We had been twiddling our thumbs for a while at the prospect of getting our Great Pyrenees puppy, and we finally went to Virginia to pick him up a couple of weeks ago!
We also twiddled our thumbs naming him. It was nice to have him for a while and try different names on him -- a different name every couple of minutes. Some of the names we went through were perfect on a puppy, but not so good on a full-grown dog. We went through lots of suggestions: Fluffy, but we all agreed that this wasn't much of a name, and we wanted him to have a good, meaningful name; Francois, which would have been pretty cool to name him since it originated in France, where some of the Pyrenees Mountains are, but this name just didn't suit him; Polar Bear, but that's too long; Wooly Bear, after those annoying little caterpillars that come out on the street in the summer, but this name didn't fly with me; Bear, which is pretty good but just didn't suit him; Cotton, but something is wrong with this one that I just can't grasp; Cotton-ball was a bit too long, and it was more of a puppy name than a grown-up dog name; Spot, which we didn't even try, and besides, the two tiny gray spots he has on the base of his tail and on his ear, might disappear as he grows.
As you can see, we went through quite a few names, none of them seeming to suit him. We finally settled on Max, short for Maximus, because of the size he will be when he gets bigger, and Max is a good name for a pup, too.
Max is a pampered pooch. He doesn't like to be left with the goats. He slips under the gate, and then comes and howls at the back door. We lock him in Duke's old crate at night. The crate is either in the bucks' shed, or the does' little barn. All day he follows us around while we do outdoor chores. If we are inside, he is usually on the front porch, bemoaning his fate. Poor little sweetie!
Here are some facts about the breed
All of these facts describe Max, all except the size, and Max is no independent dog!
Here is picture of Max, looking sleepy.
We also twiddled our thumbs naming him. It was nice to have him for a while and try different names on him -- a different name every couple of minutes. Some of the names we went through were perfect on a puppy, but not so good on a full-grown dog. We went through lots of suggestions: Fluffy, but we all agreed that this wasn't much of a name, and we wanted him to have a good, meaningful name; Francois, which would have been pretty cool to name him since it originated in France, where some of the Pyrenees Mountains are, but this name just didn't suit him; Polar Bear, but that's too long; Wooly Bear, after those annoying little caterpillars that come out on the street in the summer, but this name didn't fly with me; Bear, which is pretty good but just didn't suit him; Cotton, but something is wrong with this one that I just can't grasp; Cotton-ball was a bit too long, and it was more of a puppy name than a grown-up dog name; Spot, which we didn't even try, and besides, the two tiny gray spots he has on the base of his tail and on his ear, might disappear as he grows.
As you can see, we went through quite a few names, none of them seeming to suit him. We finally settled on Max, short for Maximus, because of the size he will be when he gets bigger, and Max is a good name for a pup, too.
Max is a pampered pooch. He doesn't like to be left with the goats. He slips under the gate, and then comes and howls at the back door. We lock him in Duke's old crate at night. The crate is either in the bucks' shed, or the does' little barn. All day he follows us around while we do outdoor chores. If we are inside, he is usually on the front porch, bemoaning his fate. Poor little sweetie!
Here are some facts about the breed
- Great Pyrenees are very good guard dogs, who live in the barn with the animals.
- A full-grown Great Pyrenees can weight up to 120 pounds and grow up to 32 inches tall.
- Pyrs are all white, but some have streaks of gray called badger markings on the face or other parts of the body.
- Pyrs are the laziest dogs on the planet. (One website I read said it was because they barked at predators all night!)
- They are also good with kids and are very independent dogs.
All of these facts describe Max, all except the size, and Max is no independent dog!
Here is picture of Max, looking sleepy.
It seems that this dog is always sleeping, about to be sleeping, or waking up from sleeping. He sleeps endlessly!!!
He already knows who his herd is. It is amazing! A couple days ago, we let the bucks out to eat some trees and have some fun. Every time they decided to go to the next tree, Max would get up and follow them, and then lie back down, of course!
Max is so, so different from Duke, our Australian shepherd, when he was a puppy. Max doesn't jump or need exercise. In trying to exercise him, you only give yourself a workout! We know this is true, because we went on a one-mile hike at Fairy Stone National Park, on the way home from the farm where he was born. Max came with us, and we had to carry him that whole mile! If we take Duke on a hike, he pulls us.
Max is more popular than Honeysuckle, our milking goat Jenny's kid, who used to be all the rage!
Here is a picture of Max, in his favorite place to be. He is wedged between a pot of tomatoes, the three steps leading up to the porch, and the porch itself.
He already knows who his herd is. It is amazing! A couple days ago, we let the bucks out to eat some trees and have some fun. Every time they decided to go to the next tree, Max would get up and follow them, and then lie back down, of course!
Max is so, so different from Duke, our Australian shepherd, when he was a puppy. Max doesn't jump or need exercise. In trying to exercise him, you only give yourself a workout! We know this is true, because we went on a one-mile hike at Fairy Stone National Park, on the way home from the farm where he was born. Max came with us, and we had to carry him that whole mile! If we take Duke on a hike, he pulls us.
Max is more popular than Honeysuckle, our milking goat Jenny's kid, who used to be all the rage!
Here is a picture of Max, in his favorite place to be. He is wedged between a pot of tomatoes, the three steps leading up to the porch, and the porch itself.
Great Pyrenees are very good guard dogs. They can kill bears, coyotes, wolves, foxes, raccoons, or just about anything that would come near his livestock menacingly, on his territory.
I hope to get more Great Pyrenees some day and breed them. It would be great to have a bunch of pups around every now and then!
Written by Suzanne Tyler, the goatherd, a blog contributor, and all around great girl at the Green T Homestead
I hope to get more Great Pyrenees some day and breed them. It would be great to have a bunch of pups around every now and then!
Written by Suzanne Tyler, the goatherd, a blog contributor, and all around great girl at the Green T Homestead
