Michael Bodisch. Michael, we have only two blackbelly ewes that were given to us by my wife's sister and they roam happily around our three acres. They are guarded by two Great Pyrenees at all times as we are right by the Canadian border, up in the boondocks by Curlew, Washington, some 3 plus hours NW of Spokane , WA. We have a big cougar problem, many many coyotes, and bear. Actually , we are a Great Pyrenees kennel with 4 stud dogs and 5 brood bitches (plus a one week old litter of pups) I have read some pretty bizarre statements regarding Great Pyrenees on this website and it appears that there must be some horrible back yard breeders &/or horrible Pyr owners that some of you are running into. A few people have called their dogs Pyrenees when they were not even purebred Pyrs."Older male" Pyrs have nothing to do with chomping on a sheep or having bad temperament, IRRESPONSIBLE breeding, and or, mean, misguided ownership does. Great Pyrenees have been around for about 3,! 000 yrs, originating on the French side of the Pyrenees Mountains. The Basque sheepherders , as does any responsible Pyrenees breeders the world over, bred for temperament number one, soundness number two. They have to be able to get out and move with agility, bursts of speed , and power. They are family dogs, pets, that can give big goobery kisses, let little kids crawl all over them, then be turned out to work with the sheep , alpacas, llamas, goats , whatever and clean the clocks of any invading predators. Don't even let me hear any one say that can't be done or they simply don't know our breed. The Basque people had big families, lots of kids, and bred for GENTLE temperaments first and foremost cuz it also affected how the dogs were around lambs and bunnies, chickens, etc., Great Pyrenees are the most commonly used guard dogs in North America today, and at not too recent USDA trials at Dubois, Idaho, the Great Pyrenees was the ONLY breed that did not at any time bite! a human. Let me tell ALL of you, a Great Pyrenees , once bitten , nee probably not be bred ever again or one had better research the background. And you NEVER breed a dog with questionable temperament.....................We have dogs in the show ring who have also been working. We have dogs at Alpaca ranches, horse and cattle ranches, llama ranches, and many goat (dairy and meat) farms. One breeder (of Pyrs and Llamas), a Pediatrician and his wife went out one morning and found two Pyrs helping a mama llama take a baby out of the sack. One of our dogs was grooming and cleaning the face of Buttercup our young ewe the other day.......it's spring break up......had a muddy face or something from playing. Our dogs get to playing and the sheep start running and leaping and playing along with them. Mostly though in a huge flock, the dogs will in right amoung the sheep while others patrol the perimeters. If anyone wants to know more about Pyrenees get a book called "The new and complete Great Pyrenees" by Paul Strang.......just get it from the libra! ry. Or check out the writings of Mary Crane who brought the into this country in the first place from the Basque people and kennels in England and France. There are very responsible Pyr breeders all over the U.S. and Canada..........just go on line and check them out If any one wants to see our little operation check out www.kindredpyrz.com ....but somewhere there's a breeder near you.......Bruce Zelinski
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