Author Topic: should I adopt a great pyrenees?  (Read 17913 times)

Offline mastiffmommy

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #15 on: July 22, 2005, 12:13:15 am »
So I am swedish and my ex was too, I lived in London for a couple of years and now I am married to an american, you say they are like that in Canada too. It is now confirmed men are exactly the same alllllll over the world  ;D

Marit
what the lion is to a cat, the mastiff is to a dog

Offline tanimara

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #16 on: July 22, 2005, 09:49:45 am »
Let me tell you just one of the many Pyr stories I have from raising this breed for 20 years.  Chelle dont cry...

About 1996 I had a male stud dog named Illacom's Spirit of the Wolf, "Wolf" (see picture attached).

Here is his story:  http://www.geocities.com/tanimara_2000/Wolfs_Story.html

The one thing that is not in that story is the fact that the vet sent him home with me to care for.  No pain meds, no antibiotic (my regular vet was out of town).  During the night, we were setting on the sun porch.  All of the windows were open.  It was a beautiful evening.  About 3 am, Wolf was laying with his head in my lap, trying to rest.  Off in the distance I heard the howl of coyotes.  Wolf got up, even with the pain he was in, and started that guarding stance, growling and barking that deep resonant bark of a mature male Pyr.  The point is.... This dog was near death and he was still trying to eat the boogie man!

I dont tell this story often and did not retype it here (story in the link above)  because it still breaks my heart after all these years and Im sitting here crying right now.  The heart these dogs have is just unbelievable!  They are the opitimy of dog.  Creator's gift to us.  And oh what a gift!  The worst thing about owning a Pyr is.. you cant own just one.  They are elegant, protective, loving, and with a soul that overtakes your very being.  The spirit within touches you so strongly that it can not be ignored.  If you can deal with the negative aspect of the breed, which in my opinion is minor.. you wont find a better breed to be owned by.

I wanted to also say that Chelle is going to be picking up her Arwen in a few weeks.. Yeahhh I get to spoil her until then!  I named her Arwen and it stuck.  She is the great granddaughter of Wolf.  She has his temperament.  She will have his looks.  I only have one dog left out of his line and that is her father Warrior.

 I dont think, despite what Chelle wants, that she is going to do well making the switch to Delilah for a name at this point.  So Chelle and I were talking about names for her papers.  Chelle told me that a couple of years back (about that time) she found my site online and read Wolf's story.  She told me too that he was the most beautiful Pyr she had ever seen.  When she found out she was getting one of his g-grandaughtes, she decided to name her Tanimara's Arwen Memory of the Wolf.  So Im crying AGAIN!  I am honored Chelle and I thank you.

Wolf is living still in my heart and in his descendants.  He will always be in my heart as any of you know that have lost dogs.  And Im sure he is waiting on me at the bridge... Him and so many others... I expect to arrive at the bridge to a field of white waiting on me, including my precious Wolf...... I couldn't be happier.

Jackie

Jackie Wood
Owner/Breeder Tanimara Great Pyrenees

"A people without a history is like wind on the buffalo grass"
Crazy Horse - Oglala Sioux

Offline Nina

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #17 on: July 22, 2005, 09:59:05 am »
I read while on your site a while ago and bawled my face off and now when I think of it I still cry. What a wonderful dog and breed.


Nina
Nina and Tim
Calgary, AB, Canada
Harley(Lab mix)
Dilbert(Pyr mix)At the bridge
Jolene (cat)

Offline tanimara

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #18 on: July 22, 2005, 10:00:37 am »
By the way, this picture is not touched up except the fuzz around the edges.  His eyes really did look like that as did his daughtes and his grandson....

Jackie

The dog below is Arwen's grandmother Tanimara's Spirit Song... "Spirit"  Shown and pointed but not finished.  I lost her last year.  Same eyes as her grandpa.
Jackie Wood
Owner/Breeder Tanimara Great Pyrenees

"A people without a history is like wind on the buffalo grass"
Crazy Horse - Oglala Sioux

GYPSY JAZMINE

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #19 on: July 22, 2005, 10:58:44 am »
Yup, I'm crying...Big fat tears for Wolf...I would have never forgotten him even if I'd never met up with you, Jackie...That's why I am so very honored to be getting Arwen...Yup, I think I have given up on the name change completely...l ol...Tanimara's Arwen Memory Of The Wolf she shall be!....I am sure there are a kazillion Samson & Delilah's anyway...lol.. .& I shall tell Arwen often of the great Wolf! :'(...Another reason that I am so honored & happy to be getting one fo your dogs, Jackie is that it is so very evident that you love your dogs with all of your being...& also the very Pyr breed...It means alot to me to know that Arwen comes from good stuff!!! ;D

Offline DixieSugarBear

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #20 on: July 22, 2005, 11:10:59 am »
Gyps,  Just have Jackie name one from one of her next litter Delilah. That way you can have three.  Which is just what I am thinking bout doing.

Quote
They are elegant, protective, loving, and with a soul that overtakes your very being.



This quote by Jackie is so very true they do take over your very being.  My 24hr. a day daydream is of having a top quality Great Pyrenees kennel.  It is killing my day job, since all I want to do is study Pyrs. 

Lisa
Lisa, owned by the following:
Sugar Bear - Great Pyrenees 4.5 yr.
Dixie Darlin - Great Pyrenees 4 yr.
Penny Lane - Great Pyrenees 2.5 yr.
Beauman - Great Pyrenees 14 months
Izzy - Great Pyrenees 14 month
Rosie - Great Pyrenees (at the bridge)

Offline tanimara

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #21 on: July 22, 2005, 11:18:53 am »
Now you made me cry  :'(

And thank you.  I do love the breed.  Perhaps to much if that is possible.

Jackie
Jackie Wood
Owner/Breeder Tanimara Great Pyrenees

"A people without a history is like wind on the buffalo grass"
Crazy Horse - Oglala Sioux

Offline tanimara

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #22 on: July 22, 2005, 11:25:37 am »
Oh noooo Lisa.  You got the bug too huh?...lol  Everything white is addictive... heroine, cocaine, Great Pyrenees.. If there is a 12 step program for Prys.....I dont want to hear about it...lol

I dont know who came up with that quote but it certainly fits!

Jackie

Below is Tanimara's Napolian Brandi "Brandi"  with her mom... taken at 10 mo.  Out of Beluga and Freedom.
Jackie Wood
Owner/Breeder Tanimara Great Pyrenees

"A people without a history is like wind on the buffalo grass"
Crazy Horse - Oglala Sioux

GYPSY JAZMINE

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #23 on: July 22, 2005, 11:30:33 am »
Sorry I made you cry Jackie...I just really have a special feeling about getting Arwen...After meeting Wolf via his story & pic on the internet & then hearing from you about Arwen AND finding out she is Wolf's great grandaughter.. .well...lets just say it feel so right to be getting her because I am a BIG believer in fate & things unfolding as they should be...Anyway, I love Beluga's pic...Samson has that dirty feet thing going on often...Thank God I have dark brown carpet in the family room where he goes in & out through the sliding door & thank God for baby gates too!...lol!

Offline DixieSugarBear

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #24 on: July 22, 2005, 11:43:58 am »
Yes I have the bug bad.  I know it will take a few year of study just to see if I have what it takes.  I am making plans for taking Dixie to her first show in August. I have no idea what I am doing but I do think it will be fun.  How many females do most starting kennels have?  I now find with Dixie and Sugar Bear all I want to do is spend my time with them. So in a couple of years it my be time to sell my business and just make my babies my full time gig.

Lisa
Lisa, owned by the following:
Sugar Bear - Great Pyrenees 4.5 yr.
Dixie Darlin - Great Pyrenees 4 yr.
Penny Lane - Great Pyrenees 2.5 yr.
Beauman - Great Pyrenees 14 months
Izzy - Great Pyrenees 14 month
Rosie - Great Pyrenees (at the bridge)

Offline Kermit

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #25 on: July 24, 2005, 12:34:56 pm »
Listen to this quote from a book...
"Probably the most powerful breed in existance, the Great Pyrenees fortunately carries a kindly nature within its immense frame. Though suited to family life, it is not a dog to be kept indoors."

What do you think about that?

Also,
"These dogs need an enormous amount of food..."

Didn't someone say they don't eat much? Maybe I should take this book with a grain of salt?

GYPSY JAZMINE

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #26 on: July 24, 2005, 01:02:47 pm »
Listen to this quote from a book...
"Probably the most powerful breed in existance, the Great Pyrenees fortunately carries a kindly nature within its immense frame. Though suited to family life, it is not a dog to be kept indoors."

What do you think about that?

Also,
"These dogs need an enormous amount of food..."

Didn't someone say they don't eat much? Maybe I should take this book with a grain of salt?
I truely can't imagine having a better house dog than samson is...He doesn't move!...The only reason I could think of that they wouldn't make good house dogs is the shedding/blowing the coat issue & I think we've already addressed that...Samson is restricted to the downstairs of our house though...But, I swear, in my experience the hair isn't ahrd to clean up & not that terribly big of deal if you keep the dog brushed ona  regular basis...I have NEVER heard 1 Pyr owner say their Pyr eats alot...I am lucky to get Samson to finish 4 cups of kibble a day...& he is still growing & developing...I know his mother, who is a full fledged working dog on a sheep farm, eats only 2-3 cups a day....That is one thing that always surprises people....That he doesn't eat much...Pyrs have a very slow metabolism so they don't burn off the food very quickly...I would say that statement about the food is  COMPLETELY wrong!

Offline DixieSugarBear

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #27 on: July 24, 2005, 04:45:12 pm »
Dixie Darlin in 6 1/2 months and she eats about 3-4 cups a day.  Sugar Bear is 13 months and eats 2-3 cups a day.  They both get more treats than they should each day, guess I just love hand feeding them.  Rosie at 9 yrs. would eat about 2-3 cups a day.  So no they do not eat very much. 


Dixie Darlin and Sugar Bear go to work with me every day.  The have a dog door at the shop and at work so they can go outside if they want.  They spend maybe one hour a day outside.  Rosie liked to be outside at night to guard her property.  I can not belive anyone would say they do not make great indoor dogs. 

Lisa
Lisa, owned by the following:
Sugar Bear - Great Pyrenees 4.5 yr.
Dixie Darlin - Great Pyrenees 4 yr.
Penny Lane - Great Pyrenees 2.5 yr.
Beauman - Great Pyrenees 14 months
Izzy - Great Pyrenees 14 month
Rosie - Great Pyrenees (at the bridge)

Offline Pyr1

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #28 on: July 24, 2005, 09:09:22 pm »
Do you have room in your heart to fall in Love?
A Great Pyrenees is love in a fur coat.
Kaya hates motorcycles he barks at them when they pass, and he  is very stubborn.
He has a mind of his own and when we go for a walk he wants to lead.
He hates it when I clean his teeth and does not eat much.
Perhaps I should rephrase it a Great Pyrenees is a loving Angel in a fur coat.
The time we spent together is very special, I don't want it to ever end.
I always look forward to his welcome greeting and the kiss of my lips on his velvety ear.
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
- Groucho Marx (1890 - 1977)

Offline Teresa Marie

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Re: should I adopt a great pyrenees?
« Reply #29 on: July 25, 2005, 01:57:49 pm »

We knew we were getting  breed of dog that wasn't anything we'd ever run across before but we decided all the traits were exactly what we had hoped for.

So we brought home our puppy.  Went through all the stages of puppyhood, then all the stages of adolecence,but through her life she's always been the most well mannered housedog ever.

She dosen't sleep in the middle of our narrow hallway unless it's at night and she's gaurding it with "one eye open"
She finds places to sleep by windows, or near beds, durring the day.
House training was a SNAP. I think she understood it within three days of being here. (she was 11 weeks old)
If she's going down the hallway,the same time one of the kids are,she pauses and leans against my wall,letting them pass first.
She's very very carefull around babies. She grew up with two of them! (she's five years old now) and though I always supervise an infant on the floor,I had no worries about putting  Blizzard in another room. However, when visitors came to see one of the babies,she would hover way to close.

There's so many things she amazes me with in her free thinking. Like the time she had protected my son from being  picked on by a neighbor kid four years older then him.

Blizzard stood between the boys, facing the interloper of our yard, gave a three bark warning. When the boy just laughed and ignored the dog,reaching around to push my son, Blizzard leapt up and headbutted the boy's chest..knockin g him down, and THEN gave another three bark warning. By then I'd rushed out to see what was going on, but she had enough sence to NOT bite this other child. She didn't even growl at him. She just wanted him away from my son.