# Great Pyrennes



## azbison

We are getting two pups for our place to watch over the livestock. I joined a Great Pyrennes forum and inquired about input. 

Mistake!

They started pushing their books, their views and how misguided I was to expect to raise two working dogs outside. Of course this if from folks who have taken a working breed and brought them inside to live on their couches. 

The prior post regarding the mindset "They never killed a chicken" is right.


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## Cotton

I needed a barn cat a few years ago… the lady at the aspca berated me for wanting to subject a cat to such cruelty… clueless idiots… They have no idea about animals and the natural world...


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## cnsper

House cats are the most prolific hunters of all the cats in the world.

Most people at these shelters think that these animals were born with sweaters on. 

Had an old horse guy die a few years back. Friend of mine got the horses from the estate. They did not last the winter. Apparently these horses had lived in a barn their entire lives. All his other horses did just fine.


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## Balls004

They're great dogs for protecting livestock and family. Ours absolutely loved our daughter when she was young and would try to get between us and her if she got a swat on the butt when misbehaving. 

Jasper usually slept with the goats, though when he got a lot older he did like the pad on the porch during the winter.

Hope you enjoy your new pups!


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## cowboyhermit

We have feral/wild horses in Alberta, it was in the -20's C with windchill last night and it's only November, I just cut several inches of ice off the dugout for the cows. In other words, pretty harsh climate 

Animal "rights" groups are fighting to protect these horses, they want them left alone and protected. At the same time a horse on the farm next door that doesn't have hundreds of dollars (or over 1000) spent on them every year, quality water and feed available 24/7, hooves trimmed, etc. etc. ANIMAL CRUELTY, we are going to "rescue" that horse $$$. That's why I can't even support the spca anymore. 

I sometimes feel bad for wild animals this time of year, no snow on the ground, no open water and winter just starting. Then I smack myself in the face really hard and realize that that is the very nature of the earth.

Same with the big white guardian dog breeds, it is their very nature to live that life.


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## TheLazyL

Wife saw one of the stray cats drinking from a rain puddle. 

"Isn't that unsafe for them?" she asked me.

"They have been doing it for thousands of years and they are still here. If it was unsafe they would have died off, don't you think?" was my reply.

Wife got a bowl of fresh water and placed it by the puddle.


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## phideaux

I had a 200lb great Pyrenes .
Raised him form a pup. His name was Simon.

I had horses also.
Simon , without a doubt , was the most protective of any breed Ive ever had. 
He had ,(you will see this) a routine of making a round , around the entire farm , twice a day. His TOTAL attention was to watching out for ANY invader on his family(us) and his territory. 
Expect all hrs of the night alarms from them.
Expect them to watch the entrance to your property , and be a discouragement to trespass.
Simon wouldnt harm a flea, or my six grandkids, just a big ole fluffy teddy bear, but he was HUGE and a deterrent.
Ive seen him run out in the field and follow,bark ,at a large bird flying over the property until it was gone.

Like I said , best gaurd dog I ever had. 
BUT, they are not easy to train to do anything . They are strictly for gaurding.

Jim


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## Grimm

TheLazyL said:


> Wife saw one of the stray cats drinking from a rain puddle.
> 
> "Isn't that unsafe for them?" she asked me.
> 
> "They have been doing it for thousands of years and they are still here. If it was unsafe they would have died off, don't you think?" was my reply.
> 
> Wife got a bowl of fresh water and placed it by the puddle.


I'm known as a crazy cat lady (6 indoor cats) but I'm not that crazy!

:dunno:


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## azbison

phideaux said:


> I had a 200lb great Pyrenes .
> Raised him form a pup. His name was Simon.
> 
> I had horses also.
> Simon , without a doubt , was the most protective of any breed Ive ever had.
> He had ,(you will see this) a routine of making a round , around the entire farm , twice a day. His TOTAL attention was to watching out for ANY invader on his family(us) and his territory.
> Expect all hrs of the night alarms from them.
> Expect them to watch the entrance to your property , and be a discouragement to trespass.
> Simon wouldnt harm a flea, or my six grandkids, just a big ole fluffy teddy bear, but he was HUGE and a deterrent.
> Ive seen him run out in the field and follow,bark ,at a large bird flying over the property until it was gone.
> 
> Like I said , best gaurd dog I ever had.
> BUT, they are not easy to train to do anything . They are strictly for gaurding.
> 
> Jim


That is exactly what we want. Not expecting to make them anything more than they are intended.

** Religious Warning **

God gave man dominion over the beasts, not the other way around

** Religion over **


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## Starcreek

azbison said:


> That is exactly what we want. Not expecting to make them anything more than they are intended.
> 
> ** Religious Warning **
> 
> God gave man dominion over the beasts, not the other way around
> 
> ** Religion over **


We raise dairy goats, and I've had 3 different breeds of livestock guardian dog (LGD) -- Anatolian Shepherd, Akbash, and Great Pyrenees. All great guardian dogs. The reason LGDs are hard to train is because they have been bred for thousands of years to make their own decisions. Sometimes the shepherd would go home for supplies and leave his dog with the flock of sheep, and the dog was expected to protect the flock and hunt his own food. They consider obedience "optional."

If you understand the nature of the dog, they will serve you very well. No, they don't need any more shelter than the flock or herd needs.

Pyrs are known to wander (i.e. patrol) and bark through the night (which is when most predators are about). They will lay down their life for their flock. Excellent dogs.


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## Freyadog

Our Pyree's with parents were introduced to goats at about 6 weeks old.

We got our girls at about 2 months old. They have been with our goats now for almost 4 years. They do have their own room with doggie door if they want to go in and eat or just chill out.

They are great dogs for livestock. Need two. One to watch while the other one works and then they trade off. We do put our girls up during the day in a large pen where their room and food are. We feel as though they need to really rest since they work all night.


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## Balls004

I've found over the years, that Pyrenees fall into two distinct categories. One is a dog that typically roams the perimeter and the other is more of a stay with the flock/herd personality. 

Not that they won't do both, particularly if they are alone in their duties, but the ones we've had do show a preference. One would never leave the herd, but the other was usually constantly patrolling our farm, and if things were good, he'd head back and nap while the goats grazed. Then it was back to patrolling, while the other always stayed wherever the goats were.


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## Marcus

My landlord has a Great Pyrenees for her goats. Even though I live in an area with lots of coyotes, she has never lost a goat to one due to that fearless dog. It will literally attack anything within the goat pasture and is afraid of no man or beast.


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## Freyadog

Balls004 said:


> I've found over the years, that Pyrenees fall into two distinct categories. One is a dog that typically roams the perimeter and the other is more of a stay with the flock/herd personality.
> 
> Not that they won't do both, particularly if they are alone in their duties, but the ones we've had do show a preference. One would never leave the herd, but the other was usually constantly patrolling our farm, and if things were good, he'd head back and nap while the goats grazed. Then it was back to patrolling, while the other always stayed wherever the goats were.


Ours switch off. Have no idea why. Maybe it is keeping their girly figure'.


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## azbison

Thanks everyone, I guess I was trying to get a self-sufficient real world answer from suburban soccer mom's who have elected themselves as experts on all things Great Pyrennes. I appreciate the grounding.


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## jnrdesertrats

My wife and I have been talking about what breed of dog we want when we move to our larger property. I had not considered this breed before, but I will. I just did a search for images and saw this, I found it funny.


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## smaj100

I figured I would add our 2 pups to this mix instead of taking up the other threads. 

We picked up a 7 week old male Kratos 2 weeks ago and immediately put him in his crate at night with our calmer boy goats in the barn stall. Momma immediately started taking him for perimeter walks/carry's daily. Last week we picked up a 5 month old female Gaia and started doing the same. The level of intelligence is incredible. They both came from working farms with some form of livestock, chickens, sheep, cows and ducks. We finished an enclosure inside the boy goat pasture so the pups could see, smell and have nose to nose contact with the goats. This seems to be having our desired affect the boys have started accepting the pups and the pups are showing submissive behavior to the goats as well.

The past few nights we've started letting the pups out into our arena which has goat fencing wrapped around the panel pieces to keep the goats and dogs in. Gaia started to bark and pace back and forth at the eastern end of the arena and would alternate sitting and pacing between barks. After we secured the pups in the barn in their crate we started back to the house and heard some coyotes calling very close probably in the creek just off our back pasture. Amazing how at 5 months she could hear them (wind was the wrong direction to smell).

Very proud puppy parents.


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## azbison

Here are our two fools, they are now 17 weeks old and have been incredibly gentle with the chickens and always checking out anything going on the property. I'm very glad to have them.


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## smaj100

AZB, Those guys are cute. Are they brothers? It's crazy the size difference between our two.


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## azbison

smaj100 said:


> AZB, Those guys are cute. Are they brothers? It's crazy the size difference between our two.


Yes they are brothers. One is slightly larger in the body, but has a much more massive head. He's the quiet and easy going one. The other likes to hop up at you and I'm working to correct that.


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## Balls004

Nice looking pups there!

Sounds like you've got two winners there. Please keep us posted on their progress.


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## Yeti-695

I have a Great Pyrennes (he is my profile picture) and they are great dogs. We dont have a herd to protect he just protects us. One thing is that he sleeps alot through the day and then barks alot at night. Other than that he is a great dog. We got him when we moved out to the country and wanted something to keep other animals,coyotes, *****, and opossum away from our chicken coop.


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## JAR702

Great Pyrenees are the best, there are several FB sites that you might want to look at.


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## smaj100

Just an update both pups, 4 and 6 months. They are doing awesome so intelligent. They are bonding very nicely with their boy goats, 1 of our female goats is a royal bi!!h and we can't let the pups in with the females yet. We've been letting the pups have more and more off leash time in the 1 acre boy pasture, and they have been awesome.

Today the weather has been crazy, freezing rain, rain, snow, and a little ice balls. The goats have been in and out of the little hut a few times. Our older female pup is skiddish around the goats, we think she was rolled up pretty good a few times at her original home by the sheep. She's coming around slowly though. She would get up and move away a small distance from the goats and then lay down and watch. The male pup could care less. lol


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## Balls004

We found that after the momma goats were acclimated to any new dogs, they are just another member of the herd. 

Our original dog, Jasper, was found with a pair of newborns that momma had walked off from, when he was just an older puppy. He didn't leave them, and so he became our first herd dog. 

They are smart, and loyal to a fault. They can be a PITA when you're trying to worm or castrate goats, but they think they're just doing their job.


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## smaj100

Balls004 said:


> We found that after the momma goats were acclimated to any new dogs, they are just another member of the herd.
> 
> Our original dog, Jasper, was found with a pair of newborns that momma had walked off from, when he was just an older puppy. He didn't leave them, and so he became our first herd dog.
> 
> They are smart, and loyal to a fault. They can be a PITA when you're trying to worm or castrate goats, but they think they're just doing their job.


We've worked really hard to establish us as the Alpha of the entire herd. So hopefully they won't get to involved when we are doing something with the goats that causes them distress. I mentioned to the wife today that I wanted to try and make one of the goats cry out next weekend while the boys are off leash in the pen with them to see how the pups react.


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## Balls004

smaj100 said:


> We've worked really hard to establish us as the Alpha of the entire herd. So hopefully they won't get to involved when we are doing something with the goats that causes them distress. I mentioned to the wife today that I wanted to try and make one of the goats cry out next weekend while the boys are off leash in the pen with them to see how the pups react.


We never had a problem with who the Alpha's were, they just get in the way trying to see what the danged goats were hollering about! Once they get a bit older, they don't pay as much mind to you working the goats. But when they're young, they can't help but seeing what's going on and being underfoot... LOL


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## azbison

An update on my two fools. They are almost 6 months old and pushing 85 pounds. They have started a patrol routine that takes them all over the perimeter of our 7.5 acres. I walked the ground the other week and there are now paths they are using to check everything out. They also spend the night around the chicken coop and have been going after critters that are interested in my birds. I don't have a game camera, it's on my list of things to get, but I'm fairly sure I've got possums or raccoons that are curious. We have drawn the attention of owls as well, but the birds are secure at night. I'm very pleased with them and their watchfulness and the patrolling they do. Great dogs.


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## ClemKadiddlehopper

So, I came back to the house this morning from doing my chores round about 11 am and found someone had left a baby in a basket on my porch; looks to be a Marema puppy in a wire cage. There was a baggie of dog food and a paper that said it was born Feb. 17 and had its first shots. They had to have been staking out the place as I have a very long drive and am always home. Usually its the people who live close to the road that get the animal dumps.

Seriously, you cannot find a home for a Marema puppy? You have to dump your dog on someone who has not planned for the happy event and now must do what you should have done in the first place?


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## Starcreek

How did you know it was a Maremma? Did they say that in the note?


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## Grimm

ClemKadiddlehopper said:


> So, I came back to the house this morning from doing my chores round about 11 am and found someone had left a baby in a basket on my porch; looks to be a Marema puppy in a wire cage. There was a baggie of dog food and a paper that said it was born Feb. 17 and had its first shots. They had to have been staking out the place as I have a very long drive and am always home. Usually its the people who live close to the road that get the animal dumps.
> 
> Seriously, you cannot find a home for a Marema puppy? You have to dump your dog on someone who has not planned for the happy event and now must do what you should have done in the first place?


What do you plan to do with the pup?


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## ClemKadiddlehopper

Starcreek said:


> How did you know it was a Maremma? Did they say that in the note?


Its a white ball of very thick fur. I looked at a lot of pictures of Great Pyrenees and Maremma, both young and old ,and he has the all the characteristics of the Maremma. Its a wild guess, but I think a good one. Either way, it probably doesn't make a hill of beans.

Actually, if you look back at the pictures smaj100 posted of their pups on page 2, he looks just like that. Maybe he is a Kratos. So many choices.


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## ClemKadiddlehopper

Grimm said:


> What do you plan to do with the pup?


 Not sure yet.

I have two big lab/german shepherd mutts already. Problem is, while they are great at running off the coyotes that were eating my chickens, stalking the calves and trapping me in the barn on occasion, they also have very strong chase and hunt instincts themselves. (chicken and cat eating dogs given the chance). I let them out to run at night after the poultry gets locked up. Almost every morning, my front yard has some kind of chewed up carcass on it, either fresh or totally revolting.

Although I should find the pup a home, I am wondering if he can be trained for the day shift and not eat the chickens and ducklings. He is sitting in a hastily made page wire pen in the middle of the chicken barn at this moment. I will keep him for a week and if he doesn't seem seem big on chasing chickens and the older pups (1.5 years) don't try to make a meal of him too, I may keep him even though I shouldn't.


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## smaj100

Clem, I know it isn't Kratos I'd have had to left the DW to make that pup disappear. lol 

From all of the research we did. They generally lounge around during the day as most predators are nocturnal. Our's even at this young age lay around near the goats and chickens, move when the goats get far enough away but we don't allow them to roam free yet. ( They roam free in a 1acre goat pasture with our 2 boy goats.) The attached pic shows him off leash just watching the chickens at about 8 weeks. We have 35 birds roaming around just not all in the picture. We've read that until they are 18-24months they shouldn't be allowed to roam free with chickens and small animals. We supervise the pups excursions with the chickens cats and other animals but both our still very young but show great promise. One of our barn cats has even taken to sleeping in the barn in the stall with the dogs, plays in their food bowl while they are eating, walks around in and under them.


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## Grimm

smaj100 said:


> Clem, I know it isn't Kratos I'd have had to left the DW to make that pup disappear. lol
> 
> From all of the research we did. They generally lounge around during the day as most predators are nocturnal. Our's even at this young age lay around near the goats and chickens, move when the goats get far enough away but we don't allow them to roam free yet. ( They roam free in a 1acre goat pasture with our 2 boy goats.) The attached pic shows him off leash just watching the chickens at about 8 weeks. We have 35 birds roaming around just not all in the picture. We've read that until they are 18-24months they shouldn't be allowed to roam free with chickens and small animals. We supervise the pups excursions with the chickens cats and other animals but both our still very young but show great promise. One of our barn cats has even taken to sleeping in the barn in the stall with the dogs, plays in their food bowl while they are eating, walks around in and under them.


I'd love to see some pictures of the cat with the pups.

Our girls (mutts) chased a cat away from our chickens this morning. I heard the chickens making a ruckus then some barking. I got outside in time to see a stray tomcat clear the fence near the chicken run. The dogs did not like him near their birds. I noticed this evening an increase in dog prints in the mud around the coop and run as if they did more patrols around it than normal.


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## smaj100

I'll see if we can get a couple Grimm. All of our cats 8 total are very respectful of the chickens, and since the dogs are pups the most of the cats give the pups a wide berth. Except Fancy she loves her pups.


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## smaj100

We did some more training with the pups this morning, after cleaning the stalls in the barn. The smaller pup is Kratos 4.5 months old, on leash at first just to ensure everyone was safe, the bigger pup is Gaia she is 7 months old. She was on a farm with a crazy guard duck so she is still a little more skittish and wants to move away from the chickens. 

Grimm there are a couple of their cat looking for some love. One of the photos the pup looks like she is yacking but she isn't. 

My wife said I was gonna get booted off the forum, because I wasn't wearing my tin foil hat in the pictures. lmao


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## smaj100

Grimm here is another one we just took a bit ago at supper time. This is every night, most mornings she is snuggled with them in the barn stall. The cat walks in, around, under and generally sticks her face wherever the pups are.


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## Grimm

smaj100 said:


> Grimm here is another one we just took a bit ago at supper time. This is every night, most mornings she is snuggled with them in the barn stall. The cat walks in, around, under and generally sticks her face wherever the pups are.


I love that! Maybe she'll learn something from the dogs and become a Live Stock Guardian CAT.


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## smaj100

She follows the wife into the chicken run and coop, and when we toss scraps or leftovers to the chickens she's right there grabbing a bite. lol I'm not sure she knows she's a cat.


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## Balls004

smaj100 said:


> Grimm here is another one we just took a bit ago at supper time. This is every night, most mornings she is snuggled with them in the barn stall. The cat walks in, around, under and generally sticks her face wherever the pups are.


For some odd reason it just popped into my head that that cat is a Liberal Democrat...

I'm so sick of our politicians that living under a Monarchy sometimes crosses my mind. LOL

If cats and dogs can get along, why can't Dems and Republicans?


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## ClemKadiddlehopper

It took the basket baby less than 2 days to get on the short list for staying and 3 days to earn his name and stay. This pup was born practically perfect and I keep waiting the other shoe to drop. I just don't get why he was dumped.

His second night, he escaped his pen in the chicken barn and greeted me at the door in the morning. All the cats and poultry were calm and unruffled. The third evening when I went to lock up and do chores he wouldn't come out; he insisted on staying in his spot. I learned today, that walks must take place before dusk or he is not going. Wow. I left him loose unattended for one hour at dusk tonight, and he was laying with some young chicks when I went back to pen him up and close the barn. He could have come with me but didn't.

During our long property walks, if I stop, he stops and sits. He doesn't move until I do. He watches everything but doesn't chase or bugger off. This is a 10 week old pup. I don't expect such calmness. Since he sits so predictably, I can plan a stop and say sit just before he starts doing so. I know he won't move so I am ready with "up, lets go" as soon as I move. He heels like a pro. As long as I don't mess up, I think he is going to go easy on me.


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## Grimm

ClemKadiddlehopper said:


> It took the basket baby less than 2 days to get on the short list for staying and 3 days to earn his name and stay. This pup was born practically perfect and I keep waiting the other shoe to drop. I just don't get why he was dumped.
> 
> His second night, he escaped his pen in the chicken barn and greeted me at the door in the morning. All the cats and poultry were calm and unruffled. The third evening when I went to lock up and do chores he wouldn't come out; he insisted on staying in his spot. I learned today, that walks must take place before dusk or he is not going. Wow. I left him loose unattended for one hour at dusk tonight, and he was laying with some young chicks when I went back to pen him up and close the barn. He could have come with me but didn't.
> 
> During our long property walks, if I stop, he stops and sits. He doesn't move until I do. He watches everything but doesn't chase or bugger off. This is a 10 week old pup. I don't expect such calmness. Since he sits so predictably, I can plan a stop and say sit just before he starts doing so. I know he won't move so I am ready with "up, lets go" as soon as I move. He heels like a pro. As long as I don't mess up, I think he is going to go easy on me.


Pictures of the fluffy cuteness, please.


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## Balls004

ClemKadiddlehopper said:


> It took the basket baby less than 2 days to get on the short list for staying and 3 days to earn his name and stay. This pup was born practically perfect and I keep waiting the other shoe to drop. I just don't get why he was dumped.
> 
> His second night, he escaped his pen in the chicken barn and greeted me at the door in the morning. All the cats and poultry were calm and unruffled. The third evening when I went to lock up and do chores he wouldn't come out; he insisted on staying in his spot. I learned today, that walks must take place before dusk or he is not going. Wow. I left him loose unattended for one hour at dusk tonight, and he was laying with some young chicks when I went back to pen him up and close the barn. He could have come with me but didn't.
> 
> During our long property walks, if I stop, he stops and sits. He doesn't move until I do. He watches everything but doesn't chase or bugger off. This is a 10 week old pup. I don't expect such calmness. Since he sits so predictably, I can plan a stop and say sit just before he starts doing so. I know he won't move so I am ready with "up, lets go" as soon as I move. He heels like a pro. As long as I don't mess up, I think he is going to go easy on me.


Sounds to me like you hit the jackpot! Congratulations


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## smaj100

Clem,

I agree 1000% on the breeds abilities and instincts. Just be-aware, there will come a time when he want's to play and the only thing he will have nearby is the birds or a cat. This is one of the reasons we got 2 pups at the same time. Not an option for you just something to consider. As you have seen already with the not wanting to leave "HIS" flock or friends, his independent side will kick in and he will chase or bugger off when something grabs his adhd attention. If you have or have had teenagers, this breed goes through the same thing some say around 12-18 months. He will lose his marbles and become retarded, it will come back much like our children.


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