NYT Gift Article:
3 Likes
I’ve enjoyed the daily shorts posted by Raventree Ranch about their LGD’s Judge, Bo and Lily.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=raventree+ranch+dogs
The shorts are muchly glorified and dramatized moments of everyday life on their farm, with the dog and the barn cat as heroes, against stunning classical music background. 
But they are fun to watch and have a lot of education about how their dogs work together to protect the collection of animals on the farm.
They mention frequently that they have had no livestock losses to predators while their LGD’s have been in action. Apparently surrounding ranchers are losing stock.
2 Likes
I have 2 Great Pyrenees and 1 pyr/Anatolian mix.
They are quite formidable when provoked.
We call the mix (female) the head of the dept of homeland security. She usually picks up on what’s going on, then the 2 boys come over and it’s almost like she sends them in.
We had 3 coyotes come into our pasture a couple of years ago. The boys got one, one headed for the hills and I got the third .
We have had bear but not on our property , just walking down the road, so can’t speak to that. But have no doubt they would take care of business.
4 Likes
we have a Great Pyrenees whose job is night watch of the goats for coyotes, her day job is overseeing every one who walks on her sidewalk even if that sidewalk is a block away, she barks at anything that she believes is hostile or might be or could possibly be.
Phoenix is her name, but she goes by Barky or Fluffy as she at least 50% hair.
6 Likes
Definitely. They’re funny dogs. And they do bark. A lot.
1 Like
AI is a great failure for not listing the Great Pyrenees as a barking breed
AI’s comment when quarried about barking dog breeds
Several dog breeds are known for their tendency to bark, including Beagles, Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, and Siberian Huskies. These breeds often bark to communicate, express excitement, or alert their owners to potential threats
Great Pyrenees we have is very typical of the breed… nothing goes unnoticed and Will Be Barked at…the only persons she does not bark at is our hay delivery guy and my daughter’s fiancé who she (the dog) adores
They aren’t yappy like most of the dogs mentioned, but they sure do bark. They announce themselves to any predators around, the canine version of “bring it on”
There were two Great Pyr’s across the fence on the neighbor’s property (pasture with a mansion near the road) at a place I boarded my horse a few years ago. It was impressive to watch them manage the flock of sheep (maybe 30-ish sheep?). With the dogs’ big fluffy white appearance, they definitely blended in with the sheep. The sheep would cluster around one, while the other would go explore the next part of the pasture where they would graze. No sheep was going anywhere until the dogs said it was ok. The sheep and the dogs were all clear on that. 
The one side issue was that when the sheep were grazing near-ish the fence, and I was there grooming / medicating / hoof treating / etc. my horse about 50 ft from said fence, one or both of the dogs would sit there and bark the whole time.
Not the big excited emergency barking of a dog at home when someone was coming up the sidewalk to the door. Rather, just a continous bark. bark. bark. bark. that went on for as long as I was there. The dog was sitting, not running up and down or anything like that. Just sitting and bark. bark. bark. bark. … ad infinitum.
I tried to point out to them “dude the whole world heard you the first 10 barks, this isn’t news any more”. However this was counter productive. If I did anything other than ignore them, then they would amplify their barking, springing up to standing, looking very fierce. The only thing to do was just ignore them and listen to the barks. And wish the sheep would graze somewhere else for an hour! 
Sentry barking 
They’re saying, “We see you, we’re watching you. Still watching. Still watching…”
They bark because their main purpose is to deter threats rather than fight, if possible. That’s why they sound off all night long.
4 Likes
I have to say that their dedication to the process does make them excellent security. It’s the one time you don’t do it that it all goes sideways. So they do it all the time, every time, no exceptions. Self-imposed discipline.
I always hoped that the sheep and the dogs would be on the other side of the hill. Even though it was fun to see all of them together.
1 Like
