[Aayden]

Hello everyone,

My name is Aayden, I'm 23 and from Southern Michigan. I've had my own dog since I was 10 years old and have experience with dogs as tiny as a chihuahua to as big as a Saint Bernard but today I've taken on a new challenge.

Someone nearby me had to re-home their Great Pyrenees and while I knew these were extremely independent dogs I had no idea what I was getting myself into until she got home. She loves to play, cuddle, she gets along great with the other dogs and my daughter but she has a big problem - Leashes. She will run when you pull out a leash and growl when you put it on her. Once on she stops fussing but will not move, she lays down and refuses to go anywhere.

Treats don't work including raw meat, she won't move as long as the leash is on. She loves her new toys but not even those work...I've tried all sorts of different things..this dog just has NEVER been leashed trained. At 1 1/2 years of age she is 130 lbs and unmoveable...we don't have a fenced in yard which makes it hard to get her out to use the bathroom...I'm at a loss. This is the most stubborn dog I've EVER had in my care...

 

[Niraya]

She needs to go on a DIET ASAP! No purebred Pyrenees should weigh that much.

On the matter of a leash - desensitize her to it. Put it on her in your house and just leave it on her. Let her drag it around and get used to it. Give her treats when she moves with it on. Give her treats when she lets you put it on her etc etc. Don't lure her with the treats just give them to her for doing little things.

 

[Aayden]

Niraya, I will definitely work on that. As far as the diet, she is a BIG girl...but not fat..she is tall and actually rather lean. She has papers showing she is a purebred. The guy we got her from said she is actually bigger then her dad and everyone was shocked by her size.

 

[Niraya]

That's unusual as I owned a purebred Pyrenees and a female should be between 85 and about 100 pounds but NEVER 130. Even males only get to be 100-115 roughly (these are going by the AKC standard which I assume you mean by "having papers" but even working bred Pyrenees don't get that big maybe males up to 120). How tall is she at the shoulders?

But all the leash is is desensitizing. Once she realizes that a leash won't kill her she'll be fine.

 

[Aayden]

It could be possible he was over exaggerating, I really can't make a good judgment with my eyes alone I was basically going by what I was told. She is 31" at the shoulders. We have a vet appointment set up for her on Tuesday to go in and have shots, deworming and flea treatment done as well as a general check up. I had to give her a bath and brush her out good because she was filthy and matted a bit from being outside.

I'm hoping that keeping the leash on her while in the house and using treats to reward movement while it's on will work. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. Despite her strong will, she is sooo loving. She's ever so gentle even when my four year old was "examining" her lol.

 

[Niraya]

They are absolutely WONDERFUL with children and other animals. Very patient. They'll let you basically do ANYTHING to them and won't care.

I could see an exaggeration with all of the fur - saying she weighs that much - but really she'd be really obese for her breed at 130 even standing 31" at the shoulder she should only be a little over 100 other than that if she's any taller/bigger I'd say she's pretty poorly bred and I'd start her on joint supplements to help with arthritis down the road and watch for Hip Dysplasia. If you aren't feeding raw - put her on a really high quality kibble.

Dragging the leash will get her used to having it on - so it will help in the long run it just won't be a "omg right now" fix, know what I mean?

But good on you for getting her and taking her in and getting her all prettied up. They're a wonderful breed - I definitely plan on having another one along with my Siberians.

 

[Aayden]

She is laying next to me right now with her head in my lap watching me type. Apparently she thinks my computer is interesting and likes to touch the screen with her nose when she sees something that interests her. I wasn't sure I wanted her at first, I kept going back and forth in my mind because of some of the things that I had read about them being headstrong and independent but she loves to be with me and seems to already be settling in well. She wasn't very happy with her bath but absolutely loved being brushed out and I'm sure she feels better now that all those mats are out of her fur. I don't think they ever brushed her. I'm very glad I took the opportunity to have her, she is such a sweet girl. I didn't think she would be very interested in playing with toys but surprisingly, SHE DOES!

I'm still reading and learning but so far I'm very impressed with this breed. Do you know what would be a sufficient amount of daily exercise? (Once she'll walk on the leash) I tend to go on a mile walk daily and sometimes go hiking, nothing to long, would this be okay? I know in the summer longer walks probably won't be manageable for her but right now she looooves going out in the snow!

 

[Niraya]

Mile is fine I would imagine. You just have to be really careful in warmer/hot weather and really only exercise her in the mornings/evenings when it is cooler. Also NEVER get her shaved if you can absolutely avoid it - which means twice a year you'll be dealing with her blowing her coat (literally her hair will come out in HANDFULS) completely and that will last for about a month. She'll need DAILY brushing during this time and hair will be EVERYWHERE in your home. Probably be spending several hours brushing her out daily when she's blowing coat.

I'd be wary of hiking - especially if her recall isn't great. If you plan to hike with her on a leash though that would be fine but like I said if you're going for 10 mile hikes in even a little as 70 degree weather I'd probably just let her stay home .

Was she a working dog? Would explain her lack of care.

 

[Aayden]

The way he explained it to me she was just an outside dog. They didn't have the time for her and they feared she may be hit by a car because she was going across the E-fence (underground shock fence thing) and out into the road, apparently the shock (poor girl) didn't effect her enough to keep her in the yard.

 

[Niraya]

For an e-fence to work with them you have to shave the fur around their neck where the shock thing would sit - otherwise they won't feel it through their coat.

Poor baby. Well at least they cared enough to not let her get hit

 

[Aayden]

Yes, I'm thankful they cared that much. I'm so happy to have her in our family now. I think I've found a second favorite breed!

 

[Niraya]

Yes, I'm thankful they cared that much. I'm so happy to have her in our family now. I think I've found a second favorite breed!

Congratulations on your new addition

They are fantastic - like I said and I will have another. I just couldn't bring myself to get another right after my Pyrenees passed. In the future though!

I found someone rehoming one not far from me but after speaking with the woman I managed to give her a lot of advice and things to look at and she decided for now it was better to keep her. I could tell rehoming her wasn't the right decision for them as both her and her daughter were SO attached to the dog and they really didn't want to rehome her. She said she would definitely keep my number though and if something came up she would call me because I told her I would take her if my Siberian and her got along. I also referenced her to a Great Pyrenees rescue not far from us that I knew did courtesy listings if for whatever reason I wouldn't be able to take her if it came to that.

You should consider sticking around the forum (for information and just to chat with the community)! To offer your own advice, share stories and also to get advice/information ! Plus, I would love to see pictures of her. I'm a sucker for Pyrenees pictures :3