New Pyr Pup questions

[chickgramma]

"Backyard breeder" I guess. A man has several with his goats and a couple got together. When we went to look at them, they were all happy and playful. She ran up to me and was very happy. She does whine when you pick her up. A lttle boy pup that was there, whined when I petted him. The man there said they are not used to being touched....?

Wouldn't she have diarrhea if she had Parvo? Is that not one vacc included in first shots? Or....maybe they didnt actually get them?

 

[chickgramma]

He also mentioned that he had just weaned them.......He put the pups in a seperate field from mom a couple of days prior.

 

[Florida chick]

Pedialyte for babies works great. I add a can of canned cat food and they scarf it down. LOL I differ greatly on leaving a LG dog alone. Ours are the biggest babies and love attention and all vistors and people on the farm. I would never leave them unsocialized. I have seen them not used to people and its a sad, very scary site... Esp if they get lost or end up at the shelter, they get put down. Love your pup, ours are loved and guard all livestock and birds just fine.. Feel free to email me or PM if I can help in any other way. Just an FYI deworming her after getting carsick was not the best of ideas. She was dehydrated from puking and then the dewormer further stresses her body. It could take a few days for her to feel better. goodluck

 

[arlee453]

If the poop is normal, and there are no other health issues, then I'd say this is not extremely unusual for a 12 week old pup of that breed in a new situation. Puppies that aren't socialized to humans by 10 wks or so can be VERY slow to get used to people, and some breeds are slower than others to warm up just because of the type of dog they are.

Having just gotten a pyr pup a few weeks ago, I would say it took her about 3 days to settle in. For the first few days she just laid behind my chair - not very playful. Now, our pup was 7 wks old, so a good age to really socialize - much easier to acclimate them to a new situation at 7-10 wks than 12-14. In general, our girl is extremely laid back, quiet and not rambunctious at all, especially for a pup that young.

In the past we got a 13 wk old pup that had been out in the kennel with his mom - NOT house raised - and he was EXTREMELY shy and took weeks before he would come around to us. And he was a house dog, so with us constantly. He was a Sheltie - another slow to warm up to people breed.

I'd give her at least 3 days. If there is ANY thing odd about eating, drinking or poop, I'd definatly get her into the vet ASAP. Otherwise, it is probably a combination of the age of the dog, lack of human interaction and stress over a new situation. Of course, it's never a bad idea to get a new animal checked out with general 'new puppy' checkup at a vet anyway.

If you plan on having this dog be a livestock guard dog, then keep her with the livestock and minimize 'playing' with her. If you want it to be a people dog, then bring her into the home with you and spend lots of time just letting her get used to human attention.

Our Lily is the best dog I think we've ever had - so calm, laid back but friendly. Doesn't jump on you, is gentle with the chickens - we just love her!

 

[chickgramma]

Thank you. I will get some on my way home. Yep, didnt think of that. She did drink alot of water yesterday evening.

We will definitely not leave her alone. She will be very socialized. She will get plenty of love around here. I want a dog that loves everyone and everything.

 

[chickgramma]

Arlee53, Can I not have both? I want her to be a livestock guard dog, but also dont want to worry about agressiveness towards any human or my other critters around here. And I want her to love us like we love her....

 

[glowworm]

I agree it's the lack of socalization to new people and situations. It might take her a while to come around. After her vaccines you need to make sure she gets out in the world and experiences everything possible.

It's very odd that the breeder did not wean them until 12 weeks of age...And if he simply seperated them all of a sudden, that is odd too. Weaning is a gradual process.

I agree with Arlee that any health changes, see a vet ASAP. I have seen puppies develop parvo and not have diarrhea for a couple more days. The puppies are always lethargic though.

I don't have personal experience with pyrs, but I believe you can have your pup as a pet and protecter. I never heard of having one or the other. I was actually halfway shocked when I read that.

 

[snugglepup]

Yikes! That is pretty extreme, even for 12 wks. Not a very responsible breeder it sounds like.

Try to find a good puppy class with a qualified trainer that can help you and her overcome her fears. A poorly socialized, giant breed dog is a HUGE liability. You can probably reclaim some of what she has missed out on, but you are working with a very tight deadline. It's possible that the damage done so far may always haunt her, but if you are going to make an impact, we gotta get going ASAP!

Look here for a place to start finding a certified trainer:

http://www.ccpdt.org/


Also, check out Dr. Ian Dunbar's book:

http://www.jamesandkenneth.com/new_puppy.html

It's a great resource for new puppies, and is available for free!

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
If he didnt tell you that they got their first shots, the most likely they did not get their first shots. Normally, it would be in their first shots. Acutal breeders, will give you a list of the shots that they recieved ( the label from the vaccine bottle peels off and they would use that ) and a list of when they were wormed.

Two forms of CPV have been identified: diarrhea syndrome and cardiac syndrome.


Diarrhea syndrome, or enteritis, has an incubation period of five to fourteen days. Dogs with enteritis act like they are in extreme pain. Early symptoms are depression, loss of appetite, vomiting, high fever, and severe diarrhea. Feces can be either grayish or fluid and bloody. Rapid dehydration is a danger, and dogs may continue to vomit and have diarrhea until they die, usually three days after onset of symptoms. Others may recover without complications and have no long-term problems. Puppies can die suddenly of shock as early as two days into the illness.


The second form of CPV is cardiac syndrome, or myocarditis, which can affect puppies under three months old. There is no diarrhea because the virus multiplies rapidly in muscle cells of the immature heart. Puppies may stop suckling and then collapse and die within minutes or days. No effective treatment is available for cardiac syndrome, and surviving puppies may have permanently damaged hearts.
​

ETA: Im not trying to make you worry, I just want you to be aware of Parvo. If she gets worse, take her to the vet ASAP.​

 

[arlee453]

I am by no means anywhere close to an expert on pyr dogs.

I just know what my buddy that has them as livestock guard dogs does. Once the pups are weaned, they go into the pen with whatever livestock they are supposed to guard. He uses his for goats. He discourages a lot of human interaction - he does interact with them when feeding, etc but doesn't make 'pets' out of them. His dogs are friendly but not house pets.

As far as our girl, she's a house dog. We don't have any large livestock, and our main goal for training with her is to make her a good companion for our family (kids & adults) and to have her NOT chase the chickens. So far, so good on both fronts! She has learned very quickly not to chase the chickens. I don't trust her alone out there yet when the chickens are free ranging, but the one time she got let out accidently by the kids when the chickens were out, she did actually catch one of the silkies and then proceeded to give her a bath - didn't put a scratch on her. She is just a gentle giant - even with her playful puppy-ness.

Here's a website I found with all kinds of info on training pyrs. Again, I'm not a good judge of if this is excellent advice or not, but I have trained many dogs over the years with basic obedience and house breaking/companion type training and I didn't see anything here that counters what I know in my own experience to be good training for any dog.

http://www.milkandhoneyfarm.com/dogs/training.html

Guarding: A Pyr will guard what it is bonded to - or better said - it will guard the defined space that contains what it is bonded to. If bonded with sheep, it will guard sheep. If with the owner, the owner and his or her property. If the Pyr is to guard, it is not good to raise it around other non-pyr dogs where it can pick up bad habits such as chasing poultry or livestock. Pyrs don't normally chase, but if the big puppy bounces up to a chicken and the chicken runs the other way, the Pyr will give bounce after it. Once chasing starts, the chicken soon becomes a diversion, and that Pyr can no longer be trusted with poultry. Closely monitor your Pyr puppy for its first 12 months if you desire to raise a trustworthy poultry guard. A Pyr confined to a kennel will likely be more aggressive with poultry than a Pyr that is loose with them.

Pyrs are social in a pack society. The older members of the pack teach the younger ones. Sticking a Pyr pup by itself in with sheep or goats is risky. The pup may be mellow and responsible and take on the guarding duties in stride. Then again, it may be playful and want to rough house with the livestock. We think it is better to segregate the Pyr pup where it can see the livestock. Take the pup in with you while doing chores and correct any undesireable behavior such as chasing, barking or nipping.

Great Pyrenees guard mostly through intimidation - by barking and posturing. Their barking keeps deer and rabbits out of our garden and raccoons, weasels, and rats out of our chicken house. They bark at people and cars, but keep their distance. They will defend and back down dog packs, wolves, coyotes, bears, cougars, etc. If you have a problem with a bear or a wolf pack, you will need two Pyrs. One will die trying to defend - two cannot be surrounded or overpowered.

Another story going around is that if you want a good livestock guardian, the pyr must be raised without human contact. This is the best method for a Pyr that will guard 5,000 sheep on 10,000 acres, but not too practical for people who have less than a hundred acres. How are you going to capture a wild dog and take it to the Vet? You can have a great guardian that is friendly to your family by bonding the Pyr to its guard area (By guard area we mean an area with natural boundaries or fences that the Pyr can "mark" and define as its own). Taking the Pyr for a walk outside of your property or bringing it to the house begins to blur the definition of what its area is and could diminish its guarding interest. We suggest that the only place you take your livestock guardian Pyr is to the Vet. If the Vet is willing to visit you, that's even better.​