The Pyrenean Mountain Dog, known as the Great Pyrenees in North America, is a large breed of dog used as a livestock guardian dog. It should not be confused with the Pyrenean Mastiff.
The Great Pyrenees is a very old breed that has been used for hundreds of years by shepherds, including those of the Basque people, who inhabit parts of the region in and around the Pyrenees Mountains of southern France and northern Spain.[2] One of the first descriptions of the breed dates from 1407, and from 1675 the breed was a favourite of The Grand Dauphin and other members of the French aristocracy.[3] By the early nineteenth century there was a thriving market for the dogs in mountain towns, from where they would be taken to other parts of France. It was developed to guard sheep on steep mountainous slopes with agility.[4]
As late as 1874 the breed was not completely standardised in appearance, with two major sub-types recorded, the Western and the Eastern.[3] They are related to several other large white European livestock guardian dogs (LGD), including the Italian Maremma Sheepdog, Kuvasz (Hungary), Akbash Dog (Turkey) and Polish Tatra or Polski Owczarek Podhalański, and somewhat less closely to the Newfoundland and St. Bernard. According to the Great Pyrenees Club of America, the Great Pyrenees is naturally nocturnal and aggressive with any predators that may harm its flock. However, the breed can typically be trusted with small, young, and helpless animals of any kind due to its natural guardian instinct.[5]
2 comments:
I think I would rather have the big one as the little one...neithor in the house though..
I can recall having a snake on the back porch at home. Snake on the deck on Galla Creek. Erin sleeping out there and waking up to it climbing up the brick wall of the house.
I don't like snakes but am not afraid to kill them. In the I might destroy some things whacking it!
Well, the stupid hen came off the nest. I feel like shooting her!
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