Re: [pyrnet] New to list

["Ann K. Wetherilt" <wetheri@emmanuel.edu>]

pyrnet-l@pyrnet.org writes:
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>I was curious as to
>what other owners opinions or comments were with regard to the Great
>Pyrenees and their desire to wander as well as whether they are indeed
>hard
>to train as every book that I have read has stated.  
Hi, Mark--welcome, and congratulations on your expected new family member!!
Our experience is that pyrs are very easy to train in terms of becoming
wonderful members of your family. The difficulty is in training them to do
anything for which they see no good purpose! The learn new things very
quickly, but once they've done it a couple of times, they get bored and
are likely to do things to make the task more interesting--will give you
tons of laughs but can be an issue if you're talking about competition
obedience! These guys are thinkers, not blind "obeyers." 
>I am due to visit a
>fellow here in Canada (where I live) with a 5 month old Pry and he has had
>no problem with training him at all and the owner considers himself
>moderate in his knowledge about training.  He also has no problem walking
>him on and off the leash.  Interesting, as everything I have read says
>walking off the leash will be a problem as they are roamers.  I am sure
>every dog is different and has different needs and problems.
You do need to be very alert if you ever have your pyr off leash. One of
ours (Paddington) is pretty reliable in terms of staying close, at least
near enough to be able to see us, but I'm very cautious about where and
under what conditions I let him off. Our last pyr, Shelley, loved to roam
and was never off leash except under the most closely supervised
conditions. Our current girl, Ivy Rose, is very timid and easily spooked.
I'd never let her off leash outside of a well fenced area. As a friend who
has huskies once said to me, these guys just have a different sense of
distance! 
Good luck. You've done your homework and you're in for a total treat. Once
you have a pyr, you're smitten for life. Be prepared for the potato chip
factor to kick in.
Ann, Peg, Paddington and Ivy Rose
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