So, I know that after I got back from visiting Nance and Rick after Thanksgiving, I mentioned that something – we suspected a hawk – had gotten our little white silkie. It was about the fourth chicken we’d lost in such a manner, and we decided it was time to start seriously figuring out a way to protect the chickens from hawks and other predators.
We talked about dogs. We talked about donkeys. We talked about turkeys. About guineas. About moving the chickens back to a more protected, smaller yard. About putting shelters up in the middle of the back forty. We talked and discussed and talked some more, until I was ready to go out and kill all the chickens, just to stop the incessant talk about how to protect them.
We went to the flea market and eyeballed some peacocks. Or guineas. Or turkeys. I don’t even remember what we looked at, but I can tell you that getting big obnoxious birds to protect the littler (obnoxious) birds is an idea I wasn’t crazy about. I also didn’t want a donkey or goats.
Fred talked to a woman who worked with a Great Pyrenees rescue in Tennessee. She had two Great Pyrs that she thought would work for us. They wanted $250 for the dogs.
$250 each.
The idea of spending $500 to protect $3 chickens, well, it wasn’t something we were crazy about. We went to the flea market again. I still didn’t want turkeys or guineas or geese.
(I fucking HATE geese. Have hated them since one bit me ON THE ASS. Fuckers.)
On our way home, we swung by a small takeout chinese restaurant in Closeville to get lunch. On our way out, Fred pointed to the stack of free newspapers by the door. I grabbed one. As we drove home, I leafed through the paper, reading the classifieds.
“Here’s a guy in Tennesse with Great Pyr puppies,” I said to Fred. “$50 each.”
After putting it off for a while, Fred called the guy. The puppies were four and a half months old, they’d spent a lot of time around chickens, they were purebred Great Pyrenees, and the guy was desperate to get rid of them, because he had four adults and three puppies, and they were eating him out of house and home.
I tried to convinced Fred that we should drive up to Tennessee and see the puppies that night, but it was getting on toward dark, and we couldn’t be gone when the chickens needed to be locked in. We also couldn’t go the next day (Sunday) because the guy had choir practice and some other plans.
“You could take part of a day off from work, and we could drive up there,” I said to Fred. He didn’t want to do that.
Fred told the guy we’d think about it, and maybe drive up the next Saturday to see the puppies. He hung up the phone.
“What if he sells them before next weekend?” I asked worriedly. “Maybe you should call and tell him we’ll come up after dark tonight?”
Fred didn’t want to go up there in the dark.
“Take the goddamn day off and we’ll go up there on Monday!” I said.
Fred didn’t want to take the goddamn day off.
“THOSE ARE THE BEST PUPPIES EVER AND SOMEONE ELSE IS GOING TO GET THEM!” I fretted.
Keep in mind that we knew nothing about these puppies except that they’d been around chickens all their life and they were purebred Great Pyrenees.
In the end, Fred called the guy and told him we wanted two of the puppies, he’d pay the guy a little extra to meet us in Fayetteville the following Friday, and then he spent the next few days putting up an electric fence around the perimeter of the back forty. We also spent plenty of time saying “Oh shit, what if this is a stupid thing we’re doing? Are we idiots?”
He left work early on Friday, we went to Fayetteville, and waited at the Co-op there to meet the guy. When he showed up, he had all three puppies in a cage in the back of his truck. When we walked over to the cage, three puppies rushed over to meet us. One licked our hands vigorously, and two of them sniffed at us in a friendly manner.
Apparently these puppies were people-friendly.
In the end, we chose one male and one female. Though we’d brought carriers with us tied down in the back of the truck, we ended up putting them in the back seat of the truck. They were perfectly quiet on the ride home, didn’t howl or try to get out of the back seat – just sat there and looked around, and eventually fell asleep.
Meet George and Gracie.
We brought them home on December 12th (and y’all think I can’t keep a secret!), and so far we’ve had a positive experience with them. We’ve begun training them – they’ve pretty much got “sit” down pat; we need to work on “stay” and training them to walk on leashes. We had to take them to the vet for their rabies shots and it wasn’t so much fun carrying them into the vet office because they don’t quite get what the leash is about – that was two weeks ago, and they weighed 43 and 53 pounds at that point.
They live out in the back forty with the chickens. They’re in the back forty all the time except for the one time we had to take them to the vet (and we’ll be taking them next month to be spayed and neutered). We got them a Dogloo to sleep in, but they completely ignored that and took to sleeping under the chicken coop, so we decided the Dogloo wasn’t big enough, and Fred built them a dog house on the back side of the coop. Sometimes they sleep there, sometimes Gracie sleeps in the dog house and George sleeps under the coop, sometimes they both sleep out in the middle of the field. Whatever they feel like at the moment is what they do.
(They thought Brian was THE BOMB.)
Gracie is a sweet, protective guardian who seems to notice the possibility of a threat before George does, and acts to protect the chickens. George is a sweet dunderhead who would happily show you where the silver is kept and help you carry it to your car, but he follows Gracie’s lead when it comes to protecting the chickens.
One day Fred and I were in the chicken yard with the chickens and dogs, and a guy who buys eggs from us approached fence. (We knew he was coming over.) George was a little worried about the guy, but when he saw Fred talking to him he was okay with his presence. Gracie (who was on the back side of the coop) didn’t see the guy ’til he was already in the yard. She put herself between the guy and the chickens, and barked a few times until Fred told her it was okay.
We’ve seen the dogs run off hawks at least three times.
One afternoon I was out gathering eggs from the chicken coop, and a couple approached the fence. I didn’t hear them coming until they were at the fence, and I happened to turn around and see them. They startled me, and I jumped, and both dogs barked at them the entire time we spoke (they were looking to buy eggs; I didn’t have any to sell that day. I’M SORRY, BUT HOW DIFFICULT IS TO GRASP THE CONCEPT OF IF THE SIGN IS OUT, I HAVE EGGS TO SELL. IF IT’S NOT, I DON’T?!). I’d like to think that they picked up on my discomfort (the wife don’t take too kindly to strangers, as Fred might say) and were protecting me, but who knows?
I like these dogs quite a lot (especially Gracie), but they are not pets. They have a job to do, protecting the chickens, and if they fail to do their job, we’ll find another home for them.
(I say that, knowing that so far they seem to be doing a really good job of protecting the chickens.)
As long as we can train them to sit when need be, to not bark at strangers if we assure them it’s okay, and we can get them into the truck for the occasional vet appointment, I’ll consider it a job well done. Great Pyrenees are notoriously hardheaded and not prone to follow directions, so it’s going to take some work.
I’ll say it again – I like these dogs, but they’re working dogs, not pets. Will I give them treats and pats and scritches and tell them how pretty they are? Of course I will. (I also brush them occasionally, but rumor has it that their first great shedding won’t come ’til Spring, when they prepare for the summer.) Will they ever be spending time in my house? Nope. They’re in the back forty with the chickens, at all times. They don’t come into the back yard, they don’t come into contact with the cats (they bark at Maxi and Newt if they get too close to the back forty – just a bark that says “I see you, don’t you touch my chickens!” – but for the most part they ignore the cats. They can see into the back yard, and at first they’d bark at Tommy if they saw him out there (I don’t know if it was because they know Tommy’s secretly a chicken-killer at heart or because he was just easier to see or what), but now they pretty much ignore the cats in the back yard. The cats pretty much ignore the dogs, too, and go about their business wandering around the yard.
So, there you go. We has us some dogs, and some pretty damn good ones, at that.
(And we kept it a secret for a few weeks because after the last time we adopted a dog and the time before, we wanted to make sure this time the dogs were going to work out. The fact that they’re working dogs instead of in-my-face dogs in the house (or right in the back yard, in Sadie’s case) seems to make a big, big difference.)
Also, we’ve started watching The Dog Whisperer, and Cesar Millan cracks me UP when he starts imitating dogs.
If there was one dog on this planet that I would want to come live with me, it’d be Daddy. He is just such a cool, laid-back, sweet guy that every time Cesar brings him in to assist, I squeal and clap my hands.
(Yes, I’m a dork.)
“We don’t need no stinkin’ dogs. I coulda run those hawks off.”
Previously
2008: No entry.
2007: Oh look! It’s been two years since the last time we adopted a dog.
2006: Home again, home again.
2005: No entry.
2004: No entry.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: How we met.
2000: And that’s all I have to say ’bout that.
They are beautiful! I know folks who have 3 GP’s and they use them to protect the flocks as well. They sleep in the barn and are perfect farm dogs. Congrats!
What beautiful dogs (although they would be an allergic nightmare for me!)
Don’t be surprised or worried if your Pyr never use their dog house. LGD’s don’t like to be away from their flock and will be perfectly happy in all kinds of weather as long as whatever they are guarding is nearby. Do make sure you handle them and introduce as many people and situations as possible in the next year. This will not make them less of a guardian but will make taking them to the vet or having visitors easier and safer. They undergo a personality change around 18 months and become very serious about their job. They most certainly will bark at strangers – I tell mine “thank you, that’s enough” and they will not bark once I’m outside … but they do definitely still keep an eye on things. Many, many LGD’s are also escape artists always looking to expand their territory, so you may want to start reinforcing that fences are never ever to be challenged by installing a hot wire or two – one high to prevent climbing and jumping and one low to prevent digging – now while the pups are still learning. I love my Anatolian Shepherds!
Very nice dogs. I guess they will be huge when full grown?
I love – love – love those dogs! Awesome!!!!!
Doggies! You didn’t say how much, or what, they are eating and I’m curious. Ok, NOSEY.
Congrats! The dogs are purty! I’m a long time lurker. Like Kim said- socialize them now or you might have issues later trying to get them even to the vet. If you need help with general dog questions a good site is http://www.bigdogsporch.com. I’ts an on-line community mostly for large breed dogs, but we have a few small dog members.
I LOVE them! I can’t wait to continue reading stories about them and seeing pictures of how they grow. Their faces look so sweet and loving, I would want to pet them and sweet-talk them all the time.
Yeah, goggies. And they are beautiful. I feel relieved they are there to tell you the truth. I was worried with the weird guy visitors you had a while back. It would take someone with giant cajones to come into your yard and mess with you now. I can’t wait to hear from your readers about their experiences with these types of dogs. I have already learned more about them in this post than I ever knew. I just thought they were big cotton puffs. Shows what I know. LOL at Kara. You can tell what she is thinking.
What pretty dogs!!! Such sweet faces! I too am glad they are there for you too…big dogs are a good weirdo deterrant!
I’ve always loved Great Pyrenees. They are gorgeous dogs and definitely do their job well. A friend of mine in high school had some who protected her family’s sheep.
I’m sure they will continue to protect the chickens, and will be spoiled rotten by you and Fred as well (well at least spoiled enough as to not interfere with their duties).
Sounds like you may have found the dogs that work for you. Good going.
OMg seriously? $50? I LOVE GPs. They are so pretty. I want one. Or a Newfie.
Gorgeous doggies! I am glad they are working out and protecting the flock. Great price too!
Love the names!
They look so sweet. Hope they do a good job for you. Great names by the way.
I’m not a big dog fan but I gotta tell you those dogs are really pretty dogs.
Wow, what a surprise! I hope they live with you for a very long time.
Aw, such sweet looking dogs! I’ve always heard that GPs make excellent dogs – the pups already seem well socialized and interested in working/pleasing their owners so it’s not likely they’ll give you trouble as they get older (except maybe your budget in feeding them!) What a good fit for Crooked Acres!
Beautiful dogs. I am SUCH a dog person. I could be with dogs like you are with cats except my husband would divorce me.
“I’ll say it again – I like these dogs, but they’re working dogs, not pets. Will I give them treats and pats and scritches and tell them how pretty they are? Of course I will. ”
That comment of yours made me giggle for two reasons:
I wonder how long before you consider them family, er…pets…and also I heard on the radio that the crazy “animal rights” people are now saying that having pets is wrong because animals have just as much right to life as we do….
That’s some kind of crazy. Can it get any weirder?
I love Daddy, too! I think he’s a great example that it isn’t the breed that is “bad” but the way the dogs are raised.
How do they run off the hawks? Are there trees in the back 40 that the dogs chase the hawks out of? (Out of which the dogs chase the hawks, if you’re being formal.) Or they get in between a dive bombing hawk and a chicken? Do tell.
OMG! They are adorable!!!
How exciting!
They’re beautiful!
They are probably the cutest things I have seen in a long time! Are you worried about when Gracie goes into heat and George trying to do his thang? Cue the music ” Let’s get it on…..Let’s get it on..oooo…oooo hoooo…..”
What beautiful big gorgeous dogs! My husband thinks dogs should never live outside but I don’t think he’s considering the working/farm dog aspect properly. I am sure they will have a wonderful life at crooked acres with you and Fred. The chickens will be safe and the cats will be happy remaining the queens and kings of the house. Best Of luck with them.
Gorgeous dogs! I’m all for working dogs actually, you know…working. Cesar Milan is also a huge proponent of dogs doing their thing and will actually make up jobs for troubled dogs to do to fulfill their instincts to work (i.e., having them carry backpacks, etc.). We inherited an Aussie and I’m seriously considering joining a group here in LA that teaches them how to herd, etc. As an incredibly smart dog he really needs that mental stimulation and also needs to tap into his most base instinct. You guys are doing the right thing keeping them out there with the chickens as workers, but I second the poster upthread who advised socializing them while they’re still young. I know you and Fred are avid readers and researchers, so you’ve probably got all that handled already.
I’m very excited for you guys! Yay doggies!
Oh man, this post made my day, Robyn! (It even prompted me to comment, and I never comment ;)) Congratulations on your new dogs. They’re beautiful and they look very enthusiastic about their jobs! I can’t wait to hear more about their adventures … or your adventures with them. Keep those chickens safe, doggies.
Robyn, I really do hope they work out — but as someone who has bred/raised Anatolians for almost 18 years now, I gotta say that we never ever would keep two puppies together. Do keep a really close eye on them as they approach teenage time (which will last for several years!) because they start playing and play can lead to killed stock. The foot on the chicken picture that Fred posted would have me on high alert. Hopefully you have no problems and they continue to behave as great as they have so far 🙂
We know a guy with a horse ranch who had two of those dogs and they were great dogs. They wandered the ranch and kept an eye on things and didn’t mess with the barn cats at all, so they probably won’t hurt yours since they’ll realize pretty quickly that they’re yours. The only problem he has with them is that occasionally they’d wander off and finally one of them got hit on the highway. I assume you put up an electric fence for that very reason. Hope they continue to work out for you!
As a total dog person I am so happy to see Crooked Acres has some DOGS in residence. I look forward to hearing about the further adventures of George and Gracie, they are gorgeous. I think in time they will become more than farm help for you both though, dogs can grow on a person big time!
All the best in 2009 Robyn, Fred and critters.
I have a male and a female great pyr. There is a saying a loose pyr is a disappear. they love to roam but they do come back. They do not get lost. They are great dogs. My male dog is 145 lbs and my female is 85 lbs. She is all work he is all baby. Oh you will fall in love with them. But it takes them about until they are 2 years old to mature. Just be patient and don’t give up too soon. They take their job serious whether it is guarding the kids or the yard. My female has a “no fly zone” over our house but we do not have anything the eagles or hawks want, she just doesn’t want them flying over her yard. I have stories and stories on how smart they are. My male can open the door to the house and come and go as he please, he can open the fridge, he can out think me sometimes when he tries to outsmart me.
Welcome home George and Gracie!
Take good care of ’em pups and they will surely take care of you.
Congrats Fred and Robyn, Happy New Year.
Your dogs are so cute and smiley!
I’m glad they’re doing a good job.
oh wow! What a good secret keeper. They are adorable. I learned lots about pyrs in these comments as well. I thought guarding farm dogs only protected sheep and larger farm animals. Chickens?! Who whudda thunk. Have fun with your new additions to your happy family!
I know you hate “assvice” but please listen to everyone who is saying to socialize the dogs early….to people AND other dogs. Trust me. Living with the Freaktard would not even be possible today if I hadn’t socialized him at an early age. It was not easy to find willing victims, er I mean people or dogs, but eventually he figured it out once exposed to them. Dogs teach other dogs how to act (as you know, by Daddy on the show) and various people make dogs understand how diverse a pack can be. The Freaktard is extremely protective and he’d be (more of) a monster today if he hadn’t realized that not all people suck (most people do, but not all) 😉
You already know I’m happy for you all and I think the dogs are freaking ADORABLE and I’m so glad things are working out 🙂
Gorgeous. I love them (but I would, big furry dogs are my thing). Dog photos as well as cat photos! Very exciting!
I had to smile when I read Fred’s comment about George sleeping on freezing ground… mine have treated snow like it isn’t even there, and have been frosted over while camping more than once!
You need an egg sign… one that is very clear…
“NO eggs are available” and
“Eggs are NOW available”… and have a big red X over the eggs or something…
seems like people there have some problems reading, maybe pictographs will help…
I have a great pyrenees mix doggie–Leia (yes, like from Star Wars). She just turned a year old. She’s 60 pounds, and the vet said she’ll gain at least 20 more. She is awesome with the kids, and the BEST DOGGIE EVER! And as far as teaching her commands, I’ve done pretty well… sometimes she has a mind of her own, but she does listen and obey.
Oh Lord, we would have had the best of intentions of keeping those working dogs out with the chickens, and 15 minutes later, they’d be up in our laps napping on the couches with us. I admire your resolve!
What beautiful dogs and what awesome faces they have, with their crazy tongues hanging out and all that smiling!! Congrats on your new additions – George and Gracie have NO IDEA how lucky they are to have you and Fred as their new family. Give them a scratch on the head from me – best of luck!!
Hi Robyn!
Yay, GPs!
We’ve had pyrs in the family for many years. Definitely need lots of socializing from a young age, or unfortunately you end up with a helluva large, strong dog that is very stubborn and angry.
They’re very cute, good luck!
Cara
I have the same reaction when Cesar does his dog imitations!