Last night, we picked New Daddy up from work, and we drove three and a half hours to a small farming community to spend the night in an un-air conditioned house. In middle Georgia. During July. And we slept in the room that didn't have a working ceiling fan. Thankfully, the children had a good fan, or we would have gotten even less sleep than we did.
Why did we put ourselves through this?
Because this morning, we woke up to pick out a new member to our family: a Great Pyrenees puppy! We came to the conclusion that it probably wasn't wise to get another rooster; therefore, our other option was a livestock guardian dog. I saw a facebook post about some pups at a farm, and we made arrangements to visit.
Precious named her Rosie, and she is eight weeks old. She's already grown up with chickens, so she knows that ours aren't playthings. But our hens haven't gotten the memo yet. In their book, Rosie is still quite a threat, and they don't mind letting her know. But, in the casual nature of most livestock guardian dogs, Rosie just sits and rolls in the grass, glances a little at the chickens, but is completely unconcerned by their noise. It's a beautiful thing to watch a confident dog with a job to do.
Tonight, there was no howling or squalling from this girl. She lay right down in the middle of the just-mowed grass and went to sleep. Again, confident dog! We LOVE her!
I've read that Great Pyrenees need to be socialized around many different people and animals. She doesn't much like meeting other dogs, but she is fine with people, especially children. She tolerates all kinds of dubious affection from our children with no complaints. She probably knows that she'll be twice their size in a matter of months.
I also read that Great Pyrenees need good leash and pack leader training. We've already established that she comes to us, instead of chasing her around. She does not do leashes, yet. But since she mostly sits around and hangs out casually, it's pretty easy to avoid chasing her.
Here are a few pics of our new pup!
Why did we put ourselves through this?
Because this morning, we woke up to pick out a new member to our family: a Great Pyrenees puppy! We came to the conclusion that it probably wasn't wise to get another rooster; therefore, our other option was a livestock guardian dog. I saw a facebook post about some pups at a farm, and we made arrangements to visit.
Precious named her Rosie, and she is eight weeks old. She's already grown up with chickens, so she knows that ours aren't playthings. But our hens haven't gotten the memo yet. In their book, Rosie is still quite a threat, and they don't mind letting her know. But, in the casual nature of most livestock guardian dogs, Rosie just sits and rolls in the grass, glances a little at the chickens, but is completely unconcerned by their noise. It's a beautiful thing to watch a confident dog with a job to do.
Tonight, there was no howling or squalling from this girl. She lay right down in the middle of the just-mowed grass and went to sleep. Again, confident dog! We LOVE her!
I've read that Great Pyrenees need to be socialized around many different people and animals. She doesn't much like meeting other dogs, but she is fine with people, especially children. She tolerates all kinds of dubious affection from our children with no complaints. She probably knows that she'll be twice their size in a matter of months.
I also read that Great Pyrenees need good leash and pack leader training. We've already established that she comes to us, instead of chasing her around. She does not do leashes, yet. But since she mostly sits around and hangs out casually, it's pretty easy to avoid chasing her.
Here are a few pics of our new pup!
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