3y/o great pyrenese LGD

[mystang89]

I'm about to get some sheep and was wanting to get a livestock guard dog. I already have one great pyrenese and she is wonderful but they work better in pairs. The one I was looking at can be found here https://louisville.craigslist.org/grd/6133125817.html
I know training a dog from a puppy to be a guard is best and that they bond well but my question is, Would a 3y/o Bond to sheep or is this not a good investment?

 

[Fernie]

My question is why is she rehoming a 3 yr old GP?

 

[mystang89]

I don't know. I haven't talked to the person. Before I did I wanted to know if this was even worth my time.

 

[2CrazyFools]

Something about his head looks off, he doesn't look pure Great Pyrenees to me. There's no doubt that he has a good bit of GP but that would be one of the questions I would ask about and see what they say. If they come clean about him being mixed with something else then I'd continue to look into it more, but if they claim pure GP I'd be suspicious. The body, coat and skull all look not quite.... purebred.

I think mixed dogs are great, and it really doesn't matter if he's 100% GP if he'll do the job you want him to do, but if the owners are misleading you on that I'd wonder what else you're being misled about this dog. Either way, I'd get more information before attempting to purchase.

 

[shazza]

in my experience working with shelters and vets etc......most people have no idea how to tell the breed of a dog properly. even if he was mixed because he looks enough like a pure pyr, they probably just accepted it. you can tell someone a lab is half wolf and people will believe you because they don't know how to use google you wouldn't believe the claims i've seen made on mixed dogs. my dog's previous owners told me he was half basenji.......yeah ok.

on the flipside, i also agree there's something off about his face but that doesn't necessarily mean he isn't purebred. pyrs that aren't show-bred tend to vary WILDLY in how typey they are. i've seen some downright ugly pyrs that were actually purebred...just not to actually look like the AKC standard.

 

[2CrazyFools]

That's so very true Shazza, I'm shocked some of the claims I've seen about animals simply because someone doesn't know what these breeds look like. My dog's previous owner called her a straight up pure wolf... she's less than a 5th wolf and mostly Siberian husky, Malamute, and German Shepherd, lol. Pure wolf my rear. :roll: Also, I just saw a post on Craigslist titled, "White fluffy german shepherd"... all the pictures showed a lovely, snow white..... Siberian Husky. Straight up, no mixing whatsoever, to breed standard, Siberian Husky. X_x I contacted them and they got really pissy at me, I just thought they would get more interest if they titled their advertisement correctly.

I agree that he could be pure GP, just poorly bred. I almost mentioned that as well but I really hate calling dogs badly bred it just seems a little... insulting I suppose. However it certainly could be the case here.

 

[mystang89]

If this dog was a pure bread would it bond with sheep at 3y/o?

 

[2CrazyFools]

I would think that factor would be determined by the individual dog, and not so much by the breed (or possible breeds) in the livestock guardian dog. The only way to find out is to give him a shot.

You may have better luck asking a forum specifically for great Pyrenees or livestock guardian dogs, or perhaps a facebook group for these dogs and you'll get a greater reply from people who may have attempting to bond an older animal to their livestock. Only a handful or two of us have experience with them, and mine is limited to when I was a youth and the recommendation at that time was to get a puppy and have it live with the animals. Don't pet the puppy, etc.. etc..

No experience with introducing an adult.

 

[FourRingCircus]

Definitely ask questions... I cruise every now and then because I want a LGD eventually, and found one - I though, perfect! Then I read the description. She was a chicken killer :roll: Thankfully they were at least honest about it!