When I first moved here I didn’t want a dog. I already had my little city dog and didn’t want to deal with a puppy stage again. I thought I would be able to keep my animals safe all by myself but nature had other plans.
I made it a full 2 months before I had my first animal attack.
The first attack was by a large possum. I witnessed this possum CHASE down and rip my hen’s rear end off. This was my first time to see carnage like this in person and not on TV. This was happening right in front of me and I was horrified. Only two months out of the city and I was having to rescue my pet from being eaten alive by this wild snarling asshole. I’d seen many possums eating garbage around cities and hadn’t thought twice about them. They seemed peaceful enough.
The second, third and fourth attacks were by a raccoon and several more by hawks, wild dogs and wandering neighborhood dogs. I was distraught, not comfortable shooting guns or taking a life. I needed help and crying a lot from fear and sadness wasn’t helping.
I researched livestock guardian dogs and settled on a Great Pyrenees as a livestock guardian. It seems nearly every farmer or homesteader had one and sang their praises. When I checked the local humane societies there were several pure bred Great Pyrenees at the shelters. This surprised me. One shelter had a 2 year old female and I rushed to claim her. She was a sweet girl. When I asked why she was there they didn’t know. When I looked over her paperwork it stated she had killed chickens. This seems to be a common theme with this breed, people get frustrated and give up during the puppy phase – large dogs are in the puppy stage for 2 – 3 years. Since my entire reason for getting a dog was to protect my other animals I didn’t want to take a chance on getting a dog who already had a history of killing other animals. So I decided to opt for the breeder route. I found a breeder who kept their dogs with livestock so my puppy would already be familiar with other farm animals. I paid the deposit and waited while the weeks passed so I could get Luca.
When I went to pick him up the breeder was holding him. Luca was the biggest puppy I had ever seen. He seemed impossibly large and white. He looked like a baby polar bear. At 8 weeks old he was easily 10 times the size of my indoor, city dog. He settled into the seat next to me and quietly watched me drive. He was the most chill puppy I had ever been around. Unlike every puppy I’d known, he didn’t lick my face or play fetch – I found out later these are typical Great Pyrenees traits. Luca makes eye contact and will stare deeply into your eyes but never licks. I love this about him.
His first night I put him to bed in a crate in the chicken coop. I hid and watched him to see how he would react. He didn’t whine, didn’t even seem to care that I left him. He sat and watched the chickens scratch around before finally settling down and chewing on his toy monkey…which he never destroyed – something my other puppies would have made short work of.
I was astonished at how quickly he learned (he got “sit” on the 2nd attempt!) how relaxed his nature was, how quickly he grew and how he pestered the other animals. The cats and goats helped to reprimand him from being too rough but by 4 months old he was out of control. He was the most independent and intelligent puppy I’d seen. I was afraid to let him roam freely for fear he’d get hit by a car or get lost so I kept him on a long tether for a few months when I wasn’t exercising him or attempting to train him. I HATE to tether or cage anything, my animals roam freely during the day. I had to keep Luca tethered because I couldn’t stop his puppy outbursts of chasing the birds.
Eventually discovered I couldn’t use force or treats to get his attention – only positive reinforcement. Trying to use positive reinforcement while witnessing your giant puppy “playing” with a horrified animal was the greatest exercise in patience and self control for me. When one of your babies is hurting or killing another one of your babies it’s a really tough thing to deal with. There were many times I wanted to get rid of Luca due to frustration and lack of experience. This was my fault for not knowing what I was doing. I could wing a whole lot but raising a livestock guardian wasn’t something I could wing and get away with it. I was paying for my inexperience.
The only benefit I could see at the time was predator attacks had ceased by the time he was 4 months old. Luca was the one killing, although on accident. I could tell his play was truly play and he loved his charges already. He was the annoying little brother who was 20 times your size and didn’t know his own strength. With each passing month he matured a little more (fixing him helped too). He’s over 3 years old now and by far the hardest working animal I’ve ever seen. He guards 24/7 from dogs, coyotes, raccoons, hawks and snakes. I’ve seen him fight off 4 big dogs – twice – sending them yelping and retreating. I’ve seen him lunge from a dead sleep straight into the sky missing a hawk that swooped down to try and snatch a chicken. He missed catching the hawk by 3 inches.
He’s over 3 years old now and the best investment I’ve made – although when I finally get fencing I think that will also be a ‘best investment’. He was worth all the heartache and frustration. He is constantly on guard and nothing larger than a crow (not even crows) get close to his animals. He constantly watches the land and sky for predators. I didn’t have to teach him his job, it came naturally.
Lifestock guardians need a job. They love having a job. This isn’t a breed you want if you can’t deal with an independent dog, they are bred to think independently and protect. If you aren’t willing to put in the time and love them through the puppy phase (easily 2-3 years), and potentially lose some of the very animals you’re trying to protect then I would think twice about a Great Pyrenees. I couldn’t ask for a better dog now. Luca is amazingly loving and protective and he always was but the puppy playfulness and the Great Pyrenees stubbornness were really tough for me to handle. Now, I leave him daily to guard the animals free ranging and he gives me peace of mind. Over 3 years into this life with him I see 100% why people sing their praises. It’s impossible not to fall in love with an animal willing to put their life in danger, daily. <3