound. He got the message.) My current dog is pretty good about alerting me to predators, and I imagine I could just go outside and shoot them if there was a problem. I work from home and currently sleep in the barn. While wildlife predators are a threat, I'm actually more concerned with human predators. What do you think?

I've had 3 Great Pyrenees and never had a one of them kill a chicken. I was losing chickens to predators when I decided to get them. I think that if you raise them with the chickens and let them know at a young age guarding these chickens is your job, they will do it. Just my opinion. They are the only dog I consider for the task.