On Patrol

I love watching my Pyrenees when they're on 'guard duty'. They take their job very seriously. Great Pyrenees dogs are fabulous dogs. I have never met a more gentle dog with people. They are even more gentle than my Golden Retriever. And they love kids. They are so patient and docile and loving. Truly. Yet, if you are a coyote or other animal interloper, watch out because these loving, docile, gentle giants literally go from 0 - 60 in no time flat and would just as soon dismember you as look at you.
When I'm out with the sheep, the Pyrenees will find a vantage point where they can see the most and will sit there at attention. They have incredible senses and if they hear/see/smell anything different, they take off to investigate. I'm convinced that if a Jack Rabbit farts a mile away, they will take off after it. If we even park a vehicle in a different spot, they have to check it out. If you leave any door open, they go in to check it out. Like I said, they take their guarding job very seriously.
I'm not sure if you remember the puppy pictures of Jake, but he has grown into quite a beast. That's him with Clarence in the first picture there. He's too playful with the sheep, yet, but he is still a puppy. A puppy that is nearly as big as Clarence. He's just starting to take himself seriously enough to do some chasing of interloping foreigners. He has some Marema (sp?) in him as well and doesn't have the massive head that the other two Pyrenees have, but he does have the size. Because of his playfulness, we are going to have to muzzle him for a while until he outgrows it. I'd just hate for him to accidently kill a lamb or sheep, because then he'd most likely be a killer instead of a guarder. He's not mean at all, just playful, but he's so darn big! Between the 5 dogs, we go through about 50lbs of dog food each week. One of the dog food companies ought to give us 'frequent flyer card'! Or we ought to buy shares in the company.