[pyrnet] Starting a Great Pyr on sheep....and photos of our new girl

[southerncharmgang@juno.com]

Joe,

Thanks SO much for your reply.  I was beginning to wonder if I was on the
right list!  *grin*  I guess I happened to catch it off-topic a bit.  I
like lists that are not so strict, so that is a good thing.

This little girl was supposedly on cattle, but I just cannot imagine it
unless she simply does not view the sheep as stock and more as playmates.
 I have taken some photos of her and have her page up on my web site: 
http://www.threedogfarm.com/  Please, everyone, take a look and tell me
what you think.  We really adore her.

Tonight Mags was able to, moving very carefully and slowly, be right at
the sheep's feed pan and was even able to sniff butts!  I just praised
her.  Sometimes I feel she wants to move with them, and wants to keep
them all together.  Once her stitches are out Friday, I am going to put
her in with a couple of the more tame sheep and take her off lead to see
how she does.  Then later this weekend, if she is still improving, I
thought I would take her off lead with several sheep, but in a smaller
area than the pasture she will be guarding them in.

I was able to find a web site with a listing of some good books and
ordered a few of them today.  I hope they will help somewhat!  *smile*  I
just wish I knew someone who truly knows about training Great Prys who
could see her and tell me if I am right on what I think I am seeing.  She
really seems to be coming along to me.  I guess we'll know once I finally
turn her out.  Thanks again for your post.

Suzanne and the Southern Charm Gang
Herd-N-K9s - Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier mix, Aussie, and Bouvier des
Flandres
http://www.bigfoot.com/~threedogfarm     threedogfarm@bigfoot.com
Save Lives!  Please Spay and Neuter Your Pets!!!!

On Mon, 16 Oct 2000 23:59:58 -0400 JGentzel@aol.com writes:
> Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000 07:21:42 EDT
> From: JGentzel@aol.com
> Subject: Re: [pyrnet] Intro and question
> 
> 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
> 

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