December 3, 2014

How to feed a Pyrenean Mountain Dog

I am answering a couple of Frequently Barked Questions about food today. The first part of the post is about the appetite of an adult Great Pyrenees and the second part will tell you about feeding puppies – they eat a lot more!

Adults

FBQ: Do Pyrenean Mountain Dogs, or Great Pyrenees, eat a lot?

Clowie: When we’re fully grown our appetite is quite modest for our size. As a rough guide, we usually eat about the same as a working Border Collie or an adult Labrador should eat.

We usually spend a large part of our day in a comfortable spot where we can see as much as possible of what is going on without needing to move. This means we don’t use as much energy as dogs that like to keep on the move all the time.

We are not generally greedy. Although you will find a few Pyrenean Mountain Dogs who like their food too much and have to watch their weight, you are more likely to encounter a Pyrenean Mountain Dog who is slightly fussy about his food.

I have days, especially in the hot weather, when I don’t want to eat at all and this is not unusual for my breed. It is nothing to worry about in a healthy adult if it’s a day here and there.

I like to have a light breakfast and eat more in the evening – my evening meal is about double my breakfast in size. I know that a number of my relations agree with me on this.

Puppies

FBQ: How should I feed a Pyrenean Mountain Dog, or Great Pyrenees, puppy?

Clowie: The short answer to that is lots and lots of top quality food!

My bowl is empty – again!

It isn’t surprising that we need a lot of food while we’re growing when you consider how fast we grow. I reached most of my adult height by the time I was six months old. It takes young humans more than a decade to grow that much.

From the time I went to live with my bipeds as a small puppy I had four meals a day, until I was six months old. Our vet said that it’s important to have frequent meals as our digestive system is working at its peak to process enough food to grow so rapidly. The size of my meals gradually increased during that time. Our vet advised allowing me to eat as much as I wished at mealtimes.

My appetite peaked at about five months of age. My bipeds made rude jokes about shovelling food in at one end and clearing up what came out at the other end!

Guess what the bipeds said they needed this for!

When I was about six months old I began rejecting the second meal of the day, so my bipeds fed me three times a day. I ate a little more at each meal, but the quantity for the day had stopped increasing.

When I was about nine months old I lost interest in the second meal of the day and my bipeds changed to two meals a day. From then my appetite gradually decreased until I was about eighteen months old when it reached a steady level.

This may seem a strange way of doing things, but my bipeds were advised by a number of people with lots of experience of my breed that the best way was to allow me to decide how much I needed to eat and when to change the number of meals. This is because we mature and grow at different rates and have growth spurts needing extra food at different times. A rigid plan cannot cater for the differences between puppies. When it comes to food requirements, a Pyrenean Mountain Dog puppy knows best!

My bipeds weighed and measured me every week to keep an eye on my progress. When I was too heavy to lift and weigh at home they took me to the vet’s office every week to weigh me on the scales in his reception area. That meant lots of fuss for me from the receptionist and sometimes the vet had a spare moment and came to pet me! He would have a quick chat with my bipeds while he stroked me, he gave them reassurance that I was growing and progressing as I should.

Many brands of dog food have a special food for large breed puppies. Not only are the pieces larger so that we have to chew rather than gulp our food down, but attention is paid to the nutrients we need to grow healthily at the rate we do.

I’m not going to say very much about raw feeding – it’s a topic in its own right. I just wish to say that if you decide to go that route while your dog is a puppy then make sure you do your research thoroughly and take advice from people familiar with the breed. Dogs of different ages and sizes have different nutritional needs.

I have read some old books about my breed, written before commercial dog food was widely available. They included some eating plans for growing puppies created by experienced breeders. Each plan included supplements for strong bone growth and substantial amounts of top-quality meat such as best, lean, beef steak.

My bipeds said it was expensive keeping me in kibble while I was growing, but I think those juicy steaks would have cost them a lot more!

Kibble

I’m sorry this post is a bit dry but, to paraphrase Forrest Gump, kibble is as kibble does. And I can assure you that kibble is dry!

See you next Wednesday!

November 19, 2014

Creative design

I am answering a Frequently Barked Question (FBQ) this week.

FBQ: Are Pyrenean Mountain Dogs, or Great Pyrenees, destructive?

Clowie: My short answer to that is that a contented and trained adult Pyrenean Mountain Dog is not destructive. I have not damaged anything in the house or garden since I was about nine months old.

However, we are capable of doing a lot of damage in a short space of time, so I can see why some people would say that we are destructive. Early training is very important so that we learn not to chew on the furniture!

Some of my creative efforts, when I was a puppy, have been misunderstood and my bipeds have said I’ve made a “terrible mess”. I believe that’s what they said when I gave the bathroom a makeover in the space of about ten minutes!

I never once chewed a shoe as a puppy. Oh, my biped has just peeped over my shoulder and said that’s because they kept them in the cupboard until I knew better and reminded me what I did to the table and benches in the kitchen – again my intentions were misunderstood!

Chews taste better than shoes!

There was an incident with a baby gate they’d put across a doorway. It was hardly my fault that some of the door frame came away when I pushed the gate out of my way – the door frame must have been quite weak!

I tried to chew my way through a door – and I was doing quite well when they stopped me, but that was before I knew any better. I also chewed a chunk of plaster from the wall, but you don’t know you can’t eat something until you try it. I only did that once because it tastes awful!

I’m quite skilled at gardening and made the lawn much more interesting than just flat grass. My bipeds were so impressed that they gave me a corner of the garden to landscape as I pleased.

I did rearrange some plants that unfortunately died, but every gardener has to learn through experience – I didn’t know the roots were meant to be in the ground! They were mostly quite small plants as they are the easiest to move, but I did move a few shrubs and a small tree as well.

My idea of a small tree!
Attribution: Philip Halling [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

I was accused of wrecking a water feature, but that was a misunderstanding – they kept putting plants in my outdoor drinking bowl!

I will make no excuse for sending the freshly-laid turf flying – that was lots of fun!

I think all of that is fairly normal puppy behaviour – I wasn’t unusual for a Pyrenean Mountain Dog puppy.

I’ve said that a trained and contented adult Great Pyrenees is not destructive, which is true. But if a bored adult does decide to nibble on the furniture they are obviously going to do a lot of damage very quickly. Early training to establish desired behaviour patterns is very important, as is sufficient exercise and time with our bipeds.

It is also important to prepare a Great Pyrenees to spend some time alone – we are just as prone as any dog to suffer from separation anxiety. It is better to avoid this than to remedy it. A distressed adult Pyrenean Mountain Dog has a lot of weight to throw about and most internal doors will not resist for long!

If our delight in digging hasn’t been controlled or directed in some way, you could end up with a copy of the Pyrenean Mountains in your back garden – my ancestors did create that range of mountains!

What do you think? Would you describe a Pyrenean Mountain Dog as destructive?

See you next Wednesday!

November 12, 2014

Carry on socialising

I’m answering a Frequently Barked Question today.

FBQ: My Great Pyrenees (Pyrenean Mountain Dog) is nine months old and shows no signs of being protective. He wants to be friends with everyone and everything we meet. Should I stop socialising him to encourage him to be protective?

Clowie: Carry on socialising! When he’s a little older, he will be protective if there’s danger. That’s the short answer, now I will explain.

It’s important to continue socialising him. Socialisation will not prevent him from being protective of his family when it’s necessary, but it will enable him to make sensible decisions about when you need his protection.

The fact that he’s friendly and relaxed shows you’ve done a great job of socialising him so far. You should continue to give him as many new experiences as you can.

Clowie , Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Great Pyrenees, smiling

I like to be friends with everyone, but I’m always watchful

Nine months old is still very young, Great Pyrenees are not considered mature until two or three years old. Our protective instincts are very strong, but the age at which they’re first noticed varies from dog to dog and depends on circumstances.

An insufficiently-socialised dog worries about too many situations and becomes too protective. An adult dog that is nervous and overprotective can be difficult to handle – we are large and very strong.

A well-socialised adult Pyrenean Mountain Dog will be relaxed and confident in most situations, although he will always be alert to the possibility of danger and ready to act if needed.

Many people have been surprised at how quickly their relaxed and friendly Great Pyrenees acted when he saw danger to his family. Our presence is often enough to keep danger away from our loved ones. We like to find a pleasant spot where we can observe everything that is going on, so that we are the first to know if there is any danger and we can act if we need to.

We are very good at multi-tasking, whatever we’re doing you can be sure that some of our attention is reserved for keeping an eye out for danger. I had to reprimand a naughty Border Collie who had his nose in my biped’s bag at obedience class when I was not quite two years old – my biped thought she had my complete attention doing heel work!

I think my biped was less surprised when I warned the pushy man who tried to stop her from closing the front door, as I was more mature then and she knew how watchful I am.

My bipeds laugh because I can sleep through all kinds of normal household activity, but I will be wide awake and on my paws in an instant if there is the slightest unusual sound.

Don’t be fooled by my snoring – I can still hear everything!

Keep up the good work and continue socialising as much as you can – it really pays dividends for you and your dog. However soft and friendly a Great Pyrenees is, he will always protect those he’s close to when there’s danger.

See you next Wednesday!

August 20, 2014

A dog with attitude

I am going to answer a Frequently Barked Question, or FBQ, today.

FBQ: Is a Pyrenean Mountain Dog (Great Pyrenees) the right dog for me?

I have to point out that the people asking this question have it back to front. The question should really be: Am I the right person for a Pyrenean Mountain Dog? If you’re offended that I have turned the question round then the answer to your original question is a no!

People who live with Pyrenean Mountain Dogs are generally agreed that we have lots of attitude. I think that attitude is a good thing and I’ve seen lots of quotations saying that attitude is everything, but apparently some humans don’t want attitude from a dog!

My ancestors were bred to look after livestock in the mountains, with little or no supervision from humans. We are confident and think for ourselves. If you think a dog should obey you, without question, simply because you are a human, you are the wrong person for a Great Pyrenees.

We are intelligent and capable of learning quickly. Training needs to begin early and our bipeds usually think they have the perfect puppy for a while, as we pick things up so quickly. But most of us, sooner or later, start thinking about whether we actually want to do the things we’re asked to do. Then we start thinking about ways of avoiding doing the things we don’t want to do. I myself began this phase when I was about eleven weeks old – and I’m not particularly precocious!

We need bipeds who are patient and consistent to work through this with us. A sense of humour also helps! If you have those qualities, we’ll gradually grow to trust and respect you and we’ll do as we’re asked most of the time. Training us isn’t about dominance, we respond to positive reinforcement but we’re not usually as motivated by food as people expect dogs to be. I enjoy a treat or two, but I’m far more motivated by praise or a game.

Thank you, but I’m not hungry!

I’m a well-behaved adult and I trust and respect my bipeds – they can take me anywhere with them. But I still occasionally check to see if my bipeds are on their toes by trying to bend a rule. Of course it’s just a coincidence that this happens when I know they’re in a hurry, or that it’s raining and they don’t really want to put on shoes to come outside to fetch me in from the garden! I’ve heard that I’m far from alone in doing this!

If that Pyr-attitude doesn’t worry you, check out “Not the dog for everyone“. For those brave souls who are still with me, here are just a few more things you should know before deciding that you’re right for a Great Pyrenees.

Size

It’s fairly obvious that we’re large, but this has lots of implications that are not as obvious – see “Santa Pups“.

Hair

We have lots of it! We moult heavily once or twice a year, but we’re generous with our hair the rest of the time – see “From hair to eternity“. I hope you don’t like wearing black!

Barking

We have a reputation for barking a lot. Our bark is loud, so it can be a cause for concern. I have barked about this a few times.

General barking – “To bark, or not to bark, that is the question“.

Preparing for the barking – “The calm before the barking storm“.

Barking at night – “Why barking at night can be a good thing“.

I hope you find the right dog for you!

See you next Wednesday!

July 16, 2014

My puppy is a thief!

I am answering a Frequently Barked Question: How do I stop my puppy from stealing things?

I have been told about puppies running away with items of clothing when their bipeds are getting dressed, puppies running off with the remote control when their bipeds want to watch television, puppies unpacking the children’s school bags and puppies taking and chewing shoes – to name but a few things these rascals are getting up to.

Puppies just want to have fun! The idea of ownership is a very human view of things. Your puppy is inviting you to play. If you’ve ever chased after your puppy to get something back then you’ve inadvertently accepted the invitation and rewarded the behaviour. Playing at keeping an item from bipeds is a lot of fun! I love to play this game in the garden where there’s plenty of room to run around, but I only do this with one of my toys when my bipeds have agreed to play. I will explain why I stopped trying to take things from my bipeds.

Pyrenean Mountain Dog, or Great Pyrenees, puppy with Tibetan Terrier puppy

Puppies just want to have fun!

My bipeds tried to avoid situations where I could take something and they also did training with me so that I would learn not to take things. My bipeds were very tidy when I was young, they put everything, even all their shoes, into cupboards so that I couldn’t often get hold of anything I shouldn’t – I can tell you now that being tidy doesn’t come naturally to them! They also only allowed me in certain rooms – the ones where they weren’t leaving anything interesting for me to get at!

My bipeds ensured that I had plenty of playtime at fairly regular intervals and I had short training sessions. One of the things they taught me was “give it”, which meant that I should exchange whatever I had for something that they were holding to give me. Sometimes I had to think hard about whether I wanted to swap, but they were always offering me something more interesting.

They also taught me “leave it”. They began this by putting a fairly boring treat on the floor and when I went to take it they covered it with a hand. I didn’t try very hard to get it and when I stopped trying I was rewarded with a very tasty treat. When I knew the request to “leave it” they gradually did this with more interesting things, but the reward was always nicer than whatever I was being asked not to touch.

Cartoon of dog raiding rubbish, drinking from toilet etc.

A few examples showing when “leave it” could be useful!
Attribution: By LELE43 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

They also worked with me on sitting when asked. This seemed an easy way to earn a tasty treat, lots of praise, or some playtime with them. We did this so often that “sit” is almost automatic and they use this to their advantage!

With these three requests at their disposal, it was impossible for me to run off with something and have a game. If they saw me about to pick something up they would say, “leave it”. I would get a treat and then be encouraged to play with one of my own toys. If I managed to pick something up before they noticed, they would ask me to “sit”, and then they would approach me and ask me to “give it”. Again, I would be given a treat and encouraged to play with one of my own toys.

I noticed that if I was settled down playing with one of my own toys, they would often give me a treat as they walked past. They would also tell me how pleased they were with me and sometimes they would join in the game with my toy! I gradually gave up trying to get them to play with things like the remote control, as they never joined in. It was more rewarding to play with one of my own toys and if they chose to join in that made it even better!

See you next Wednesday!