Re: [PyrNet-L] Fw: boarding

[Charlotte & Jack Perry <pyreau@erols.com>]

Adrienne Wilder wrote:
>
> Joe brings up some very interesting points in his post.  out of
> curiosity, and to get a littel covo going, what do the breeders/fanciers
> on this list see in the breed today that needs improvement?  What do you
> see in the breed that we have lost?  And most importanatly, what do you
> see that we have gained and excelled in comapred to the dogs of the
> past?
>
Hi Adrianne,
I'll give this one a try.  We acquired our first Pyr in the late 1960s
and immediately joined the regional and national clubs and started to
show. From then on we have tried to see as many pyrs as we can all over
the U.S. and even some in England (haven't yet made it to France or even
Canada) I really do think that Great Pyrenees in the U.S. have improved
tremendously, particularly in soundness. I think that our Pyrs have many
fewer structural faults than we saw in the late 1960s.  On the whole,
size has been a problem ever since we began in the breed. In the late
60s there were some large dogs and there were some very small dogs.
Unfotunately many of the very large dogs had major movement faults. 
Seldom do we see Pyrs with the droopy lips and eyes or popping hocks
that we saw back then. I think that all responsible breeders are trying
to improve all of those things that Donelda mentions, however it is not
easy to learn enough about the backgrounds the animals to be bred to
determine which characteristics and faults can be expected from breeding
those particular animals...and then mother nature can always fool you
(seems like we always get size when we least expect it!). I do not think
agression is a problem with Pyrs.  Perhaps we hear more about agression
on the Pyr list because this is a good place for people to bring up
their problems. Practically all the problems with agression that I hear
about are dogs that come from pet shops or irresponsible breeders. 
Whoops, got a bit long-winded
Charlotte