[PyrNet-L] Re: Wandering

You are right, not all pyrenees tend to wander. My old girl Izoure never tried to leave this place. My garden is well fenced, but Izoure's mother Koko was an escape artist who sometimes jumped the fences othertimes broke it down or tore the gate apart. But allthough Izoure was very closely bonded to her mother she never tried to follow her, she would stay right outside the garden barking her head off to let me know that Koko had left again. Really telling tales you know - a great help for me. But take the leash of Izoure out on a walk, and it was a completely different story. She loved running, and allthough she would come back to me from time to time to say hello, most of the time she would be just a white spot moving around in the horizon. Now that she is 11½ years old, she is walked off leash, enjoying a freedom she has not had for years.

In my experience for a pyr not to wander off is the exception rather than the rule, just like having a non barking pyr, and it is important that we as breeders and owners keep telling new people to expect these traits. Better to warn people a little too much instead of not enough of what to expect from a pyr. Better that people get pleasantly surpriced, because they find their pyr easier to live with than they expected instead of the other way round.