Countdown to Baby Great Pyrenees
A week from today, I will bring home our new baby Great Pyrenees!! (Not that I am counting.) We are getting a little helper for Rio , our 7 year old livestock guardian dog (LGD) who is also a Great Pyr. While Rio is still in excellent heath and I feel at the peak of her working ability, we felt it would be good to get a young dog to "learn the ropes" from Rio. Then as Rio starts to age, the young dog can help pick up the slack. I have known farms where the dogs work as a team and the smarter, older dog will bark at something and then the young dog will chase it away.
The life expectancy for Great Pyrs is 8 to 12 years, with 10 probably being about average. We have been very lucky with good longevity in most of our animals. However, I am not sure if being an outdoor sheep guarding dog will increase or reduce her lifespan. On one hand she has to deal with the elements and cold/heat/rain etc. But on the other hand she has full access to 6 acres, lots of exercise, fresh air and does the job the breed was made for.
We had two failed attempts to get puppy that was a Rio relative last year and this year. (Rio is awesome!) But those litters didn't work out and Rio's breeder is not going to be breeding any related dogs anytime in the near future. So, I had to go looking for another breeder and found Brenda Lelli in Michigan. I am getting one of the female puppies. Here are photos of puppies at 6 1/2 weeks old.
I don't know which one will be mine yet. Brenda, the breeder, is keeping the female with the darkest mask (labeled female #4). A lady from New Hampshire gets second pick (because she reserved her pup before I did). But she isn't actually driving to Michigan to select her. She is picking based on the photos and information from the breeder. So next Monday, I will choose from whichever two are not spoken for.
I am really not concerned. I have had last pick of a litter more than once with my dogs and have always felt that I got the best dog anyway. I feel that you pick the parents and the genetics and then you are generally OK with any of the puppies.
My doggie-friend of over 15 years, Kila, who lives in Michigan is going along with me to look at the puppies and make my pick. So it should be really fun!! I will post some photos after we get her...
The life expectancy for Great Pyrs is 8 to 12 years, with 10 probably being about average. We have been very lucky with good longevity in most of our animals. However, I am not sure if being an outdoor sheep guarding dog will increase or reduce her lifespan. On one hand she has to deal with the elements and cold/heat/rain etc. But on the other hand she has full access to 6 acres, lots of exercise, fresh air and does the job the breed was made for.
We had two failed attempts to get puppy that was a Rio relative last year and this year. (Rio is awesome!) But those litters didn't work out and Rio's breeder is not going to be breeding any related dogs anytime in the near future. So, I had to go looking for another breeder and found Brenda Lelli in Michigan. I am getting one of the female puppies. Here are photos of puppies at 6 1/2 weeks old.
I don't know which one will be mine yet. Brenda, the breeder, is keeping the female with the darkest mask (labeled female #4). A lady from New Hampshire gets second pick (because she reserved her pup before I did). But she isn't actually driving to Michigan to select her. She is picking based on the photos and information from the breeder. So next Monday, I will choose from whichever two are not spoken for.
I am really not concerned. I have had last pick of a litter more than once with my dogs and have always felt that I got the best dog anyway. I feel that you pick the parents and the genetics and then you are generally OK with any of the puppies.
My doggie-friend of over 15 years, Kila, who lives in Michigan is going along with me to look at the puppies and make my pick. So it should be really fun!! I will post some photos after we get her...
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