I’m always trying to figure out what I can do to keep Mauja and Atka happy. While the fluffies are our whole world, I continually feel there is more I could do for them. After much thought, I came up with 10 tips for a happy Great Pyrenees.
Buy an expensive dog bed
Then watch the dog bed sit in the corner collecting dust while your Great Pyrenees prefers to lay on the cool, hard floor. Or completely take over your couch. One of the two.
Set up play dates
You want to keep your Pyrenees exercised and socialized. After 5 minutes of play, realize Pyrenees has settled into guard dog duty in the shade instead.
Schedule a spa day
High-end shampoo and conditioner, paw massages, and a thorough brushing to keep the coat functioning well. Catch Pyrenees rolling in the mud as soon as you get home.
Related: Grooming a Double Coated Dog
Feed premium-quality food
Spend your day preparing healthy meals or purchase top of the line food for your Pyrenees. Cry when your Pyrenees snubs your high-quality, healthy meal.
Put out a baby pool
Search high and low for a Pyrenees-sized pool to keep him cool in the summer. Watch Pyrenees use it as a giant water bowl instead.
Prepare a Kong with favorite snacks
Notice Pyrenees get bored of the Kong after 5 minutes, before becoming even close to finishing it. This is true for most all treat-dispensing toys.
Buy presents for each holiday or celebration
Throw your hands up in despair as Pyrenees completely ignores the new toys.
Related: 2016 Great Pyrenees Holiday Gift Guide
Encourage sleeping and cuddling on the bed
Remember Pyrenees is massive and you have to sleep on the floor instead.
Allow guarding and barking
Both are necessary to satisfy instinctual needs and keep yourself safe. Learn that Pyrenees thinks the leaves blowing outside are threats (or any of these other 101+ reasons).
Offer all the kisses and snuggles in the world
Live your happiest lives together <3
How do you keep your Great Pyrenees happy?
Those sound like 10 tips for any pup! 🙂 Great list!
BOL! Oh my, these fit with my GSD Magic, too! And with the cats…. Not that they’re as big as a Pyr, they only think they are.
Great list! I love the one about buying the expensive dog bed. 🙂
A twin mattress works well as a Great Pyr dog bed and it is easy to change sheets. However when I am shopping, my Pyr pulls out tiny dog beds, pillow size for her, and seems to think they are great. Great for what?
Completely fits our Pyr to a T. ? Love the snuggles.
All those things are too true. I have found my pyr loves walks, car rides, belly rubs, and treats.
That’s about the extent of his favorite things except me, I’m his favorite person. Thankfully !
Very sweet tip list. I love it. <3
My 2 Pyrenéerer liks always 2 be outdoors and slips on ther Backs with all feets in the air
I to love the one about the dog bed, my husband came home with a hug and costly dog bed for Chance. Put it down and left the room was gone about an hour and went back to see how he was enjoying it, and we found it all over the house. Still have it stuffed back in one bundle and it out in the in a store room, can’t bring myself to through it out cost to much and maybe someday I may make a new bed out of it.
Lol! This is great, but I must say I don’t think it’s just a Pyreness thing.
My Pyrenees (6 months) has her own miniature horse! They play and hang out together. They have their own barn and when the new bedding is put in they both try to roll around in it at the same time. So Kona is now Tinks guardian.
I could not cope with a Pyrenean I know it, they are like me far too high maintenance!!! I love a comfortable bed, and a spa day and I am SO over toys in five minutes.
These are really sensible and focused notes. Sometimes we need to have the obvious pointed out to us to bring us back to the here and now, so thank you for this.
My ex hubby is from PAU in France. Pretty much where a lot of these dogs, live and work. They are an impressive bunch to watch!
Great tips / to do list for any pet – thanks for this list
BOL, this is so funny! I like all of the things we buy and then “watch them not using them”
Like Cockers (my favorite breed), Great Pyrs get a lot of false info online. I am happy you are getting the word out about the do’s and dont’s. Way to go in keeping folks educated.
This is funny, I don’t have Great Pyrs, but I can relate to some of those.
These had me giggling while I was reading them. Especially the dog bed one, cause I see that one every day with our crew!
Hysterical! Many of these sound familiar, but retty sure Ruby is not part Great Pyrenees since she only weighs 15 pounds. LOL
Excellent job on educating about this beautiful breed – first tip was to buy an expensive bed, and that made me laugh because it is so true!
Beautiful dogs and great tips! These would make for happy Huskies, too!
Ah yes, we caught Mr. N ignoring the pillow in favor of sleeping with his head on a hairbrush! How is that comfortable?
This is awesome and made me giggle…and cry a little because, even though I don’t have Great Pyrenees, I can SO relate! 😉 Especially, the baby pool that Simon and Zora (labs for crying out loud) ignore and Piper (pit bull) is afraid of!
This is too funny. They sound like being owned by two pampered Persians.
That is such an awesome list for any pup. Simply love the picture of the 2 of them together they look so happy
Thank you for sharing! Great Pyrenees is such a beautiful dog breeds, I think I’m in love with their full white coat~
Buy a $2000.00 living room set as your Pyrs new chew toy!!!! It is now in my mud room for them to sleep on (talk about expensive dog beds!!!) and it isn’t even paid off yet!! Have actually owned it for less than a year!! Found my next couch already….. $350.00 LOL!!! I did buy several actual dog beds…. and yes, they did sleep on them…. until they found out they made GREAT chew toys and it looked like I had green snow in my house for MONTHS!!!! Live and learn!
I have to big males, Moby and Samson. Moby is a great dog but horrible Pyr. No barking, no craziness…. Samson on the other hand, does is all. He barks,digs, looks at me like I’m crazy when I call him in, sits out in the rain… horrible dog but wonderful Pyr. Neither do beds, or kongs. Sammy will chase a thrown baby. While Berners are my favorite breed I’ll always have atleast one of these guys. Then are wonderful dogs
I gave my Pyr two ginger kittens. Best plaything ever! They sleep with him and make him play. He abandoned his expensive bed for a foam futon, which iis now his. He fits your profile perfectly.
This is such a great post. And by the way, you have beautiful fur babies!
Thank you for sharing! 🙂 Julie
Ike thinks the purpose of any stuffed item (bed, toy,pillows) is to figure out the fastest way to get inside and distribute the stuffing. The more dog proof it is, the bigger the challenge and more exciting it is to destroy. I t also think he looks at the price tag- if its cheap forget it.
You so hit the mark, but my 120 pd pyre mix loves beds WITH PILLOW !!! I found used baby mattress at yard sale , he sleeps on that in tv room. Then has extra cushy bed in his crate he likes to sleep upsidedown on . And spends part of night in my bed. he just makes tbe bed rounds all night. Lol. . .we rescued him at 4 months. We spent SO MUCH on dog toys. . .his favorite is an empty gallion water jug. . . Ictry to rencourage him to dig because he so loves it. Does happy spins inbetween bouts of digging. I just fill them back in later. Marlow just turned 4.
LoL – great list, so true. My boy is now 3 and actually does have a favorite toy, a bright orange squeeky squirrel. Then he loves empty water bottles. He also loves our long walks together, as do I. One annoying habit he has that I can’t seem to break is his obsession with his food in the dish. He just keeps trying to either bury it or scoop it out with his nose. But, what can I do? He’s my best friend in the world! Lots of love for my boy!
I can relate but with my two cats Coco and Cotton. I haven’t thrown out the two beds I bought over 2 years ago, which they have yet to sleep on. I think about them at nights when I try to turn and find my legs hindered by cats on my blanket. And all the toys are abandoned in favor of candy or anything stolen from my purse, my emery boards, or just digging my clothes out of my drawer and unto the floor if I ever forget to close it.
Oh yeah and I can leave no usb cord unmonitored. To top it off they are totally unrepentant and give me so much attitude after the fact, I can’t help but crack up as I wonder, who really owns who?
This is our Pyr exactly, great list lol
You hit the nail on the head!!! This describes our pyrenese to a tee!!!!!
We rescue our from a guy who after 2 yrs realize he could not care for him in the ways he needed. Was kept in a crate and never aloud to roam the house. So now he hasn’t been socialized he thinks every body who tries to enter the house (besides us) is evil. And goes nuts. I’m afraid he will bite someone. Other from that he’s exstreamly active, and Lovable. Any suggestion? We’ve only had him 7 months now and seems like his overly aggressive behavior towards others coming in the house is getting worse. If out side meeting people he’s fine but still won’t let them in the house. Help. I love him and don’t want my dog have to be locked in another room every time someone comes over. I would like him to be able to socialize
That’s a great list! I have tried some of it and gonna try others as well. I think it’s very important to keep them happy as it has a positive impact on dog health.
My Pyr is a service dog and travels with me extensively. When we are not home in Utah with her big back yard, I not only take her for long walks, we found a way to chase squirrels together attached by a leash. She takes 2 quick steps and pauses and repeats until we reach the tree the squirrel is treed in. She then stands on her hind legs trying to climb the tree to get the squirrel that she just knows she could catch, if I would only let her off leash to try. I have photos with her trying to climb to the squirrel and the squirrel facing down the tree to scold her, but I couldn’t drop and drag them here. We do not seem to have any squirrels in Northern Utah, so it is a treat when we can “chase” them in Texas, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, or elsewhere.
We have a fluffy friend and I have run the gamut on food for him. Holistic, core wellness, blue, you name it. He seemed to like the Science Diet for giant breed puppy but I am not sure its a good quality food. Any recommendations for a brand you or your readers use? Favorites? We also have a 12 year old Weimaraner and she is finicky and will only eat any food for a couple of weeks and then wants a change. Trying to find one food that will keep them healthy, and keep me cleaning up solid mess…
I can relate to most of these.
Bella & Boone (both GP) are also very happy digging next to the steps to stay cool. During the warmer months, they prefer indoors but when it’s above 75, I have to drag them inside.
Their kiddie pool is defiantly used more as an over-sized water bowl.
They are the pickiest eaters I’ve ever seen.
They bark at a shift in the wind.
Nocturnal roaming in the house now has me sleeping with ear muffs on.
Considering buying a Rumba to help with the fur on the floor.
Currently changing T-shirt’s at least three times a day due to the drool I inherit when they want to cuddle.
Stuffed animals belonging to the grandkids are fair game if left out.
I wouldn’t change them for the world!!
Great tips for anyone. personally we have face issue in spending time with them to do these.But i always trying to stay with my pups.Thanks for great tips.
Oh my gosh, so funny! All of this is so true. Just makes ya love your fluffy friend all the more!
This is great, but I must say I don’t think it’s just a Pyreness thing.