I am so sorry that you lost your mom. It's hard to cope with. Bless you for keeping her dogs together and taking them into your home. This will be a very hard time for both of them, but I somehow think it will be harder for the pyr. As long as you give him time to grieve and don't expect miracles overnight, I think it will be fine. Are you going to be taking some of her things with you? I was thinking of something that would retain her scent, blanket, quilt, comforter, etc. My mother lived with me for a few years, before she went into the nursing home and my female springer fell in love with mama. I took her to the nursing home to visit at least 2 or 3 times a week, while mama was there. When we knew she was dying, I brought mama to my house to die. Chichi would lay on the floor by mamas bed for hours, unless I called her out to eat, go out, etc. At night, Chichi and I slept in the bed with mama between us, up until she died. Afterwards, I gave Chichi Mamas quilt to sleep on. She had it in the nursing home and here in my house, so she knew it was hers. I also didn't wash it for a few weeks, until she had gotten to the point that she wasn't sniffing it each time she laid on it and would occassionally sleep on her bed, instead of the quilt. I think it helped her to get over her passing. I think it also helped that mama died here and she got the chance to sniff the body afterwards. I think dogs know when the soul has departed. As far as the other, dogs adapt really quickly to changes in their lives, as far as where they live. Jake, my pyr, came to us from a goat farm, living outside 24/7, sleeping on the ground, not housebroken, etc. He now sleeps with me every night. Cody came from a foster home, living outside,on a few acres in the country, etc. He loves being an inside dog. The dogs will adapt. Just be patient, start their training, and the process of you working with them to teach them the things you want them to do, will actually be a beginning in their forging strong bonds with you. As far as breed specific info is concerned, pyrs are barkers. They are basically guard dogs, meaning they are territorial and protective of what they consider to be theirs. They are not aggressive, by any means, but are naturally protective and will defend their "pack" and territory. They are normally very social, loving, dogs off property and are great dogs to take with you to dog friendly places, stores, parks, etc. Pyrs can be very stubborn and independent, meaning they are very intelligent dogs, but have been bred for making their own decisions and determining what they should be doing on their own. They are very loving dogs though and usually respond well to gentle corrections and positive reinforcement. I would never "snap" or jerk a leash on Jake, in order to get his attention or correct him. When we got him, he pulled me down the street, up other driveways, into light poles, etc. I finally bought him a prong collar. The first time I put it on him, he started to pull, felt the collar and stopped. The nice thing about a prong collar, especially with a pyr, the prongs go through the heavy fur and actually touch the skin, plus the collar lets them correct themselves, you don't have to. All I have to do now is put it on him and he is as good as gold on a leash. Actually, he is even good on a regular chain collar now. They are not hard to train, they just take more reinforcement and patience, especially as adults, than some other breeds do. They are not a dog that will happily follow you around, eagerly looking for something to do to make you happy. Also, if you plan on bathing him, be prepared to have to wet him down, shampoo him, to get the fur wet all the way to the skin and then shampoo him again. It will take a while to dry him as well, blowdryers help a lot. Pyrs are usually just brushed out good, periodically and not bathed more than 3 or 4 times a year. It can ruin his coat to do it too often. If you are tempted to shave him for the summer, please don't. The same heavy coat that keeps them warm in winter, actually acts as insulation against the summer heat to keep them cool. Also, if you shave the fur off, you have to use a good sunscreen to protect him from sunburn, due to all the white skin. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Kathy
