I have two, a pyr and a pyr/rough collie mix, 5 years and 3 years old. So here's my two cents. They are VERY intelligent and VERY independent. They were bred for that. You may not see that right away, but it will become more obvious as she matures. They have to make their minds up, they THINK about stuff. Sometimes you have to wait for them to decide, decisions are often kind of slow. They often don't make good off leash dogs, they wander and follow their nose or whatever they are wondering about. They are often not perfect in obedience because they think for themselves. That is an asset for a livestock guard dog, not always for a pet. Sometimes, if it makes sense to them, they don't care if it makes sense to you. As puppies, they need to be busy. If they are not, they will become bored, look for something to do, and often that will not be what you want them to do. My pyr was a massive chewer as a puppy, so indestructable chew toys, and supervision, were a must. The first two years can be a challenge, they get big quickly. What people think is a 'cute puppy behaviour' can very quickly become a BIG problem due to their size, like charging through doorways or jumping up on people. I would not let her sleep on the bed purely because by a year old there won't be room for you both, and moving a nearly 100 lb dog that sees no reason to move, well good luck with that! And at some point, she will start barking. They bark. When you find sites that talk about pyr's, barking is often laughed about, leaves falling, paper blowing, birds, cars, literally anything, it's all TRUE! Mine found a shed snakeskin once, he barked himself silly till we disposed of it. My pyr/collie mix chases buzzards, 300 feet up, doesn't matter, barking like a lunatic. One thing I read when we got our first was that having a pyr requires patience and a sense of humor, and that has been very true. I absolutely adore mine, but they are not for everyone. And if yours is a house dog, then shedding will be constant, not once a year. I have two in the house, if you don't have a really good vacuum, it's gonna blow up! There is a lot of hair! Anything that they perceive as a threat is pretty much a gonner. Mine HATE foxes, the alarm goes up instantly and they are off like bullets after it. Mine cornered an oppossum once, that was a battle royal that the critter was losing badly until we were able to pull the dog off. He was going to eliminate it from the earth. Mine are confined to a small fenced area after dark so that they can't take off after something and disappear on us. Having said all that, we truly love ours. It's just a different thing than most dogs. And as with any dog, they are all different, different personalities, temperaments, so they are all going to be a little different, different quirks and behaviours.
