What do you think this Great Pyrenees is mixed with?

[kryptoniteqhs]

I dont have a small yard, I rent a house on 60 acres fenced in (though I was still gonna do electric fencing on top of that). Thats why I didnt see it being an issue.

 

[ruth]

Quote:
That's good but just wanted to give you a heads up on the GP's chew/dig tendencies. Luckily ours didn't electrocute themselves because they also chewed up every exposed electrical cord. We had the orange cords run to Christmas lights as well as coops, barns and stables for heaters and heat lamps - optimum word being "had". It does seem to be a puppy phase that at one year old, ours seem to be growing out of but it's just not something I was aware of when I got them. My two German Shepherds have never chewed or destroyed a thing in their lives whereas my daughter's lab will still chew/destroy anything she can get her mouth on and she's 8 years old. Different breeds, different personalities.

Good luck finding the right puppy or GP. They are great dogs when properly trained.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

So LGDs in pounds should just be left there to be euthanized?

No.

Read what I said

SAR dogs have nothing to do with LGD's, so that's irrelevent​

 

[Cara]

If LGDs in pounds are no good for working and no good for pets, then what are they good for in your opinion?

Shelter dogs are capable of performing any useful task equally as well as any dog obtained from a breeder. They key is to pick the right dog for the job and train it accordingly.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

If LGDs in pounds are no good for working and no good for pets, then what are they good for in your opinion?

Shelter dogs are capable of performing any useful task equally as well as any dog obtained from a breeder. They key is to pick the right dog for the job and train it accordingly

I never said they couldnt be "pets" I said they shouldnt be "yard dogs"

You cannot TRAIN them to guard livestock. It's an instinctual behavior.
Too many people confuse territorial behavior with the behavior of a TRUE LGD.
Most any mutt will bark at things that enter it's territory. That doesnt mean it's "protecting" your animals.

A TRUE LGD would follow your animals off your property to guard THEM, rather than staying in the yard to guard it's territory

They shouldnt be allowed to run loose, and a 150 lb dense coated white animal isnt a good choice for a house pet. Allowing a Pyr to run loose is simply asking for problems, since they have a tendency to roam

So all youre left with is a dog that needs to be kept fenced in all the time, and may or may NOT ever bond to the animals at all

If you truly NEED a working livestock dog, why take a chance on one when you know nothing about it's history?
If all you want is a dog to hang around the house, any other breed will probably be a better choice.


Why fight thousands of years of selective breeding?​

 

[Cara]

I'm not saying to adopt a Labrador and try to make it a LGD. I don't think the OP had any intention of letting the dog roam freely without boundaries.

As you said nobody wants a huge hairy white house dog, and if you think they'd be hopeless working dogs and can't be 'yard dogs', then what other options are left?

Most shelters are happy to allow trial periods for working dogs. A good SAR dog also has to have instinctive behaviour that makes it appropriate for the purpose. There would be no sense in trying to train a Shih Tzu as a man trailer. However the majority of hound breeds would be trainable, and I have yet to find a shelter Bloodhound that cannot trail. I can't teach that, and being dumped by a human doesn't cause them to spontaneously lose all instinct. Shelters are willing to allow a trial as even if the dog is returned it is in a better state of mind than if it had remained in kennels. If a dog is obviously a Great Pyrenees chances are it has some livestock guardian instinct, unlike overly-popular breeds that have had all usefulness bred out of them by backyard breeders and puppy mills.

Buying a dog from a breeder is not an absolute guarantee that a dog will do the job it is intended for, and even the best dog is hopeless with bad/no training.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

As you said nobody wants a huge hairy white house dog, and if you think they'd be hopeless working dogs and can't be 'yard dogs', then what other options are left?

The only other option is a "pet" that is ALWAYS confined.
I never said they would be "hopeless". I said why take the risk if you NEED a working dog.
The OP gives the impression the dog will have free range of 60 acres, which is probably fenced with 4 ft wire that will NOT contain a Pyr.

If a dog is obviously a Great Pyrenees chances are it has some livestock guardian instinct, unlike overly-popular breeds that have had all usefulness bred out of them by backyard breeders and puppy mills.

Buying a dog from a breeder is not an absolute guarantee that a dog will do the job it is intended for, and even the best dog is hopeless with bad/no training.

Many Pyrs have had the instincts bred out of them. They are the most common LGD breed in the US, and a large number of them are crossbred with who knows what.

While it is a possiblility this dog could have the instinct, if you will notice, the OP has never mentioned owning ANY livestock, and if she does, THEY must also roam over the whole 60 acres

Buying a true LGD breed from a GOOD breeder with working dogs IS a guarantee, because most will be from long lines of dogs with proven ability, and they will have experience on how to work out problems.
It will cost a little more, but you KNOW what youre getting.

I can give you five generation pedigrees on all my dogs, and if they dont WORK, I will take them back.
I've never had one returned.

Theres no way to know if that shelter dog has ever even SEEN any livestock.
Mine were born in a barn, and have never been outside the pasture

These are 12 weeks old and are doing "on the job training" right now:

 

[tamelroy]

I got a gp mix from pet finder and she is the best, and she is more of a pet then a guard dog. And she does have more of the gp traits then anything. I do have chickens, but she wants to eat them, or maybe play can't tell. lol She loves my two little ones, she does herd them and try to boss them, but they have a lot of fun playing. She is in the house all the time unless I take her out for a walk and she is the happiest little girl. She goes with us every where, I took her in the car since she was a pup. I have no idea what she is mixed with, if she is mixed with anything, because on some gp sites I saw ones like her, but it doesn't matter to me what she is mixed with.

And I am not saying this to make any one mad, but I would get any pet from places like pet finder before a breeder, there is so many dogs out there and people keep breeding more and more and charge a fortune on top of it. And believe me their parents don't mean notta, my grandmother was a breeder and the parents were great (different breed then the gp, I can't remember what breed they were so don't ask lol) but some of the pups forget it! Bad in every way, not every one, but a couple out of a litter were. The parents were great with kids easy to train every thing. the pups nasty, couldnt completely train either. I am no expert maybe not every case is that way, but that is how I feel.

If I can do it I will post a picture of our girl! She is not as fluffy, she is shedding sooooo bad, I think they call it a blowout!

 

[deb1]

Wow. I wish that I could find a house to rent that was on sixty acres! I hope that you find a great dog.

My best dogs have always been shelter dogs.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

It's too bad your landlady and you can't come together on a breed of dog you can have.
A LGD seems to be the logical choice for you. Maybe you can continue talking to her, she might come around.

I have pure Great Pyrenees and every once in awhile, I get a mixed litter from my GD's dog that lives with the chickens. I currently have 2 mixed puppies left, that were born in the chicken house and now I have bottle kids in there also, since it is the driest place we have right now.
I love my GPs and the mixes. They are all working dogs. Even the pups don't like it when we catch chickens and they start squawking.

I hope find the right dog, and you are able to get it.

Jean