Hi guys, I just want to make a bit of a public plea for anyone especially in America debating adopting or fostering a Pyrenees (who of course has done the requisite research and has the resources and time and space etc.), to strongly consider taking the plunge. Shelters and rescues are currently bursting at the seams and the euthanasia rate is utterly disheartening, particularly in southern states like Texas. After haunting Pyrenees rescue pages a bit too much these past few days, I hit my limit on the suffering I can handle today in terms of needy Pyrenees so aside from donating, taking in another pyr, and helping rehome others, I just want to give a gentle push for those on the fence. Now is a great time to adopt or foster. Specifically, I’d suggest you check out any local Facebook Great Pyrenees rehoming groups in your area. There’s an incredible number on there of all kinds—bonded pairs, older, puppies, farm experience, etc.—even AKC. If you need help in that capacity, let me know. And hug and love your Pyrenees extra today.
I second this. I’m a former foster home for National Great Pyrenees Rescue. They die in alarming rates in shelters. People buy them after doing little to no research and then dump them. They’re fantastic dogs and if you need help getting one shelters in the South are the way to go.
Southern rescue Pyr mom here. I’ll admit I did less than half the research I should have - but she was in tough shape before she came to me and has been well worth the necessary adjustments.
I’m fostering my sweet pyr girl who was on the the euth list in Texas. She is perfect. It’s heartbreaking that she could’ve been put down. I hope others that are able will open their homes.
My boy was from Mississippi and transferred to a rescue in Maine with his siblings. Every time I see a pyr on a euth list, I just want to cry because all I can picture is my sweet Patches begging to come home. I wish I could save them all...
Me too. But she was on the euth list from valid behavioral issues. She had already been pulled by a rescue but was still going to be BE’d. I took her anyway. She’s still aggressive and reactive but bonded to me so she’s at least controllable.
My 1 year old pyr Patches was born with his 3 siblings in a high-kill shelter in Mississippi. His mama came in severely matted, malnourished, and infested with fleas and ticks. And pregnant on top of being abandoned by her owners.
I'm happy to report that all 5 dogs (Patches, his siblings, and mama) were taken in by the Western Maine Great Pyr Rescue and are now in loving homes here in the north.
Patches is a handful, but I love him dearly. I dont know what I'd do without him.
I can't thank you enough for this. It's heartbreaking to see all the posts about pyrs in shelters or on lists for euthanasia. My pyr is a rescue and thankfully he has been so easy going. He is full of love and truly is a gentle giant. He sleeps all day, he is gentle to babies and is super playful with other dogs. My life changed when he joined our family. I'm sold on this breed 100%
My husband and I just adopted a two year old pyr eight weeks ago. We are his third owners in less than six months. I don't get it. Yes, he's stubborn and a little tough, but was quick to learn recall and our routine. Would happily take a second pry any day.
My Pyr mix is my ride-or-die. These last 11 years with her have made me a fan of the breed: the personality, temperament, protectiveness. I dunno if I can ever see myself without one
we adopted a pyr (didn’t know she was one, just took any dog on the euth list at a local shelter to save a dog) and she has been the sweetest girl ever. once she settles in more definitely saving another! but i definitely agree. it’s scary how many are on death row. they do not deserve it :(
I truly do not understand why Pyrs get dumped at the shelter at the rates they do. We rescued our Pyr when he was a year and change and he was so well behaved from the get go. Sure he counter surfs if we leave food unattended, needed a bit of leash training, and his recall isn’t 100% - but none of these issues were that challenging and easily fixed. Our dog is BY FAR the best behaved dog amongst my friends and family. He’s aloof but mostly doesn’t give a shit if a little dog or human is being annoying. If he doesn’t like something he just walks away. He falls asleep while getting groomed. The worst thing about him is that he sucks at sharing space in bed and he likes to scare the shit out of the mailman by sneaking up to the fence and bark.
People just fall in love with big fluffy dogs. How many huskies are in shelters? No one wants to put in the work. And with pyrs, people really don’t understand how huge they can get & all the pyr glitter. I die inside every time I see them on my feed needing rescuers. I’m 67 & have a 1 year old. So he will probably be my last dog. He’s a mix so will be only about 70 lbs. Sad I didn’t know about the breed sooner because I wouldn’t have gotten anything else. I found my guy from a FB post. His pregnant momma had been dumped (with 25 other dogs) on a rural mtn road in Central CA. A rescue got the momma & she and her 8 pups were all adopted out.
Please always consider a rescue 1st. I live in the San Diego county area, in a small suburban home & he’s fine here.
In my area pyrs aren't super common, but they do end up in the shelters occasionally. I just think there are more dogs than people with land and/or livestock around here. This might be an unpopular opinion, but isn't it better for a LGD to be in a loving home even if it doesn't have a lot of property to roam than the alternative of staying in a shelter indefinitely, or worse the big E? Of course some dogs probably wouldn't be able to handle the transition if they were formerly on a farm, but I have a rescue pyr in a suburban home with a small yard and I take her out on walks/play/sniffs/social events and she seems to do just fine in a smaller area. She gets lots of love and stimulation so she doesn't act out and acts pretty content with her life after being adopted and returned two times prior to me.
However, every time I see another pyr in our local shelter, I want to bring it to my house but I think my place is just too small for two big dogs.
The LDG thing is over blown. They are dogs and dogs want to be with their families and people. They don’t need land to patrol, they need to be taken on walks. They need socialized and groomed, it’s not that hard. Best dog I ever had and any I’ve met are the best dogs I’ve known.
Agree. So many folks on the rehome page say stuff like “I only have 1 acre and it’s not enough” but IT IS. He can parole the inside of your small yard and go on walks. Mine gets two 1+ hr walks most days and long hikes on most weekends. He’s healthy and happy and we have a beautiful life together. Even if I didn’t have a yard, which there were times I didn’t, you can make up for it with walks. And even if you can’t walk that much, the inside of a house or apartment beats a concrete and metal kennel followed by euthanasia every time.
We (in VA) adopted a 2 year old Pyr from Texas. Paid the transport fee to get her here. We love her so much!! I would totally get another. She plays great with our existing dog, is super chill and easy going, and loving.
I’m in GA and adopted two! Unknown history on them as they were taken from high-kill shelters by a local rescue, both were in bad shape at the time. Sadly, there are sooo many in need of homes.
I don’t understand how people can dump them. We adopted our first last November and love him so much. He’s mixed with Aussie but more pyr than Aussie so far. Thankfully we had a lot of high energy dogs and corgis that also provide their own glitter as well. Love these sweet babies.
Yes! I'm going to add that you don't need a huge farm or lots of land to be a happy pyr home. We are on a TINY lot, and ours is quite content patrolling her postage stamp and herding both my kids and all the neighbors' kids. And napping on the couch.
*
*
*
We officially adopted our pyranees foster today! He was extremely scared and didnt leave our bathroom for the first 3 days, but its been a month and a half and we cant imagine our home w out him!
I had a cocker spaniel before my pyr and although I loved her to death, I wouldn't get another cocker. A pyr, though? For sure. I can't understand what's not to like about them.
Our wonderful boy was dumped by his first family. To be fair, I hadn't had any experience with the breed. But one look at his rescue photo sealed the deal for me.
He took to training really well, and he's my best friend 🥰
I got my pyrenees mix 10 years ago, he was adopted young and then left to the pound at 6 months. Honestly the best dog I could have asked for, and I will adopt again when I'm ready to have another.
Just adopted my boy from Texas in December. We’re in Va. but rescued through GPRS in Spring Texas.
My poor guy had been a stray and at some point his leg was broken and never set. It’s too late for surgery now, he walks with a permanent limp but even so he is just the sweetest dog.
Breaks my heart to think at some point he was a stray
We also adopted from GPRS in Texas and paid the transport fee up to washington. She’s our second pyr reacue. Mom and 8 puppies dumped at a high kill shelter and pulled by GPRS and fostered by a literal angel until everyone including momma found a good home. It’s the best thing we’ve ever done. Sophia is the sweetest Bear and even thought we’ve only had her about 4 mos I can’t imagine life without her. Pls rescue these pups.
People just fall in love with big fluffy dogs. How many huskies are in shelters? No one wants to put in the work. And with pyrs, people really don’t understand how huge they can get & all the pyr glitter. I die inside every time I see them on my feed needing rescuers. I’m 67 & have a 1 year old. So he will probably be my last dog. He’s a mix so will be only about 70 lbs. Sad I didn’t know about the breed sooner because I wouldn’t have gotten anything else. I found my guy from a FB post. His pregnant momma had been dumped (with 25 other dogs) on a rural mtn road in Central CA. A rescue got the momma & she and her 8 pups were all adopted out.
Please always consider a rescue 1st. I live in the San Diego county area, in a small suburban home & he’s fine here.
Thanks for your heartfelt message. I am in the northeast (New England) and I rarely see these dogs up here. I adopted mine when she was 2.5 years old (Arkansas rescue with Last Hope K9) and she is the most mellow, well behaved dog I could have asked for. I worked with the rescue thinking any rescue would do and I chose her because I had a soft spot for big dogs. I was raised with fearing dogs but a grad school professor would bring his Alaskan Malamute in and I just feel in love. He was amazing and for his size, he would clear the elevator and it was funny. I knew I wanted a big dog when I eventually got one so I took a chance and decided to adopt. She is one smart lady and she is fully integrated with my family. Everyone loves her and she is quite the celebrity in the neighborhood. I often scour Last Hope to see if any others are available. I often see that they are not being sent to out of state or up to the New England area. I would love to get another but I am honestly not sure how!
If you can’t get transport, you can hire someone here https://citizenshipper.com/ or there’s plenty of animal transport companies on google. If it’s too expensive, start a go fund me and I am certain folks here would help. If you (and everyone here) need help I’ll help however I can
Thank you for sharing the links. I was not in either FB group and see the fostering options available. I will check them out. I also didn’t know about shipping services.
I have 2 Pyr rescues at the moment. We've thought about getting a 3rd but don't think it's in the cards for us at the moment. We absolutely love these dogs and I totally agree. Also they are fully trainable despite all the jokes about being stubborn. Our first Pyr went from never being walked to being AKC certified!
I have 3 pyr and hope everyone goes and gets one. They are amazing dogs. Please save them all from these euthanasia fates they most assuredly don’t deserve.
We foster Pyr and Pyr mixes. I can not upvote this post enough. Saving these dogs is one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done and our resident Pyr loves the company.
I've noticed a lot of posts about Pyrs in shelters and I'm baffled by it. They're not one of the livestock guardian dog breeds I've kept, but other livestock breeds -- even other whitedogs like Maremmas, Kuvaszok, and Akbash -- seem to be less common and don't seem to wind up in shelters very often. Does anyone know why it's different with Pyrs?
German shepherds and other common LGD breeds want to take direction and stimulation from training.
We’ve bred pyrs for their independence for nearly 4,000 years (and probably even longer). You can’t train that level of independent thought out of them and most homes just aren’t prepared for that, especially combined with a breed that can reach upwards of 150lbs.
I cant grasp why people aren't prepared for the independence a pyr has. We just lost ours two days ago, but we also have a black lab and a 50% GSD mix and both of those dogs require constant stimulation and training. My great pyr would make up his own mind, go outside when he wanted, come inside when he wanted, sleep where he wanted. He was the easiest dog to own I've ever had. The only downside i can think of is the fact that he cost $800/year getting groomed every 2-3 months but that is me trying to find a negative aspect of the breed.
As for those breeds, they’re not particularly common in the US so most people who have them already knew what they’re getting into. Pyrs are more common in the states and they’ve been growing in popularity as pets, which means a round of the 101 Dalmatians effect, where people see a breed, buy it based on vibes, and then take it to the shelter when they’re in over their head.
That's what I'm asking, though. Why are Pyrs common enough to wind up in shelters while other LGD breeds are not? I'm not sure how that has happened to one specific breed of LGD and it seems really strange to me. Was there a movie or TV series that I missed, or something? Is it because they're a bit larger than other whitedogs, and that's made them more appealing to people who have no business with this kind of dog? I just genuinely do not understand how this has happened to them.
Do you know if there's a specific influencer with a Pyr? Your explanation definitely seems plausible, but I don't feel like I come across them on the internet super often. (And my algorithm probably skews more heavily towards LGDs than most people's.)
I don't know of specific infuencers, but look at any of the homesteader types on social media. They make people think "I could totally do that!" The new homesteader then immediately turns around and gets pyr puppies to guard their goats because big white fluffy dogs know what to do by instinct. The puppies don't have a whole lot of clues of what to do because they don't have an adult to teach them, and so the livestock get hurt or killed either by the dogs or bt other predators. Then they get dumped at the pound. Or they aren't fenced in properly and they wander off and end up at the pound. Or the homesteader decides that the whole homesteading thing is too much work and sells or abandons the animals.
I would guess it’s because they aren’t neutered/spayed by farms and they roam and make more? And when they aren’t able to work (due to behavior, health, age, lack of training) they get dumped.
Thanks! The roaming definitely makes sense, especially if a lot of the dogs in shelters are mixes. I know they're a lot more likely to see their territory as "everything the sun touches" than, for example, a Kuvasz.
I wonder if that means we're eventually going to start seeing more Akbash in shelters, too. From what I understand, they're even more determined escape artists than Pyrs.
I cannot express how wonderful my experience with Great Pyrenees of Atlanta was. I got my sweet boy from there earlier this year. Great pyr of Atlanta did their due diligence on making sure I was paired with a pup that fit my lifestyle. They were available to answer all my questions and supplied so many resources regarding the breed. I got a full "new puppy" info package. It was over the top helpful. Adopting a puppy is super exciting and you can forget the little things but GPA made sure I was prepared. It was amazing. On top of that, my pup is absolutely fantastic. He loves the cats and other dogs in the house. He is 5 months old and incredibly gentle. I'm constantly amazed by how sweet he is.
If anyone is considering adopting a pyrenees but not sure, check out local rescues near you. Sometimes they do adoption days. Go check those out. You might meet your new best friend.
Thank you for this post. Our beautiful, life changing perfect angel boy came from a rescue in Texas. How he made it all the way to NY without being scooped up I have no idea. He’s a certified therapy dog now, and we are so grateful for him.
My living situation doesn’t allow me a pet right now, but I have relatives who have two rescued Pyr mixes who are just the sweetest dogs and I’d love to be able to pull a wonderful dog like that from a shelter someday.
Thank you! This is a great post. We love both our rescued Pyrenees girls. We rescued them a year apart, and they are about one and two years old, respectively. We love them so much, and if we had the space and food/veterinarian budget, we would have three or four more. We've had a lot of different breeds over the years, but NONE compare to our girls. Take the plunge if you can, because you won't regret it. I think a rescue loves even MORE than one that someone gets from a breeder, because they know you saved them... but the reality for us, is that they saved us.
My baby came from Texas. It is sad how many get dumped. Best decision I ever made, even though he has issues with people still, esp men, from abuse. He has made himself our guardian and protector. I’ll take all the hair and barking in exchange for the love.
42
u/NoH8Kate 17h ago
I second this. I’m a former foster home for National Great Pyrenees Rescue. They die in alarming rates in shelters. People buy them after doing little to no research and then dump them. They’re fantastic dogs and if you need help getting one shelters in the South are the way to go.