Your dining room table is 27" from the floor, kitchen counters 36".
The average female Pyr can walk under your dining room table only if she ducks
her head; the average male need to either scrunch himself smaller or lift your
table a few inches higher. In either case, the front of the counter is not the
place to store meat thawing for dinner. The top of the refrigerator is out of
the reach of most Pyrs
.
On the scale at the feed store, 80 to 120 pounds. While trying to
give one a pill or cut its nails: as much as a Moray eel. On the first day of
obedience class: as much as a young elephant. The day you teach the "down"
exercise in obedience class: as much as a Sumo wrestler. When walking through a
litter of pups, kittens, chicks or lambs: about as much as two
feathers.
As much as they want - never mind what the back of the dog-food bag
says. The average Great Pyrenees can survive quite nicely and maintain weight
and normal activity on as much dog food as will fit into a two-pound coffee can.
Most, however, have convinced their owners that plain dog food is completely
unpalatable and will starve unless supplemented with ground round, chicken
breast, sirloin tips or cheese omelets. If he discovers you have a weakness for
cookies you may find your leg battered black and blue by Pyr-paw-pats, repeated
until you share the cookies - Oreos are much preferred to Milk
Bones.
At the annual ritual known as "coat blowing" you can comb enough fur
out of your dog to have spun into enough yarn to make yourself a cap, a scarf
and a pair of mittens. Why you would want to is beyond me, since everything else
you own is already lavishly decorated with Pyr Hair. Since shedding, in some
degree, takes place 365 days a year, you will have ample decoration on your rug,
couch, bed, etc. Since Pyr hair has a particular affinity for dark clothing, the
Pyr-owning business person wears a lot of light grey and tan. Firefighters,
police officers and military personnel owned by Pyrs learn to leave their
uniforms in sealed lockers at work and change there.
What about it? If begun early, you can train yourself to come every
time your Pyr barks and give it some attention. Give him enough attention for
barking, and your neighbors will also begin to give you some attention. Mutual
reinforcement always works. What do Pyrs bark at? Only things they can see and
hear - that includes low flying satellites and butterflies. Most Pyrenees
eavesdrop on a family argument four houses away, yet become selectively deaf
upon hearing words like "stop that", "come here" and "be quiet". Pyr owners
exchange information on stopping barking the way our grandmothers exchanges
recipes for pickles - no two were ever alike.
How do you think the Pyrenees mountains were really constructed? One
Pyr, out of consideration for her owner's failing eyesight, enlarged the cup of
his putting green to bunker-sized. Landscape companies report their greatest
repeat business comes from Pyr owners. Some Pyr owners, however, simply resign
themselves to living with a yard that looks like a gunnery range.
If you train your children early enough not to tease the dog - not
to pull his tail, wake him by jumping on top of him, pinch his ears or steal his
food - your Pyr will be safe from the kids. Children are not as easy to train as
a Pyr because it is not legal to put a choke-chain and leash on a child.
