Posted: 9/21/2011 10:15:25 AM EDT
| Does anyone have any experience with this breed? My husband and I adopted one from a person who could not keep her in an apartment. Since then, she has torn up our flower bed numerous times, destroyed the window ledge and stairs by knawing on them. Also, whenever we leave her in her cage she gets out of it when we're gone and goes through miscellaneous things biting and ripping them up like a Tazmainian devil. She has plenty of toys, food and attention. We've gotten home after being out and it's like a tornado ripped through the house. |
|
Quoted:
She has plenty of toys, food and attention. We've gotten home after being out and it's like a tornado ripped through the house. She needs more exercise. Long, long walks, etc. Separation anxiety could also be a factor. Some dogs can't handle being alone. |
I have a half GP and half Red Heeler. She like to go on walks to patrol the neighborhood. This tempers her energy. GP are a low energy breed by nature so it shouldn't take too much. For the chewing, I recommend Bully Sticks. They are expensive, but still cheaper than your belongings. Mine doesn't chew on anything but her Bully Sticks. She does love to rip the stuffing out of her toys, but that's what they are for. She enjoys squeaky toys with stuffing the most. Hope this helps.
|
| no first hand pyr experience here, but we have had 5 leo's and 3 leo mixes. all but 2 were rescued at various ages. leo's are similar to your pyr. first, forget the crate. second, the pyr should be outside patrolling your property lines. third, give her a job, get some livestock for her to protect. chickens are easy and cheap and you get eggs. goats are also low profile pets and provide milk. fourth, train with positive reinforcement and praise. fifth, install doggie doors to allow her to get to the yard. your pup needs a role in your pack and the pyr's excel as a livestock guard dog. |
|
Quoted:
no first hand pyr experience here, but we have had 5 leo's and 3 leo mixes. all but 2 were rescued at various ages. leo's are similar to your pyr. first, forget the crate. second, the pyr should be outside patrolling your property lines. third, give her a job, get some livestock for her to protect. chickens are easy and cheap and you get eggs. goats are also low profile pets and provide milk. fourth, train with positive reinforcement and praise. fifth, install doggie doors to allow her to get to the yard. your pup needs a role in your pack and the pyr's excel as a livestock guard dog. This - GP's are a livestock protection breed - they want to be outdoors and all the time doing what is instinctive to them. Give them some thing to protect and let them out. If you live in a neighborhood, give her to a farmer outside of town, you will not survive (nor will she) keeping her as a house pet. ETA - many GP owners up here let the dog live in the barn & pastures with the livestock - they never come inside. |
| I have a Great Pyr/Lab mix (my profile pic). She doesn't have the Great Pyr look but she definitely has the personality. You need to give a dog like this something to do. We opted to send our dog to a doggy daycare a couple times a week. Your dog will definitely need to be walked once if not twice a day. Some other options are to give the dog something to do in it's crate. We give our foster dog a big Kong that is stuffed with a peanut butter and plain yogurt mixture that is then frozen (he is a lab/collie mix). Since it is frozen, it takes him a while to work it all out. Another option is that you can buy dog puzzle toys. It gives their mind something to do. I have never tried one but I have seen them on Animal Planet several times. Good luck. Great Pyrs can be challenging but their loyalty is so second to none. |
|
I have owned several Pyrs in the past and was also active in breed rescue as well. The dog needs a job, such as a kid, kid, kitten, livestock or yard to watch. I couldn't think of a worse breed to keep as a solitary pet, they really need to work. Also keep in mind that most are distrustful of people and tend to be dog aggressive. They need to be socialized constantly, not just as puppies but as adults-they do bite and they do fight. They bark at everything and shed like sheep. Most can learn to walk on a leash and sit but many can't pass a canine good citizen test because come is not usually in their vocabulary. They are supposed to do these things, but most people don't need such a type A guard dog and find them difficult to live with. I hate to scare people away from the breed but working in Pyr rescue, you see the same stories frequently. I currently have a border collie because I wanted a dog to hike off leash and my kids are old enough that I don't need an extra set of eyes all the time. I miss my Pyrs dearly but Pyrs and livestock guardian dogs in general are simply not like owning other dogs. If you don't have a house full of toddlers or some livestock to watch, you may want to consider finding it a home with something to watch and finding a dog that fits your needs.
|
|
I have a Kuvasz which is a close cousin of the Pyr. What you're describing is pretty typical of a bored and/or underexercised flock guardian dog. I agree with the other suggestions along the lines of more exercise and/or some sort of "job" to do. Also, if the dog is still young (under 3 years) she may still be maturing.
There is a member here, username chrismartin, who has several Pyrs. He posts in the Pet forum sometimes. Might want to contact him as well. |
|
Yes, I have two Prys. They are, and have been, a challenge.
We haven't had much significant damage (just a bunch of little things), but we have 3 other dogs and a big yard that they play in. By far the two Pyrs (brother and sister littler-mates) play the most outside together. They like to roughhouse with each other. The more they wear each other out, the better. So far, they have chewed up a couple of bannisters, the corner of a wall, the corner of the kitchen cabinet, a cordless phone, a couple of pillows, the corner of a couch cushion (easily fixed), a table cloth, the pocket out of a pair of pants of mine (great for loosing keys), a few t-shirts, a pair of my sun glasses (still haven't found the lenses), I could go on, but I'd rather not add it all up :) They are the reason that I can't have anything nice :) So, everything that is mentioned above will help. The more they do, the more they will sleep, the less they will destroy things. They like open spaces, they like a job. Ours have done better with our training classes. The more we take them out to training classes, the less they get into stuff. We are on a month long hiatus from dog classes right now and they are starting to get into more stuff (Sunglasses, a pillow and the table cloth all in the last two weeks) Luckily, it's hasn't been daily destruction for us, just something maybe once a week or less. You didn't mention how old she is. Ours have also lightened up a bit since they hit around a year old. All our dogs stay in our kitchen/dining room area when we are away, blocked off from the rest of the house. Our male is a guardian. ANY food, treat, toy, person, he will guard it and snap at our other dogs if they get near. The female is similar, but not nearly as bad. 
|
|
We've had our Pyr for almost 5 years. She is our only dog. She is a great guard dog. She is great with my 2 year old - adjusted to his addition quite well. Very wary of new visitors - but warms up to them after a few visits - has to get her smells in of course. She loves being outside. We have about a half acre lot which she loves to patrol. She barks a lot! If she sees something out of the ordinary she barks. My wife feels very safe when home alone with her. She is our first line of defense. She played well with a neighbor Dobberman (same age) as a puppy - however she has never gotten along with any other dog since then. We have a difficult time with her running up and down the property line when people walk by on the sidewalk. We have an invisible fence which works really well - so long as the battery is good. I don't think she actually feels any pain from the shock. I think the beeping reminds her more where her territory ends. I've heard the breed is notorious for roaming - however our Pyr has been pretty content to guard the property and not go anywhere else. She generally stays in doors when we are not at home. We only had a small bit of chewing on furniture when she was a puppy. She potty trained easily at 2 months old! We love our Pyr - other than the shedding and incessant barking at times.
Also a quick story. An salesman rings my doorbell. Penny, our Pyr, runs to the door barking. Sales man backs up 10 feet from door as I begin to unlock and open. He introduces himself as an ATD security salesman and asks if I have a home security system. I look back to my dog and then at the salesman. "You just met her." I pity the burglar that gets into my house and meets my Pyr. |
|
Quoted:
So far, they have chewed up a couple of bannisters, the corner of a wall, the corner of the kitchen cabinet, a cordless phone, a couple of pillows, the corner of a couch cushion (easily fixed), a table cloth, the pocket out of a pair of pants of mine (great for loosing keys), a few t-shirts, a pair of my sun glasses (still haven't found the lenses), I could go on, but I'd rather not add it all up :) Our heavily supervised Kuvasz has managed to chew the corner off a bottom windowsill and chew several others, destroy about 10 slats on some blinds (chewed big chunks out of the plastic, and some smaller things. She also chewed up a pair of my prescription Oakleys. They're still usable but the lenses look like they got hit with birdshot. If you think something is hung up high enough to be out of reach of one of these dogs ... think again and put it 2 feet higher. The more they do, the more they will sleep, the less they will destroy things.
That's pretty much the bottom line. Our dog is fantastically well behaved after going to "doggie daycare" or after a 2 hour run in the dog park. Other times ... not so much. |
|
Quoted:
If you think something is hung up high enough to be out of reach of one of these dogs ... think again and put it 2 feet higher. My GSD chewed apart two cell phones before I learned that the top of the refrigerator was the only safe place to leave them. 
|