Re: [pyrnet] Adult Pyr Escape Behavior

["Judith Stroh Miller" <jsmiller@newmex.com>]

On 15 May 2004 at 0:22, greatpyreneesrescue@restmypaws.com wrote:

> The most recent is due to the adopted 2 year old female Pyr escaping
> their fence and, the straw that broke the camel's back, is a couple
> accidents of the Pyr urinating on the family's bed.  

Unless the owners actually saw the Pyr urinate on the bed, I would 
suggest having her checked for urinary incontinence. That is 
usually easy to determine as there may be wet spots where she 
sleeps. This is sometimes also called spay incontinence. If this in 
indeed behavioral, then crating her is an option and also a good 
dose of alpha boot camp may be in order. These pyrs of ours are 
very sensitive creatures.  The stress and change may be causing 
some of this behavior. I have had rescues here that were so 
stressed it took over 3 months before we even began to see the 
real dog.  Now to the escape situation :(  If you have history on this 
female it helps, was she found roaming is the key.  Many young 
pyrs who have been allowed to roam are very hard to contain and 
even place.  Because this is a territorial breed, a certain amount of 
expansion of territory is expected. Most pyrs do respect good 
fencing and that ends the problem.  But there are some pyrs that 
have only one thing on their mind, which is to roam.  I often wonder 
if this is a quirk in the genes, as how can a dog that wants to roam, 
do the job it was bred for? The young rescue pyr that has known 
only a life of roaming is difficult to deal with and even place. I have 
also observed that this type of pyr does not really bond well. I 
assume that this behavior is due to something wrong in their 
inherent make up.  I have had 3 here in rescue that were escape 
artists and all had been roaming free before coming into rescue 
and all were intact. All were between 1 and 2 years of age when 
they came into rescue.  The first, a female would just fly over 
anything and I actually saw her climb a 6 foot fence.  I did place 
her with people who understood the situation and reinforced their 
fencing, but she continued to escape on occasion.  They had her 
over 5 years when the final time she escaped she got into some 
poison and died.  Another young male was kept in foster care for 
over 6 months and he had lots of anxiety about being contained.  
He finally learned that good things were happening and has 
accepted containment.  The most recent young male was also 
found roaming and believe me, this houdini could jump over a 6' 
fence from a dead stand still!  He was finally placed in a wonderful 
home that has indoor kennels and large outdoor exercise areas for 
the dogs.  But the owner I'm sure has spent over $500 on hot wire 
and extending his paddock fencing to angle 45 degrees inward with 
hot wire.  Finding the right home for this type of pyr takes time.  
Understanding owners with the dedication to deal with this type of 
pyr are hard to find. The average pet owner does not want to deal 
with hot wire, laying underground wire or pounding rebar to 
reinforce fencing to prevent digging out. I'm sure the owners of this 
female pyr would benefit by joining a pyr discussion group, there 
are lots of smart folks out here who can offer advice and 
encouragement.

Judith
Taos, New Mexico
jsmiller@newmex.com
http://www.collo.net/~ksane/judy