Great Pyrenees - to buy or not to buy?

[Hensintexas]

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 have no experience with Pyrs, so cannot say. We had a Siberian Husky years ago. She got into the chicken pen, and killed every one of our 35 chickens. We now have a lovely, very large German Shepherd female. This dog absolutely loves the chickens, watches for hawks (hates them) and other predators, and has never shown interest in hurting the chickens.
All that being said, some breeds are unpredictable. I’m sure someone here has had a bad experience with a GSD. Ours is as loving and protective to all our family, including the birds, as she could possibly be, maybe because she was raised with love and patience.

 

[Vicker]

I agree with the "that they know" statement. My dog is in the 100 pounds range and scares everyone when they first come to my house. After they meet and get to know my dog (and her them) everything is fine.

We got a 2 yr old while my son was away at college. I planned to carefully introduce her to him when he came home. For some strange reason, she acted like he was her long lost best friend. When he comes home periodically, she is all over him (in a friendly way). Both of my dogs love love love one of my neighbors. They don't bark at her car coming down the road. They just watch her until she drives out of sight.

 

[Why and Dotte]

I haven't read through all of the responses yet but my advice would be to do TONS of research.
Pyrenees, Anatolian, Gampr, Akbash, Central Asian Shepherd, Komodor, Maremma, they ALL have the potential to kill poultry and they ALL have the potential to be excellent guardian dogs, the key is in breeding and training.
Unless you get a grown proven poultry safe dog you will be looking at a minimum of 1 year of training with 2yrs old being most common for them to stop acting like puppies.
You may have luck looking on facebook groups LGD Finder and similar groups for an adult dog in need of a home.
Whatever you do, do NOT get a LGD breed mixed with another type (herding, hunting, other working breeds that are not LGDs), they aren't always troublesome but they may be harder to train and come with their share of instincts that just don't mesh with an LGD breed.

 

[micstrachan]

To get more details - why is it that you’re looking for another dog if yours is working? Is your current dog an inside dog and you want a true -live outside- LGD?

THIS

 

[jBabychickn]

Oh.

I don’t have any personal experience with this breed; but, I have several friends that have them on their farms. One acquaintance actually breeds them, I heard from her that they are great with chickens. But, they are also raised to be working dogs first, family pets second. I kinda got the feeling that they definitely need to work, as they are high energy and thrive when they have a purpose. She even has them sleeping with her farm animals, out in the goat barn. The puppies she rears for sale are also raised out there with the livestock, so from day one they are exposed to the chickens and learn that they are part of the farm to be protected.

I think with any breed, you’re gonna need to provide plenty of exposure and training on how they are to treat other animals on your property, this includes humans too!

I found this description interesting—
“The AKC Standard describes the Great Pyrenees as "strong willed, independent, and somewhat reserved, yet attentive, fearless, and loyal to his charges – both human and animal."

Good luck!!

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Please don't. Wildlife existing and doing wildlife things is not a problem. People keeping unprotected prey animals is the problem. Looking for a guardian dog is a great response to this, as is fencing your chickens in (electric fencing works great). Good luck and I hope you find the right dog for your needs!

Great outlook. I too have built predator proof pens for my flock. I let the fox, coyote, owls & hawks do their own thing & because of that, I have no mouse or rat issues. Nearby are some people with free range flocks, daily issues & casualties, one witnessed a Hawk flying off carrying his fav rooster, plus they shoot at the foxes & are infested with rats. Rats even attacked their flock in the night. I'd rather see a Fox than a Rat in my yard any day! Nature is nature, wildlife animals do what they're born to do, for us to co-exist peacefully, all we need to do is predator proof our flock and ourselves. As far as dogs go, it is also in their nature to be willing to please, so training shows them what they need to do to please. A dog that doesn't know what to do is a disaster waiting to happen. Training is essential. We all went to school when we were kids didn't we?

 

[SueT]

This is Anakin, our neighbor’s lovable Pyrenees, who is another example of these dogs wandering off. The neighbor was 1/2 mile away and the dog came here a lot. (They’ve since moved.). What good is an LGD who won’t stay w the livestock? Btw, he never ever showed any interest in our chickens, altho they weren’t free range at the time. He’d glance at them in the run and keep going.
I see ads on Craigslist showing these and other LGDs being raised with poultry. I think I’d want to get one that had grown up w chickens. But I’d get a non wandering breed/mix. Some BYC members swear by their lab mixes from the shelter as being the best LGD’s they’ve ever known.

 

[K0k0shka]

View attachment 3034654
This is Anakin, our neighbor’s lovable Pyrenees, who is another example of these dogs wandering off. The neighbor was 1/2 mile away and the dog came here a lot. (They’ve since moved.). What good is an LGD who won’t stay w the livestock? Btw, he never ever showed any interest in our chickens, altho they weren’t free range at the time. He’d glance at them in the run and keep going.
I see ads on Craigslist showing these and other LGDs being raised with poultry. I think I’d want to get one that had grown up w chickens. But I’d get a non wandering breed/mix. Some BYC members swear by their lab mixes from the shelter as being the best LGD’s they’ve ever known.

That's another complication with dogs... They have so much individual variation that you can't bet your livestock on any one dog. It may turn out to be great, or it might be a total fail, even from a breed that's supposed to do better... Dogs are individuals. By the time you realize that your dog isn't going to work out, you've already invested money, time, effort and love into them, and then what do you do? And even a great guard dog has to sleep at some point. They can't be there 100% for the flock. There is risk involved even with the best guard dog.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

That's another complication with dogs... They have so much individual variation that you can't bet your livestock on any one dog. It may turn out to be great, or it might be a total fail, even from a breed that's supposed to do better... Dogs are individuals. By the time you realize that your dog isn't going to work out, you've already invested money, time, effort and love into them, and then what do you do? And even a great guard dog has to sleep at some point. They can't be there 100% for the flock. There is risk involved even with the best guard dog.

Very true. I had 3 Rotties, all trained well, but each had their own personality, just like us. While all 3 stayed home, didn't roam & wanted to protect, 1 loved the flock as if they were her babies, very nurturing, 2nd dog protected but also was playful, energetic & loved running with them, 3rd dog also protective but was laid back & slow, by the time he noticed a hawk zooming in, he was just getting up after the hawk flew into the protective pen wall, shook it off & flew away. All were great dog's, but I can't stress enough, the value of predator proof pens. Fencing the entire property is not within my budget, so I opted for large pens. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I have the "Fox Rodent Patrol" on duty. Besides, fencing can be jumped over or dug under...my pens cannot. My flock does get to free range with me as I garden & their pens are a good size. I can leave for the day & sleep at night & not worry!

I know this sounds odd, but I have come to love my foxes Lol. They sit with me when I'm burning scrap wood at the fire pit, they play rolling around in my yard, they even gaze at the sunsets with me. I enjoy watching them pounce on mice & moles. I know it must sound crazy, but they've been here for years & raised their kits the same way, we seem to have a synergy. Male foxes even chase off coyote, saw it my own eyes. Got plenty of fat rabbits here, too...the foxes prefer mice & rats so I consider myself very fortunate. It is like a Nature Discovery episode, live, in my own yard.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Cecisflock]

Pyrenees are definitely known as roamers and most of the ones I see in shelters are either escapees, failed LGDs, or both. Same with Anatolians, they end up in shelters because they've failed as LGDs. Mine was a rescue that was raised as an indoor dog with very minimal training, so she'd love to catch and eat one of my chickens if given the chance (which is why she is not allowed to interact with them).

Not only this, but it is nearly impossible to find well bred LGD's these days. Exhaustive trying to find a breeder.