Re: [pyrnet] Intro and question

[JGentzel@aol.com]

In a message dated 10/15/00 11:53:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
southerncharmgang@juno.com writes:

<< I understand from my research that they need to be approximately 18
 months before they are ready to guard.  One web site says if they are not
 guarding by 14 months, they will never guard, but I find that hard to
 believe.  The one thing I cannot find is something that will tell me what
 I need to be doing with her now in order to help her understand what her
 job is.  I have been told about penning her with sheep around her, and we
 will do that once she has recovered from her spay and the stitches are
 out (next weekend). >>

She will guard much earlier than that.  She is very possibly ready to guard 
now.  I just became acquainted back in the summer, while buying some Nubians, 
with a large Goat dairy that took two littermates at 4 months old, put them 
in the back pasture.  When I saw them, they were guarding like mature dogs.  
This was after being introduced to the field just a few weeks earlier.  The 
male would regularly patrol the perimeters of the field which was very large 
and the female would stay with the Goats.  They were big puppies, but puppies 
all the same.  A lot of feral dogs, coyotes, and even neighbor dogs that have 
caused problems in the past.  The dairy has another 14 month old Pyr in with 
the milkers.  They milk about 135 daily.  This field runs to the highway and 
the neighbor dogs like to come in that way and cause problems.  This young 
dog had been in the with milkers for several months when I met her.  She was 
in charge and had been for months. She actually herded the goats away from 
the road when she did not like what she saw or heard up there.  The Goat 
diary has no losses with these puppies working.  The challenge is to get the 
Pyr acclimated to the Sheep and have them understand that is were they are to 
stay.  The sooner you do that the better.  

IMHO, Pyrs work naturally.  We have placed many in working homes since 1972, 
mostly in the deep south (GA, SC, AL, Miss, TX, ETC).   You will be told that 
the Pyrs must come from working breeder or a show breeder who specializes in 
breeding working dogs.  No true in my experience and that goes to well over 
50 dogs placed over about 30 years.  Are there Pyrs that will not work.  I am 
told there are, but I have yet to see one.  I suspect that people screw them 
up.  Left to their natural instincts, they guard naturally,  with some 
guidance and correction needed as with anything, but it is not the huge 
specialty some would have you believe.  

So my advice to you is get your girl in with the sheep as soon as possible.  
You are right to stop all attempts to play and stop any chasing for any 
reason.  The biggest challenge is to get the Pyr to connect with the sheep 
and instinctually know these are hers to guard.  The rest should almost take 
care of itself.  You appear pretty savvy about dogs, so do what you are 
doing.  The Goat daily just threw them in with the Goats, and the young pups 
came form a back yard breeder and had never seen any livestock before.  

Good luck and let us know how they are doing.  

Joe