Soon to be a giant...

[rpcrowe]

It was serendipity today... We read on our local Neighborhood website about a coyote jumping a six foot chain link fence to grab a small dog right in front of its owner... Then when my wife went out to be with our dogs on their morning potty break - a coyote was on the other side of the fence. My Goldendoodle Holly, who at 13-years old is showing her age, didn't even bark at the coyote...

My wife later said to me, "I think we need another big dog as protection for our little dogs." I agreed!

What do you know? Through our rescue links, we found a 3-month old Great Pyrenees puppy. Just the right age to bond with our dogs. The great Pyrenees are excellent flock guardians...

BTW: This dog is known as the pyrenean mountain dog in the U.K. and other areas...



We named her Serena because she is so calm and laid back. At three months old, she weighs anout 30-pounds and will only get bigger as she grows. We are told that her dad weighs 100-pounds and her mom weighs 80! They are relatively small for the breed...

I have always loved massive dogs and Serena is just a sweetheart. She fits in with our pack like she was born in our house. She follows Judy or me all over... As soon a we arrived home, we released her from her leash and she did a "perimeter search" of our yard and finding that nothing was amiss returned to sit by us. That's a pretty powerful instinct floating around in a three month old puppy...

Although they are fierce defenders of home and homestead, the Great Pyrenees are considered "Gentle Giants"...

[escape]

Beautiful dog. My old dog would do a perimeter patrol every night.

[lovelife65]

very cool story. I know of a rescue organization of these dogs. they aren't for the faint of heart. Our labs THINK they are guard dogs LOL.
When still living in WA state we heard the coyotes every night, laughing and screaming. They were often very close by, and even were found in the forest lands at times.

Cute pup, congrats on your new addition!!

[rpcrowe]

These dogs are quite large and have lots of hair which makes them look even larger. While they are quite formidable and brave, their first response is to ward off intruders. They are amazingly gentle towards little dogs (which is the reason we selected this breed over some other guard dog types).

When she is grown, the plan would be to let her out first each morning to ensure the property is clear and then she will go out anytime our little ones go out to potty.

I have started a smugmug gallery - which only has 3-images right now but, I'll be adding every day...

https://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/SERENA/i-hNb72Pq

[rpcrowe]

We have had Serena for a week now and she weighs about 32-pounds (13.5 kg) and stands about 18" (45.7 m) at the shoulders. Expectations are that she will grow to 80-115 pounds and stand between 25 and 29 inches at the shoulder.

[rpcrowe]

I go down to let my chickens out of their coop every morning and Serena accompanies me on the walk down to the chicken area. I have introduced Serena to the chickens and she is fine with them. However, I don't want her feet to be contaminated with chicken poop (I wear a pair of boots that are only for the chicken area), so Serena loyally waits for me at the gate to our chicken run...



Although she has many "real" toys, Serena loves to play with a length of coiled up rope...





Although dirt, at first, clings to her coat, it miraculously disappears without needing to be brushed off...

[Chataignier]

What a gorgeous pup - soon to be a giant as you say. In my experience the bigger they are, the gentler they are - except when humans intervene with aggressive training.
I recall a friend's 120lb Rottweiler playing oh so gently with a family of tiny kittens - they were climbing all over him.
Personal experience, our 4yr old German short hair pointer bitch came spontaneously into milk and fed three stray kittens that we had tried (unsuccessfully) to feed by bottle. The kittens grew up fine with no ill effects apart from a tendency to bark at strangers (family joke).

[rpcrowe]

[escape]

Richard, I've never had more than one dog at a time. Do you find you have a favorite?

[rpcrowe]

Sure - my favorite is whichever dog is nearest me at the time... Each one is different and has different qualities that I like. There isn't one of them that I don't really love... There are three of them that usually sit with me while I am watching TV...

[escape]

Sure - my favorite is whichever dog is nearest me at the time....

That brought a smile to my face. Well, put.

[rpcrowe]

We have a teen age girl as a neighbor who has been through some pretty hard times lately... Covid removed her from her classroom which was the only contact she had with kids of her age. Her father has just been diagnosed with cancer and her beloved dog also developed cancer and had to be put down. That's a lot of heavy stuff for a young girl to deal with...

She was discussing with my wife how unhappy she is and said that she misses walking her dog most of all. Judy asked her if she would like to walk with our new dog...

She jumped at the suggestion and is now walking our puppy, Serena, and she seems quite a bit happier... Serena has become a defacto therapy dog...

[Marwus]

We have a teen age girl as a neighbor who has been through some pretty hard times lately... Covid removed her from her classroom which was the only contact she had with kids of her age. Her father has just been diagnosed with cancer and her beloved dog also developed cancer and had to be put down. That's a lot of heavy stuff for a young girl to deal with...

She was discussing with my wife how unhappy she is and said that she misses walking her dog most of all. Judy asked her if she would like to walk with our new dog...

She jumped at the suggestion and is now walking our puppy, Serena, and she seems quite a bit happier... Serena has become a defacto therapy dog...

This is good and as it should be. Serena is wonderful puppy.