pyrless

We got our renewal slips for the dog's county licenses yesterday-three at $16 each (the $$ goes to the county kennel, which is actually quite nice). I was just curious whether everyone has a licensing law or not, how much it costs other folks, in the States and other parts of the world.

(okay, i am brave to ask this question only 'cause of the whole glistening poop thread! ) :lol: Does anyone else's dogs steal their underwear out of the laundry and walk around the house with it?????? It's just Taz that does this. He also likes to sleep with one of my shoes when I am at work. It is kind of endearing and kind of odd at the same time... :lol:

oh. [i]fabulous. [/i] :roll: this just gets better and better, doesn't it?

Especially since they are so visible and people follow them like little sheep.

"so last year"... :zly7: ????? What is it going to take, and why is it so hard, for people to grasp the fact that dogs are sentient beings and not [b]accessories?![/b]

i guess this is the opposite extreme of the people that dress up their toy dogs like dolls and polish their toenails... :roll: some day i will put a (lightweight, don't worry! :D ) spiked collar on my Pom and a pink sweater on my Pyr and see what people have to say about THAT! :shiny:

that's a great story! :D They do sort of look like lions, come to think of it!

a behaviorist that I used raises Leonbergers, which I understand are descended from the Great Pyr? Is it true that Beaucerons also have double rear dew claws?

my 2 cents... :) Coastal makes this harness called a Comfort Wrap which is not only really easy to put on (the dogs kind of step into it) but the D rings for the leash end up on the middle of their back, and it distributes the weight nicely even if they do end up pulling (squirrels!) they cannot pull me off my feet anymore.

EXACTLY! I have to call Taz in the house [i]three[/i] times, every time. And he is definitely, as the trainers say, "food motivated"! :lol: I found him easy to house train as well, and he is a star-people literally have stopped their cars to ask me about him. He is also loyal and protective and a big snuggler...I am so happy finally that someone also has this wonderful dog!

awww! ;-) Taz is probably the smartest dog i have ever known. I really think they are a "best-kept secret" as far as dogs go!

oinkrider-you had an elkhound??? wow! i have an elkie/collie mix (the only collie part is his tail-he is elkhound in personality through and through!)and i have met very few people that have had one-what a great breed!

if these breeders are really trying to get back to the old-style GSD for working purposes that's one thing, it's like breeding Pyrs for true LGD work. however if they are just trying to make a bigger dog for the sake of making a bigger dog, then IMHO that is not right. I am sure there are breeders on both sides of this fence.

i met a gordon setter once, and the owner just about passed out when i was like "hey! a gordon setter!" :lol:

oh my god, kat! so scary! :o it is [b]really[/b] the best security system we have, especially when we girls are alone in the house-i know no one who [i]knows[/i] we have Taz and Sasha would try to break in, but if anyone did try they would be in for a nasty, nasty surprise...

i completely agrrrreeee! :D our neighborhood is nice except for the seventeen year old juvenile delinquent next door who has no parental supervision, and one night around 11, my husband was sleeping and I heard a thud in the yard. I look out the back patio to see four of this kid's friends in my back yard, just creeping around! Taz (my elkhound) saw this and started to actually [i]snarl[/i]. I held him by the collar, opened the door and said "You have until the count of five and then I am letting him go". Taz is snarling and barking and making a scene the whole time, these damn kids split, right over our back fence into a yard where a really crabby Chow Chow was living...serves 'em right! :D (I let Taz go out anyway and make a scene in the yard, and nothing like that has happened since.) Funny thing is, Taz is just about the biggest, sweetest love you would ever hope to meet!

desertlady-i don't think low-shed and non smelly is antidog-it just depends on the coat you want. i have two double coated breeds who shed once or twice a year, really heavily, and have little to no "doggy odor". my dogs are a pyr and an elkie mix-hardly prissy! :D along those lines, may i suggest a standard size American Eskimo? They are a spitz/nordic type dog, so you do get the coat blowing once or twice a year, but as I said, with my double-coated breeds, they actually shed very little the rest of the time. These are highly trainable, sociable dogs with a long history in performance, and the size would be right for you too. i don't know how they are off leash, you would have to talk to an owner about that. Good luck!

hey pomeranians-great choices! :D I have a pyr, an elkie mix and a pom so you and i think very much alike, then! i have to say I am extremely extremely biased though and think the Great Pyrenees is the most beautiful dog in the world-followed closely by their flock-guardian cousins the Maremma, Kuvasz, the Polish Tatra and Akbash.

Another thing you can do is "practice" leaving in short increments so she knows you will be coming back, start out at 2 or 3 minutes and go up from there...and while you are doing that, give her something like a Kong filled with peanut butter or whatever she loves, so she gets wrapped up in it and hopefully "forgets" that you are gone! This does suck, I feel for you. Good luck!

well, despite my nickname here on the boards, I too have a pom-she is orange and cream, ten years old, her name is Muffin. She is a doll, but this is an extreeeeemely hardheaded little breed, and mine in particular will not back down from any big dog including our pyrenees which has got her into trouble twice. At any rate, I have found Muffin relatively easy to train, pretty amazing since at 10 and a rescue she had had no training except house-training! She will do anything for food and snuggles, and in that order! She's a tough little broad, but do be careful with the big dogs, your best bet is to get the opposite sex, if at all possible. For some reason, a lot of poms end up in rescue, which is a good first place to look if you haven't already. HTHS! :D

doesn't someone have to prove beyond a doubt that this woman's dogs either are/aren't wolf hybrids? at any rate, doesn't that just devolve into he said/she said? this is ridiculous. good vibes, everyone!

the most important lessons he has taught me personally have nothing to do with the physical corrections-i think that really depends on the dog at hand, but with my attitude of calmness and also to never reward anything but a calm state of mind in the dog. it has really worked for me and helped me to be more confident in handling all three dogs, but especially my pyr who is 1.5 years and has a james dean attitude at the moment! :)

Try the AKC website- I seem to remember them having something on there. Also I have a book which has a pretty comprehensive list-it is the Dorling-Kinderley "Dogs" handbook. HTHS!

i would redirect it too...but it also sounds to me like part of the dog's herding drive since it happens when the child is moving away from her, or on the swings? if she really needs something to herd, they have these oversized (beach-ball sized!) tennis balls at toy stores which my elkie thinks is a gift from heaven! or you could buy her sheep... :D

here he is on every week night at 6:30 on the national geographic channel.