pyrless

i got my new dog fancy mag yesterday and the cover and feature is the AmStaff. There are some lovely lovely photos and an honest article about the responsibilities in this society of owning this type of breed, making sure they are good ambassadors, etc. Plus, and I didn't know this, there are photos of grey and white ones, which are GORGEOUS, I have never seen those before! What a lovely breed.

That is a good point, Buddysmom, I didn't even think of it that way. Thanks guys!

oy! i thought we were done with the testing already. santa maria! is this something she is going to do her whole life? it really startled and kind of scared me for a minute. you don't wanna go up against those jaws. afterwards she was her normal sweet self. to be fair i was in a crappy mood yesterday too, maybe she picked up on that as a good time to push my buttons.

Last night before bed Sash was working on the end of a rawhide and I told her "time for bed" and went to take it from her. She growled at me. She has never done this before. I got up close to her face and said "Sasha, DROP IT" and she did, right away, and went to bed. ??????? Any idea why?

she may be part kuvasz instead of pyr.

hmm, an AKC pit bull, huh? My favorite is the "Great PyrenESE" ads. Don't tell me you have OFA'd if you can't spell the bloody name right.

never fear pyrless is here... :D the markings are common for a pyr, even in that color (check out last year's Westminster working group winner!) and my Sasha has freckles on her nose! The only thing that throws it off is the ears, which look retrievery to me. One way you can always tell a mix is to check for double rear dew claws. Purebred Pyrs always have them, most mixes do not. otherwise the body and head are very pyr-like. she may just be a little off the standard is all. What does her coat feel like?

DAL, you know I have supported you in the past, but look, if you don't want to open yourself up to this, don't post this stuff.

It's cool, Buddysmom! :wink: I was not trying to insinuate that I was a breed expert or scientist by any means, I know my breed, but others mainly in a cursory manner. I think health also depends on the hardiness of the dog in general, pure or mutt, ie, don't you think a Shepherd/Husky mix stands a better chance than a Pug/Bulldog mix? I dunno. I think the most important thing, while both sides of this argument have excellent, valid points, that we love and treat our dogs with the respect they deserve and practice what we preach. Purebred or mutt, until society at large stops thinking of dogs as "property" and '"disposable", the shelter problem will continue. Thanks for posting that article, it was interesting and did get me thinking.

This is all well and good, and I have read the other posts as well. I do not disagree that the plight of homeless animals in shelters is appalling by their sheer numbers alone, made worse by the fact that we (the human race) put them there and the unspeakable cruelty that some have endured. However, while I love my Elkie/Collie cross and Pom more than you know, I can only say with certainty that I will always have a Great Pyr in my future. Their temperament suits mine ideally, and I like to have a big guard dog because I am home alone quite a bit. I know within reason what I can expect from an adult Pyr in regards to size, personality, trainability and the like. This is not a modern phenomenon. We created breeds to do specific things going back thousands of years. The efforts of the rescue community should be rewarded, but so too should the efforts of ethical breeders of pure bred dogs. IMHO, as well, one should leave the speculations about genetics to scientists and breed experts.

right on LC!

Oh, and yes,you did spell Pyrenees right! :wink:

Maremmas are extremely rare here, so I doubt that, and for some reason I assumed the dogs had black fur (who knows! :roll: ) but if the dog is light there could definitely be some Pyr in there! Keeshond is another possibility too! please post a photo if you can-i can't wait to see! FDF, not so amazing that we agree...great minds think alike! :wink:

sounds like part Newfie-Newfiemom, are you here?

eee. that is a good point, I see what you are saying, and I certainly do not condone those type of breeding practices. Sigh. In a perfect world...That's the thing that kills me. The puppies can't fight back, have no voice, no access to the courts, etc. etc. :(

sigh. I didn't mean it was harsh to tell her so, I agree with you wholeheartedly there. What I meant was that like or not how they were brought into this world, those dogs are just as deserving of love and care from us. Granted it may take more commitment to deal with possible health or temperament issues, but you can't send them back.

aaaah, now, it is not the dog's fault they are "p.o.s.", that is a little harsh.

Rock on! That's a great sentence!

I think that some of this is poTAYto vs. poTAHto :D ie different people want different things from their dogs and therefore go to different sources to acquire them. Neither of these things is wrong. I agree of course with the responsible breeder arguments.

big pyr hugs kat.

Courtnek, right on, that's what I'm saying. It just seems like the majority of parents I see take your sister's approach to child-rearing. It's not the kid's fault, but it has become so prevalent in today's society that every time I see kids in a public place it sets my teeth on edge.

i know. Leash laws and choke chains for the sticky nosy little bastards! :D This happens with Sasha all the time. People get mad when big white fluffy dog does not want to be petted. Stupid owner rant-Sasha is female-dog aggressive and it is horrifying, you should have seen what she did to our Pom. (We have to crate-and-rotate now). Anyways. I am walking her (Sash) one night, it's dark, all of a sudden someone's side door opens and this three pound Chihuahua comes bounding out of this guy's house straight at Sasha and me. Well she is all curious of course but then I hear the guy going (laughing, mind you, like this is some kind of game) "Trixie, Trixie, come back here". Great, a girl Chihuahua. So now Sasha has really dug her heels in as there is also a person coming down the driveway and she is wrapping the leash around my legs trying to get to the Chi, I am trying to run her in the opposite direction, while yelling at this guy "Sir, PLEASE come pick up your dog!" He is not listening to me and not listening to me and finally I am getting Sasha out of there I go "Sir, this dog cannot be trusted around other females YOU MUST PICK UP THAT DOG!!!!" He picked her up, but boy was he mad at me!

sweet!

Right on all counts. Before we get too deeply into this, I would like to point out that there are some excellent sites out there, mostly the American breed clubs', that have the basic info on these breeds, like the origin and standards. To make this one stand out, it might be worth it to make it a more subjective site detailing our own experiences with owning our breeds. I don't really think I can top anything that the GPCA or the RACP has to say about the Pyr, for example.

eee. i don't know how pics work either. but using our own dogs is only a good idea if the dog is an excellent representative of the breed. sasha, for example, is not, really. ok i will start getting some stuff written out. i will attach it to you as a word doc if that is ok.