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

[JGentzel@aol.com]

In a message dated 10/17/00 11:06:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
woodskk@eburg.com writes:

<< A pyr can act the part of a LGD at an early age but can not defend
 itself against predators.  By 18 months they should have enough
 confidence to be an effective fulltime LGD. >>

I don't disagree with this.  We just did not tell the puppies at Split Creek 
Goat Dairy that, so they did not know any better when they cleared the field 
of a group of area  dogs and they work 365/24/7, as does everyone else at the 
dairy.  Anyway there are  two of them, now about 10 months old, so that 
helped.  Being a juvenile dog you would not expect her to be as effective 
against a strong determined foe, but that is probably not what you will get.  
The coyotes, feral dogs, and neighborhood dogs will most likely be detoured 
by the marking and barking.  Pictures of her, she looks big enough that most 
of these will stay away.  Still the idea given, to get a mate in with her is 
very good.  

Let us know how she progresses.  BTW, 78 Lbs is a nice weight for a 9 month 
old bitch.  Don't mess with her dew claws (leave them on), but make sure you 
trim them as they might grow around and into the pad.  You are very humid 
there in Jackson, so watch for mats that can form hot spots.  You already 
know all this from your other dogs, but Pyrs are real sensitive to skin 
irritations.  IMHO, the most sensitive single area in a Pyr is the skin.

Joe