I had a pyr lab mix. Wonderful dog. Huge. But we have 5 acres so he had plenty of room to roam. We had to get an underground fence because he would wander down a quarter mile away. Our neighbors have pure bred Pyrenees, and those dogs wander even farther.

Grooming: the neighbors dogs are always matted and clumped with mud. You need to brush daily. Our dog had floofiness in between lab and Pyr... and the shedding was A LOT. The other thing is, we had a hard time keeping ticks at bay. The fur is so dense, ticks get in there and crawl around alive for a while before actually getting a bite and dying. (That's my theory at least). I was always finding ticks on his dog bed and the floor where he slept. Gross. Even when checking him multiple times a day.

Barking: mine barked until the threat ran away. So just a few seconds of loud intimidating barking and the raccoon or whatever would run away, and the dog immediately calmed down (this is a fantastic trait. My current dog barks her head off LONG after the threat has run off). Pyrs ate usually very confident.

Ours would lay on the cool basement floor on super hot days too! And yep, he was fine. Their fur helps to cool them as well as keep them warm. It's fine to have a Pyr when it's warm as long as you don't expect him to take long walks or hikes with you.

Pps mention their aloofness. Ours was very friendly but not in your face. He would be happy to see us, but go off and do his thing after a few minutes. He'd lay on the floor while my toddler pushed toy trucks around and over him. Yes, a bit aloof, but very people oriented and part of the family.

True gentle giant. Great with guests and kids and cats.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why this is a good breed to be a family pet in our climate. They are lovely but it makes no sense. I feel the same way about Border Collies.

PP with the GP. I wouldn't get a BC, because I will not be able to meet its needs, either physically or mentally. GP are basically lazy dogs. Mine loves to go for walks, but if he doesn't get one, it's not a big deal. Summer is not his favorite, but he mostly sleeps in the cool basement anyway, opting to go out early and late, so it doesn't really make a huge amount of difference to him. Winter is his favorite of course, and he reminds us to get out and about when we would really rather not (but isn't insistent because like I said, he's happy to patrol the yard and sack out). He is a really nice dog, and pretty enough to stop traffic. He gets by on his looks; my mom likes to say that the fluff is not just on the outside, but between his ears too. And that suits me just fine, because smart dogs are much higher maintenance than not so smart ones.

I would argue that hiding in the basement all day does not mean he’s fine but whatever.

OP here - thanks for the honest feedback on GP. They wouldn’t be a good fit so I’ll scroll on past them. Beautiful dogs, though.

So the two breeds you are considering couldn’t be more different in personality.
My great Pyr is very stoic and aloof. He does not come when you call him…they call it aPyring to listen. He will literally pretend not to hear you. The shedding is much worse than a golden retriever.
Goldens and labs tend to have that happy go lucky, friendly personality. That’s what I prefer.

GP is a working dog. They are independent in that they will guard your "territory" like it's nobody's business. I have friends with an Alpaca farm in WV. They have 3 GPs that guard the herd. They do not socialize except to be fed. Beautiful dogs but seems you would have to "untrain" them of their natural tendencies a bit to make them a good family pet. Another neighbor had one and it could be very aggressive to other dogs and barked constantly. My neighbor ended up breaking his leg in multiple places when his GP pulled him off his front stoop to protect their property when I was just walking by with my dog. It was quite traumatic for all of us....anyway - two stories from a non-owner.

I live in PA and our neighbor has a few GP. They are incredible animals but please don't get one unless you have a big property with a heard of animals. These dogs are happiest when they have a job. Our neighbors own goats, lots of goats. Their GP can quickly heard the goats from one field to another. They also guard the heard all night and keep away predators. We can hear the dogs bark off and on all night when our windows are open. We don't mind the barking since our properties are large. They shed A LOT!! When our kids go and visit they come home covered in dog hair. Once again, not a problem living outside on a farm, but not ideal for living in a home in the suburbs.

Anonymous wrote:Do you have a giant estate for them to patrol? Because that's what they were bred for.

Aside from that, I think it's terrible to have a cold-weather breed like that (or huskies, malamutes, etc) in DC's 90* and 100% humidity. They must be so miserable 8 months out of the year.

That's news to my malamute.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand why this is a good breed to be a family pet in our climate. They are lovely but it makes no sense. I feel the same way about Border Collies.

PP with the GP. I wouldn't get a BC, because I will not be able to meet its needs, either physically or mentally. GP are basically lazy dogs. Mine loves to go for walks, but if he doesn't get one, it's not a big deal. Summer is not his favorite, but he mostly sleeps in the cool basement anyway, opting to go out early and late, so it doesn't really make a huge amount of difference to him. Winter is his favorite of course, and he reminds us to get out and about when we would really rather not (but isn't insistent because like I said, he's happy to patrol the yard and sack out). He is a really nice dog, and pretty enough to stop traffic. He gets by on his looks; my mom likes to say that the fluff is not just on the outside, but between his ears too. And that suits me just fine, because smart dogs are much higher maintenance than not so smart ones.

The only person I know who has a Great Pyrenees lives on a farm in Wisconsin. No way would I get a dog like that (or any cold climate dog) in the dc area.

Mine is a mix, so you can take this with a grain of salt, but...

The shedding is no joke. I brush ours out every weekend, but still vaccuum daily and buy lint rollers at Costco. We love him dearly, and tempermentally he's been a great family dog, but I would probably not choose a breed that sheds this much next time.

Ours barks at wildlife, some other dogs, and delivery trucks. He is completely human friendly, though, including to delivery people.

Definitely not a fan of the heat. Also not high energy generally. Happy to go for long walks, but content to lie around the house whether he gets one or not.

With a dog of this size, though, you really need to commit to training.

I don’t understand why this is a good breed to be a family pet in our climate. They are lovely but it makes no sense. I feel the same way about Border Collies.

ANother consideration…we have newfoundlands, which have similar coats to Great Pyrenees, and they require a lot grooming. I mean daily brushing to keep healthy skin and coat. Grooming a big dog also requires handling experiences and good brushes/combs. In other words you need to know what your doing a bit. Not trying to talk you out of it but that is a big part of ownership of these breeds. I find it totally worth it and enjoy grooming my dogs.

I have a Great Pyrenees, and volunteer with an organization that places a lot of LGD. If you're thinking that a GP is anything like a white colored Golden Retriever, you would be sadly mistaken.

GP tend to be nocturnal, and do bark a lot. Day and night. And by that, I mean that if a squirrel farts 5 miles away, they will hear it and bark to let the squirrel know who's the boss. Because they are guardian dogs, they have been bred to a) be suspicious and b)work independently from humans. This can then mean that GP are often intolerant of beings not in their pack (dogs and strangers), and can be difficult to train. It is exceedingly common in GP, even in very young dogs, to see resource guarding and food aggression. GP considers everything they can see (and probably hear) to be part of their territory, and they will wander if loose. They either need to be behind a secure fence, or leash walked, because they absolutely will never be 100% reliable off-leash.

That said, my GP is considered a starter Pyrenees. He has decent recall for the breed. He is ridiculously people friendly. He is somewhat dog selective but not dog aggressive, and especially tolerant of puppies (so I can foster within certain parameters). But, he has all the other qualities of a GP. We don't have any nearby neighbors, so the barking is generally not a problem.

Do you have a giant estate for them to patrol? Because that's what they were bred for.

Aside from that, I think it's terrible to have a cold-weather breed like that (or huskies, malamutes, etc) in DC's 90* and 100% humidity. They must be so miserable 8 months out of the year.

I’ve seen a few, often mixes, on the adoption sites and am wondering if anyone can provide their own experience. I’ve read that they bark a lot at night because they’re on guard, protecting their home. I know they are shredders but the other breed I’m looking at, golden retrievers, shed a lot too. I’ll be a new-ish dog owner if that makes a difference. Thanks!