Why We Chose “Gentle Giants” as Guardian Dogs for Our Farm – Part 3 of 3

(Part 3 of 3)

Have I mentioned that Great Pyrenees are known for training their owners rather than their owners training them?

How much they’re allowed to eat is a good example.

Disappearing toilet paper and paper towel rolls, with a few bits and pieces strewn throughout the house, were tell-tale clues that our puppies weren’t initially getting enough to eat.

Food is serious business to a Great pyr. They have hearty appetites.

Considering this, it should be no surprise that Great pyrs aren’t into “sharing” their chow with other animals.

For some reason, chickens don’t get that. They attempt to steal a few bites when they think the dogs aren’t paying attention.

With a gentle whoosh of his head, Zeus lets them know his intent is to keep every morsel in his bowl for himself.

If that message doesn’t get across, a more forcible head-butt does the trick and sends them squawking!

Now, at nearly 4-years-old, if Zeus is still hungry after eating his allotted dry dog food, he’ll come into the house and plop in front of the stove.

That’s his signal to Mama that a couple of fresh chicken eggs would be nice to top off his breakfast.

“Oh, and that’s ‘hard-boiled’ if you please.”

It doesn’t happen often, so I humor him a bit.

It’s his reward for protecting those naughty hens.

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fur!

Great pyrs do drool a little (not enough to worry about) and shed a lot. Our pyrs are no exception.

They have a double coat that is insulating in the winter and protective in the summer against the harsh rays of the sun. For that reason, we will never shave our pyrs.

Brushing and combing helps with the shedding hair. The outer coat is long and coarse and doesn’t mat; the undercoat is fine, soft and thick. Because the hair is long, it’s easily removed from furniture and clothing.

We typically brush and comb their coats at least once a week. Brushing tends to remove any dirt left on the pyrs from working outside. To give their coats a beautiful sheen, I give them a tablespoon of organic, virgin coconut oil on a nylabone as a treat.

This picture was taken after a single brushing and combing of Zeus. 

Birds will gladly take the excess hair and use it for building their nests in the spring. Natural recycling at its best!

Not to be outdone, some people make very interesting things out of Great pyr hair. I’ll talk more about that in a future post.

Wanna Go for a Walk?

Since by nature, Great pyrs want to investigate all areas they can access, going for a walk off property requires a leash.

Say the word “walk” and our pyrs go into a frenzied happy dance!

It’s an adventure for them outside their usual defined territory and gives us exercise too.

Zeus is typically my walking partner, mainly because he has a sled dog mentality when it comes to inclines.

He pulls Mama up the hill if she’s not going at his desired pace (I don’t fight it especially if it’s been a hard day).

Xena, on the other hand, is more the meandering explorer on a walk. She walks, she sniffs, she walks some more; sniffs this bush, then that one.

Very controlled, very calm, purposeful, UNTIL…she spots something: a deer, a dog, a skunk (yikes). Then, keeping Xena on a leash resembles trying to tame a wild mustang frantically trying to break loose from a lasso.

I let hubby walk Xena most of the time. 

Want to know another tidbit about our walks?

We get to hear wonderful compliments lavished on our pyrs such as: “Oh, such beautiful dogs;” “They’re so kind and sweet, we just love watching them play in the fields;”  to “Wow, he’s so beautiful and big. How much does he weigh?” 

The best compliment, though, by far came from the pizza delivery man:

“Gosh, they’re beautiful. They’re not from around here, are they?”

Have you enjoyed this short series on our “Gentle Giants?” 

Let me know by leaving a comment. I’d love to hear from you.

And so would Zeus and Xena. They just “eat up” compliments.