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Did you say they bark a lot?? LOL
We have a long history of "dog controversies" in our neighborhood. (Our Mini-Pin was seriously mauled while walking to the mailbox with hubby, and several loose "attack" dogs have been legally ordered to be put-down.) If the neighbors are annoyed at Ombre barking it just helps to even the score. She's on our property (safely behind a 6 foot fence) and she's not hurting anything - their animals are afraid of her sheer size, so they stay away now too.
Because of the loose neighborhood dogs (and the occasional coyotes) we had Ombre spayed before that trouble even got started. She's a beautiful pedigreed animal, but we're not in the dog business and don't want to be. Her primary job is chicken protection INside the back yard, and she does it beautifully.
We tried to rescue, but the local animal shelter refused us multiple times because we wanted a dog to be primarily outdoors (and I refused to lie about it). They require that all their dogs be adopted as indoor pets. Only way we could get a dog for our needs was to buy one.
Ombre has 2 dog houses and other shelters in the yard, yet often decides to sleep in the snow despite several cozy choices. She spends a lot of time with hubby in the workshop, but quickly becomes too warm inside the house. Some dogs are well equipped to be outdoor pets, and I disagree with the shelter folks.
Because of the mauling incident Taz, our elderly Mini-Pin, is terrified of big dogs and refuses to have any association with Ombre or even go near the door to the back yard. We'd love to convince Taz that Ombre won't hurt her, and tried for months, but finally gave it up as a lost cause. It was just too traumatic for the high strung little old thing.
Reading all the postings is such encouragement to me. Being unfamiliar with all these Pyr quirks, it reassures me that Ombre is perfectly normal and we're probably doing okay by her. Thanks to all. Bark on!
Nancy
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