[PyrNet-L] Re: PGD- people guardian dog & intro

[Harvey Noble <pyrnook@telusplanet.net>]

I live on an acreage 30 miles east of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 
I have had pyrs since 1981.  I have two at the moment- Bandit- unregistered
(he's out of livestock guardian dogs) and Rosie my show girl.  I also
have a Chinook- Nany, she's also going into the show and obedience ring. 
I did post to the site, I bring my dogs in at about five pm. It's because
I can't keep them quiet, due the abundance of coyotes, serenading in evening.
Although they are trained not to bark, they do not listen, when the coyotes
are singing.  I usually see at least one coyote, when I go into Tofield
(about twelve miles away).
I really admire the fact you hung on to your two pyrs, when they
saw the coyote.  A similar thing happened to me years ago, with my
first pyr, Skeel's Misty Lady.  Misty Lady was a very gentle, timid
and shy girl.  Her best friends were a pair of 4 & 7 pound poodles
and the cats that slept with her.  It was winter and she was on lead. 
We were walking around a small island in the middle of a lake.  When
we rounded a sharp point of the island- there were four coyotes standing
not 15 feet away.  Her reaction was exactly as you described. I was
pulled on my back and stomach for a good 15 feet(no snow cover on the lake
that year), before I was able to get a handle on things.( She only weighted
94 pounds to my 210). The walk home with my obedience trained girl was
very difficult, for she keep looking at where the coyotes had disappeared
and trying to drag me in that direction- she was very determined. 
It was quite a revelation that my sweet, gentle, timid, shy Misty Lady
was exactly what the breeder had told me she was- a Livestock Guardian
Dog .
 I was told this by some one who had a pair of pups from Bandit's
breeder.  He was down there visiting and saw this occur.  He
watched a pair of pyrs work a coyote. The male was teasing, luring, driving
the coyote towards where the female in hidden in some tall grass &
brush.  When the coyote was close enough, the female leapt from her
hiding place and slapped the coyote's hind legs with probably enough force
to break them.  It only took 10-15 seconds for the coyote to be shredded
and their job done.  I am trying to teach my guys to shake a paw,
wave bye-bye, etc. I know one the joys and dangers of owning a pyr is their
constant pawing.  I suffered a slight concussion from Stormy (passed
away) , my 150 pound male, when he decided I was not paying him enough
attention and slapped through the newspaper I was reading- and hit me right
between the eyes, breaking my glasses and leaving me very dazed.