(This a compilation of things I have learned from many articles on the Great Pyrenees)

Black Markings

Excerpt of Standards

Today's Livestock Guardian Dog

Independence in Your Livestock Guardian

Keep the Coat

Methods of Defense

Summary

It has been asked many times what can be expected of a Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dog. To answer this one must understand a little about the breed, for what purpose and how they were bred.

The Pyrenees dogs are one of several breeds known as “The Great White Mountain Dogs” in Europe. Ranging from Germany, Sweden and Norway to the north down to the Mediterranean Sea to the South, throughout Poland, Russia, and Turkey to the East, then back to the Atlantic ocean near Spain, Portugal and France to the west, these dogs guarded the flocks and herds of sheep, goats, cattle, camels, llama's, and Alpaca's as well as the people for many centuries.

The livestock guardian dogs lived with the shepherd's in the mountains and valleys throughout Europe and the Far East. They helped the shepherds tend the flocks guarding against all predators, as well as, alerting the shepherds when livestock needed assistance the dog could not provide. These canines endured floods, fires, and drought, extremes of heat and cold, blizzards, hurricanes, cyclones. Withstanding all this, they still controlled the wildlife in the area of their flocks and herds while living off the land with the shepherd.

The Great Pyrenees, Maremma, Akbash, Kuvaz, Kommondor are all very closely related, looking very similar in stature and conformation varying only in the particular wildlife, climate and terrain in their region. Their main differences being only which side of the mountains they came from. Stood together, except for the rope qualities of the coat of the Kommondor even a long time breeder has difficulty to distinguishing between some of these breeds by looks alone.

The Kuvaz, Maremma, Akbash and Kommondor all seem to be more aggressive to mankind, while the Pyrenees will tolerate more interaction from people but still not allowing them to harass, injure, or kill the livestock they are guarding. The Anatolian and Caucasian Ovcharka while being livestock guardian breeds came from the North African plains and deserts and are generally much shorter coated and also quite violent to human predators as well as the 4 legged kind.

The French Basque shepherds are noted for the Great Pyrenees dogs more than any other breed, with the nobility in France becoming quite captivated with them during the 17th century. Many of these dogs spent their lives guarding nothing more than the front door of the estates and manors of the very wealthy during this period. Even with this “life of Riley” these Great White Dogs never lost their independence or thinking ability. Even today they are quite happy running your farm or ranch to their satisfaction if it is allowed.

Black Markings

The Great Pyrenees originally had some color in the form of a mask, body spots, and the characteristic tail spot, right at the base of the tail. Good livestock guardian instinct is bred by generations of livestock duty, either the color or pure white, has no bearing, we just really feel that the color adds personality and beauty. So we do try to breed for masks, and body spots, although this is very difficult, since generations have been selectively bred for pure white.

From the following passage you will notice; the Great Pyrenees with black is necessary to maintain the size, strength and skin pigment of this truly beautiful dog. We have bred and raised black marked Great Pyrenees for 7 years. To us black has always been a necessity, and all of our pups/ dogs carry the genetic trait for black, whether their masks are white, cream, grey, black or any combination. You may find others that after disapproving the black in our lines, are now adding it to their breeding program. For us the black markings on the Great Pyrenees is a site to behold and we are privileged to have maintained it as part of our breeding program from the very beginning. Purebred Great Pyrenees, with or without papers, will always maintain the double dew claws and strong jaw and I am privileged to have it as part of my breeding program.

Excerpt of Standards

Passage taken From “THE WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DOGS”
Edited by Ferelith Hamilton and Mr. Arthur F Jones.
Color: The assumption that the pure bred Pyrenean must be white is erroneous. The permitted colors are all-white or mainly white with markings of badger, gray or varying shades of tan, mainly on the head, or at the root of the tail. Badger, or blaireau, as it is called, is an admixture of brown, black, gray and white hairs and is common in puppies, but generally fades on maturity. Patches of pure black are not admitted in the show ring, although black and white dogs sometimes appear in correctly color-bred litters. The desired jet black nose, lips and eye rims still cannot be maintained in successive generations of all-white dogs without breeding back to the colored mountain type. It is noticeable that not only pigment but increased size and vigor become apparent when color is introduced into the all-white strain, and in spite of the lack of scientific support for the fact, all-white breeding tends to produce progressively smaller Pyreneans. [Emphasis MiVida De Oro's]

Standards: The first Pyrenean Standard to be generally accepted was laid down by the Reunion des Amateurs de Chiens Pyreneens, shortly after the First World War. When breeding began in America in the early 1930's, the French Standard was translated and accepted as it stood, but in 1935 it was replaced by a new one which contained a significant number of omissions and alterations, one of which, to the detriment of the breed, lowered the minimum height by 2 cms. Another alteration included the head, with the shorter muzzle favored in England and America , but which is not acceptable in France , where the longer foreface is considered correct. It was the American Standard which, a few years later, was adopted in its entirety by the Pyrenean Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain, apparently without further reference to the original French translation. Essentially, however, all the Standards call for a dog of great size (27" to 32" for dogs, 25" to 29" for bitches), strongly built, but with a certain elegance and a kindly disposition. He should have a thick double coat, with a fine white undercoat and a long, flat outer coat of a coarser hair. Black on nose and eyerims and an unbroken black mouth line are also necessary. In the all-white dog good pigment would ideally be linked with black pads, nails and palate. Double dew-claws on the hind legs are a distinguishing feature, and their removal constitutes disqualification in the show ring.

Today's Livestock Guardian Dog

In today's environment these dogs are still very important to the livestock producers. They are, in my opinion, the only viable predator control not outlawed by the Federal Governments throughout the world.

Understanding their fierce history related to these livestock guardians helps us to understand these dogs are very large and very independent with good reason. They must have these traits to be good guardians. They are not dogs that will look for your commands to behave in a certain manner. We are after all putting them out in the fields and saying “don't let anything hurt my livestock”. Unless there is a burning desire to live in the fields with the dogs and herd to give the commands, then life is easier allowing the dogs to use the independence and intelligence they are known for.

Independence in your Livestock Guardian

The independence is a very desirable trait, but with the independence often comes the roaming. This should be recognized as patrolling, with the trick being to confine it to a specific area for your advantage. Many of the livestock guard dog breeds were used to patrol many thousands of acres. This is not only a bred instinct that is stronger in some breeds than other it is also a learned quality. If the older dogs are roamers and work ever larger areas then the pups they train will also. The strategic use of electric fencing will convince most of these dogs to confine their territories within this perimeter.

To live off the land in the mountains is a harsh life for both shepherds and dogs. There were no feed stores on every corner nor vets or Dr.'s available on a moment’s notice. Everything done was done with a purpose and the least amount of energy used to accomplish a given task left energy for other needs. Few livestock guard breeds do anything without an ulterior motive that will accomplish something that is on their agenda.

Many people feel the eating of the dead animals or the afterbirth during parturition is a really gross undertaking that should not be allowed. This should be put into perspective from the working dogs point of view. Eating the debris accomplishes a couple of things. It gives the dog additional nutrients that may be lacking. It also cleans up the area near the grazing flocks and herds by eradicating the odors of birthing or decomposing animals, thereby, eliminating the draw of predators the dog must guard against. These are all very valid reasons for this behavior

Keep the Coat

The Great White Mountain breeds are longhaired dogs with dense undercoats. This coat is necessary for the dogs to tolerate the extremes of temperature, weather and a variety of predators. These coats are not especially difficult to keep but can be time consuming, depending on the density of the undercoat and the coarseness of the topcoat. Some dogs will mat terrible requiring some shearing to control, while others mat very little and need almost no attention. They do not require shearing to stay cool. This, in fact, has the opposite effect allowing exposure to sunburn, windburn, briars, thorns, and predator bites. Close shearing is not in the best interest of the working dog. The heavy coats are insulation against the heat as well as the cold, with only the matting needing removal to help prevent parasites, hot spots or skin tearing.

Since the weather is such a large determining factor in the lives of these dogs many of them have learned to adapt by digging large holes to find a warm places out of the wind in the winter and a cool place during the heat of the summer. It is even thought these breeds were instrumental in building the mountain ranges found through out Europe, with their earth moving and landscaping abilities.

Methods of Defense

The livestock guardian breeds all have a specific program they use in defense of the animals they are guarding. By understanding these we will often be able to recognize why they act in a precise manner in any given environment

First comes the scent marking around the boundaries of the chosen area. This can be only urinating or in a heavy predator area may include dumping of poop in several choice locations. This is a known territory mark used and respected by all wildlife.

Second are the warning barks. There does not have to be anything around to hear these barks, they are just occasionally thrown out on the wind for all to hear. Generally good livestock guardians do not bark just for the “fun” of it, but as a warning to any potential predators, just saying they are there, they are big and are willing to do battle if necessary. Just because we don't see this threat, doesn't mean there isn't one. The dogs see and hear many things far out of our realm.

The third defense is to circle the animals they are guarding into a small group preferably in a corner of a pen or pasture, physically placing their body between the flock/herd and the perceived threat while barking and posturing. Should you ever have a livestock guardian push you to your house and away from a stranger, it would be very prudent to listen to the dog. They know far more than we do about reading character and integrity.

Fourth is to actually run at the threat, while barking menacingly. They may actually make physical contact with a forceful thump or roll and a snarl. This is known in breeder circles as the Pyrenees “body slam”. This will send most any stray dog, coyote or even human running in the other direction very quickly.

The last line of defense is to actually engage in battle. Most of the livestock guard dog breeds prefer to run predators away rather than actually resorting to battle. The dogs do combat only if the need arises and nothing else has driven the predator out of the area. They will kill if the need is there. Some breeds are quicker to engage in battle than others. It's also a trait of different personalities just as in people. Dogs are like other wildlife, when injured they are weakened and cannot perform their duties as easily until healed. Therefore, they prefer to use only the amount of force needed to control a perceived threat, but have no hesitation in killing a predator if the need arises.

Summary

What will you get in return for allowing these dogs to work in the manner they have been bred to do for centuries? A dog that will care for and tend your family and animals both gently and fiercely as the moment demands. It is utterly amazing to see how careful the guardian breeds can be with a newborn lamb or kid and an instant later savagely dispatch a coyote, only to come back to care for the new baby with tenderness and concern. Those of us using the livestock guardians have been blessed many times over for giving our flocks and herds to these dogs to care for. Armed with the knowledge to know and understand the livestock guardians, we are better prepared to accept them as they are with no need to change what God has seen fit to bestow upon the world.