When we get
As livestock guardian dogs, they don’t behave like most breeds. They bark, they dig, they roam, and they’re very independent.
I love Great Pyrenees—that’s no secret. But, I don’t promote them
If you want a Great
You don’t like barking—especially at night
When people are interested in a Great Pyrenees and ask me about my experiences, I always start by saying that they bark a lot.
Like all. the. time.
This comment is usually followed by, “Oh, my *insert breed here* barks a lot too. At everything. So barking isn’t a big deal—we’re used to it.”
I can tell you that it’s unlikely that your dog barks as much as a pyr or other livestock guardian dog (LGD). Regardless of how much barking I try and prepare people for, they never believe me—until they add a pyr to their family.
Then I get the email: “Oh my gosh, I had no idea that dogs could bark that much!”
If you think you know
Related: Will My Great Pyrenees Bark All the Time?
You don’t have a fence
There’s a reason most rescues require a 6 ft fence for Great Pyrenees.
Pyrs can easily scale fences, require solid fencing, and
You won’t have much luck with invisible fences either. Pyrs have an incredibly high pain tolerance and won’t think twice about the shock.
If you don’t have a fence and want a Great Pyrenees, you’ll need to be able to commit to leash walking and other safe ways to exercise your dog.
Regardless if you have a sturdy fence or not, I am a big fan of GPS collars to easily track down your floof!
You want an off-leash dog
If you dream of walking along the beach with your pyr trotting along beside you or going to a hike while your dog frolics through the woods, you probably shouldn’t get a Great Pyrenees.
The vast majority of Great Pyrenees cannot be off-leash.
The saying goes: an off-leash pyr is a disapyr.
Atka can be off-leash in certain situations, but it has to be a pretty low key environment. Mauja and Kiska can never be off-leash. There have been several times that I’ve seen their
Such stinkers.
Everything goes back to this: Great Pyrenees are livestock guardian dogs.
They think their territory is as far as they can roam, and they’ll constantly test the limits. If you keep that in the front of your mind, you’ll never question your pyr’s behavior.
It’s like Mufasa said: “Everything the light touches is our kingdom.”
Related: How to Prevent Great Pyrenees Roaming
You want a trick dog
Pyrs are incredibly smart, but they aren’t usually interested in tricks and obedience. This doesn’t mean they can’t be trained—they just typically have better ideas.
“You want me to sit? Okay, I’ll sit, but I’m going to do it 15 feet away.”
“You want me to shake? Ehh… not really in the mood right now. Try again later.”
Shake, come, and down are trivial to them. They have more important things to focus on: protecting you and the rest of their flock.
This doesn’t mean that pyrs can’t be trained. They’re incredibly smart and need to be challenged. Just don’t expect it to be like training a Golden Retriever!
Related: 10 Tips for Training Great Pyrenees
You like a well-manicured lawn
Or at least one without giant craters.
I wish I had pictures of our lawn before we moved in. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a nice-looking yard.
Fast forward two
We tried to fence it off to grow grass, but they would just climb over and lay on the seeds. We eventually gave up.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve twisted my ankle or knee walking through the yard!
There are ways to minimize digging (like by building a digging box), but there’s always going to be a new place they want to dig. Mauja likes to try and remove the grass so she can lay on the cool dirt.
Related: Great Pyrenees Tips (from people who know the breed)
You don’t like brushing—or vacuuming 10 times a day
Grooming Great Pyrenees is
If I want to do a full grooming session—bath, brush, ears, nails, teeth, and paw trimming—I need to set aside a day to get all three dogs done. Even then, I sometimes have to spread it out over a few days so I don’t completely wear out.
You’ll also need to be prepared to vacuum multiple times per
Everything sticks to their coats and is brought inside. Some days, we have more leaves and small twigs around the house than fur. I’m not sure which I’d prefer!
Related: 5 Must-Have Tools for Grooming Great Pyrenees
What are other reasons a Great Pyrenees might not be for someone?
If you have a problem with drool – long long slimy sticky strings of drool on clothing, across their own nose, all over my golden retrievers after pyr play.
If I had read this before getting my 8 week old rescue or done any research at all I never would have gotten her but she was so cute & I didn’t know what a Pyr was. So home she came. The 1st year was a huge learning curve. I read all I could on the breed. I was terrified but thanks to a horrible childhood that gave me abandonment issues I refused to give up & took her to every class I could find, trained her as a therapy dog to give her a job & loved her no matter what she did or destroyed. It wasn’t easy but I believe there are no bad dogs, just bad owners. I now have 2 Pyrs but no yard, lots of holes, chewed furniture, very vocal Pyrs, enough fur & dirt inside to make another yard & a clogged vacuum but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I am thankful every day for them but I’m not typical. Think & research 1st!!❤️
Barking I don’t mind, I just open the door, take him out and let him see for himself it’s OK! All bets are off if a garbage truck appears anywhere!
Digging is not so bad, but god forbid there’s mud in the yard, he’ll find it and roll in it till he’s brown.
Escape artist! Absolutely, have a fifty foot leash to give him the feeling of roaming, speaking of which, he’s adopted all the neighbors kids! They help when he escapes! Usually through the front door!
Grooming, I actually like the bonding time!
What you didn’t mention is that they want to be the center of attention .
Loves water if it’s not past his chest.
Did manage to train him with the normal things, sit, sit up, paw, come, drop, speak ( easy) stay (not so much) but his two absolute favorite games are chase and hide and seek!
A little patience and a yard = Best dog ever!
My Pyr HATES to be brushed. If I take out the brush, she runs into her crate. She is badly matted, so I need help.
We rescued a 4 year old Pyr from our local shelter. No one would take him because he was so large. He had been there for 6 months and they were looking for a rescue sanctuary to take him. We are a very Senior Couple but still active, the Rescue agreed to let us take him on trial.
He is rarely alone and never for more than 3 hours. We fenced in a large part of our yard for him and walk him twice a day a mile each time. He learned that we were not going to let him chase the Squirrels and Wild Turkeys in our neighborhood pretty quickly, no problem. He hates cars, and trucks, especially the garbage truck. Any suggestion on how to stop him from trying to attack them while we are hanging onto the leash for dear life? He is super sweet and very affectionate, we would never give him up. We have even gotten used to the dog hair in and on everything!
I absolutely love this article. And yes, it is ALL true, plus some!! I too did all of my research before owning a Pyr and committed. I too thought I had it all under control. Well, she taught me who was boss! Lol. But I wouldn’t trade them for the world and now we accommodate our life and house to their needs. I wouldn’t own another breed! They are the most loving, loyal dogs out there. Yes they are super stubborn and bark endlessly. But they are worth every second of frustration. I would never give my children up just because they are smart and independent and full of life. They are my children. And I am blessed they have chosen to protect me!
Everything is very open with a precise description of the challenges.
It was definitely informative. Your site is extremely helpful.
Thanks for sharing!