Great Pyr’s white fur and black eyes can almost steal anyone’s heart. Additionally, their super protective nature with humans makes you want to have one at home. But do you know about the Great Pyrenees’ behavior problems? If not, it’s about time you have a look before bringing one home.
First things first, you need to have a gigantic house if you want a huge-sized breed of dog. So if you are living in an apartment, drop this option right away! Remember, the furry boy mostly fits in a farm environment or a big, big house just like its size.
Secondly, you need to know a little history so that studying behavior helps you relate.
Did you know? The white coat they have helped them camouflage with the sheep. The Great Pyrenees is a mountain dog, originally belonging to France and Spain. Have you heard of the Pyrenees mountains? Yes exactly, the name comes from Europe’s beautiful peak where the dogs guarded sheep for shepherds. Thus, you can safely call them guard dogs.
Just a few years ago they were tied in front of carts to deliver dairy, and now they are a pet in many houses.
Great Pyrenees- good and bad behavior
Pyr is a great livestock-guarding dog as well as a gentle dog to have in a large house. The majestic, muscular beast can put anyone to the floor with its immense power or just by intensive barking.
What is it about their behavior that frightens everyone? Let us have a look.
Guards House
DNA plays a role in guardianship and your dog is a guard dog. No matter what you do you will find the white fluffy boy guarding you and the house all night. Do you know what happens with the slightest of change? Yes, a montage of barking!
They consider the family as livestock and protect it the same way.
Not just the territory they live on, Pyres are overprotective of their family and belongings. They have been doing that for years, and well what else can you expect from a guarding dog. Remember the belonging includes the owner too.
In short, pyre makes the best guarding dog, who is powerful in attack too.
Note- Pyre requires a lot of supervision because they love wandering so put them inside the fences.
Intensive Barking
They’re gentle giants but terrible barking dogs. Before buying let me warn you that the booming barks might be the reason your neighbor calls cops on you. And this is the Great Pyrenees’ toughest behavioral issue to deal with.
They are so thoughtful and alert that they notice even the slightest of change around, and bark to alarm the surrounding. With something as small as a leaf falls on the ground, or a delivery man arrives at the door, the dog has to acknowledge it.
If you live in a highly dense area keep the dog inside.
Intelligent
If I say they are smart I wouldn’t be wrong. If you go back in time, the Great Pyrenees would take the herds to grazing ground, protect them and actually bring them back to place before the Sun sets ON ALL THEIR OWN. I mean performing duties of a shepherd, if that’s not intelligence, what is?
This trait also adds to their independent behavior which may be difficult to handle by some dog owners.
Independent
Large breed dogs are independent and take their decisions on their own. They originally belonged to the mountain area where they guarded the sheep, thus independence is a genetic factor. This is also the reason they have an instinct to bark.
In my opinion, this is the most difficult aspect of the personality to deal with. The strong-willed dog would seldom show dominance over bones and toys that are to prove he owns all the resources
Thus, this is another great Pyrenees behavior problem to address.
Aggressive
Popularly Pyres are known to be aggressive. Aggressiveness is a mixture of genes, social factors, and training.
Mostly, you’ll see them being aggressive towards strangers and someone who doesn’t belong to his living dog or human family. Only about 22% of Pyrenees are aggressive towards strangers. Thus, compared to other dogs you can call them aggressive.
Aggressiveness is not a problem but it usually happens when they are untrained and haven’t socialized.
Not to forget, It really depends on the parents, were they aggressive? Then the chance increases.
It’s recommended to meet puppy parents before adopting them so you may be able to notice their unusual behavior.
Stubborn- Doesn’t follow on being called up
If they’re outside and like being there, no matter how long you call them they’ll act like they never heard you. Similarly, if they are lazy and resting inside the house, they will not give up on their comfort and come to you. In short, the dog will look at you but ignore you like a pro and continue doing what makes it happy.
I’d again call this the toughest behavior problem of Great Pyrenees to deal with. What’s the solution? Patience, patience is the key.
Lazy
The Great Pyrenees are not very fond of walking and they’d prefer laying down in the lounge. Just fifteen to twenty minutes of physical activity and the lazy boy says bye to the walking space.
Moreover, they don’t get much sleep at night as they are busy guarding. After all, you got a guarding dog, remember? The doggo has got low energy levels.
Antisocial
Since Pyre is a livestock-guarding dog from the mountains you can expect it to bark at new faces. Their guarding nature counts the new faces as a sign of danger, and well you wave off the danger. No?
Pyre loves to stay indoors and guard the people as well as the territory.
Hence, socialization with Pyre is very important, even when he’s a few weeks old, take him out, introduce him to a variety of people and also invite or arrange dog parties. This way he’ll eventually grow familiar with faces
Loyalty
The livestock-guarding dog is known to be loyal to farmers as well as the flock of sheep. They’ll protect the owner with intense barking and rarely ever attack unless pushed to limits.
Thus, their loyal and loving nature is another reason for them being a keeper.
Calming Nature
Yes, this statement can be a bit confusing mainly because Pyre barks a lot but on the other hand, they are the calmest dogs you’ll come across.
The gigantic doggo enjoys his time alone and has a very calm nature. He’s well mannered until he finds the stupidest reason to bark.
Additionally, he is serious and calm-looking rather than being a playfully stupid dog.
Treatment with other pets and dogs
As mentioned before, The Great Pyrenees was born to guard the flock. Anybody living in the family including a cat, dog, or even rabbit is considered as a part of livestock and they are friendly towards them.
Moreover, they consider it their duty to protect everyone living in the house. However, when a new animal arrives they might take them as an intruder (if not trained accordingly).
Chewers
Another Pyrenees behavior problem is excessive chewing.
Some Pyres can give you a hard time due to their destructive nature. The dogs need something to chew on most of the time, so keep teethers and bones around, otherwise, you’d find teeth marks over the furniture.
As puppies, most people keep them in crates because they can be really destructive.
Cuddlebug
Believe me or not this boy is a lovable goof. He loves cuddles and uninterrupted attention all the time. Who doesn’t want a large cuddle bug at home?
Moreover, it has a high tendency to drool.
Gives his paw forward
The Pyrenees, like all other dogs, love a lot of attention. They love being pets and every time you stop, they actually move the paw forward. Who can say no to that gigantic, lovable paw?
Additionally, they have a great attitude with children and make a great family dog
Difficult to train
Care and training of these Pyrenees puppies is a difficult task.
Since they are bulky during training years it’s important to give them a good exercise routine for keeping them lean. Keep them occupied because when they are seriously bored they might become destructive.
Most importantly, teach them how to recognize a visitor, or else they wouldn’t take more than a moment to count it as an intruder.
How to deal with Great Pyrenees’ behavioral problems?
There are both good and bad aspects of having a large-breed guarding dog. Considering the good part you might want to have one. But the question is, how to deal with Great Pyrenees Behavior Problems?
Go through a few tips that can greatly aid in looking after the Great Pyrenees.
- If you get a puppy raising him right highly depends on your training too. Make sure you refer to the right breeder. Unfortunately, it’s uncertain to predict if a puppy has temperament and health issues.
- Adopt a dog from an animal rescue or shelter group this means he will have fewer negative traits as you already know what you’re getting.
- Enroll the puppy into obedience classes for dominant behavior.
- Socialize your puppy as early as possible so that he stops barking at everyone. Take him to puppy classes.
- Positive reinforcement is important to train dogs. They are a working breed and enjoy actual work involved in trials and dog sports. This helps bring out the brighter side.
- Walks show who is in the pack. If he’s way too dominating, take him for walks but make sure you lead them. Either walk forward or beside the doggo.
- Not just his behavior, groom the dog’s appearance too. Look for brown tears in his eyes every week. Keep the nails short and ears clean. And most importantly, since they shed a lot, brush their coat along with regular baths.
Conclusion. Great Pyrenees Behavior Problems
With that said, I can say that Great Pyrenees Behavior problems such as barking and not listening to commands can be troublesome to deal with. However, with prompt training and healthy exercises, it can be resolved to an extent. So if you have a large open space and have always wanted a large breed dog, get yours today!
I had 2 Newfoundlands 1 was 12 & 1 was 11 when they passed away. How different is this breed compared to Newfs?