18-month male rescue Great Pyrenees growls and snaps at people. Afraid he will bite someone.?

You are already recieving conflicting answers. This is NOT a good forum to ask this question. Most of the people here do not own Great Pyrenees, and do not understand how these dogs think and act differently than most.

Great Pyrenees are FANTASTIC diggers (actually well known for this trait). You may need to bury fencing several feet down (expensive) to stop this boy. You could also try an electric wire about 6 inches off the ground, to see if that keeps him away. Those are a pain to keep free of brush, so the electric does not short out, and your Pyr may be smart enough to just move farther back and tunnel longer.

Who did you adopt this rescue Pyr from? Was it a Pyr rescue group? They should be able to recommend an obedience trainer you can go to with this dog. This Pyr needs obedience training in the worst way. Unfortunately, it is EXTREMELY difficult to find an obedience trainer who can actually handle Pyrenees and understands how they work mentally. They simply ARE different from other breeds. Pyrenees THINK and ACT for themselves. They do NOT wait for input or approval from a human. Until this Pyr thinks of you as not only a member of his pack, but the leader of his pack, he's not going to become trustworthy.

Do you have prior dog experience? Are you afraid of dogs? This dog may not be the one for you. However if you are willing to put in the time and money this Pyr is going to need you will have a loyal companion for life.

Neutering him was the first step, and a very good thing. The hormones should be starting to calm down in his body about now (it takes a couple of months for adults to start to loose the testosterone).

PLEASE, join this Yahoo group. It's completely free, and there are WONDERFUL people on there who own Pyrenees and even some who own rescue Pyrenees. Decades of experience with this group, and endless knowledge for you to call upon. They are friendly people, always willing to help you out. Here's the link:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/PyrTalk/?yguid=...

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Owner of three working Great Pyrenees (they guard the goat herd 24/7)

FIRST you need to understand what a great pyrenees dog was bred to do. They were NOT bred to "guard". They were bred to be guardians (protectors) and this IS diggerent. A guard dog guard property against invasion. A guardian bonds to it's livestock or family (pack) and protects them.

A great pyrenees protects primarily in two ways:

1- pre-emptive barking to intimidate and scare intruders / predators so the bad guy/animal will leave and they can avoid a fight in their protecting their charges.

2- stand between the intruder / predator and it's livestock or family member(s) as a barrier against attack.

THE LAST thing a great pyrenees will usually do is attack, and then only if the threat is great.

SO...

If your dog is quick to growl and attack, then he's being OVER protective of you and his actions are wrong for his breed. You don't know his history, as you said, and he may have been severely abused, and consider any human other than family as a serious threat because of that prior bad treatment. This means you have a serious job ahead of you, desensitizing him and socializing him.

One thing you MUST do is pay CLOSE attention to his body language. LEARN what the indicators are that he's about to go postal. If you don't recognize when he's getting upset, you can't prevent him from going into attack mode, and every time he starts an attack, you have let the situation get TOO FAR OUT OF HAND ! If he seems to go into a "trance", then you have not stopped his agitation cycle SOON enough.

Another thing you MUST DO is develop the attitude that, right now, NO STRANGER has the right to force themselves on him. I really don't give a dam* if they want to pet my Aussie. HE doesn't want to be petted, and anyone who starts to approach him is told to STOP and leave him alone because he does NOT WANT to be touched or petted. I demand they respect his wishes.

One thing you CAN DO right now is, when anyone approaches him, YOU MOVE BETWEEN them and him. This position tells him you are protecting HIM from the person that's making him uncomfortable.

You need to walk him on a SHORT leash, no more than 6' long, when you walk him.

Keep in mind that 5 weeks is not enough time for all his raging male hormones to have dissipated post-neutering. They still need more time to finish dropping to best levels.

==================== digging =====================

create a "puppy garden" were he's allowed to dig.

put up a hot wire 1' above ground, and if he looks like he'll try to climb over the fence, put a 2nd wire at the top of the fence. Tractor Supply Co. has the supplies you need, and a video they'll give you to learn how to create a hot fence. Do NOT use the "invisible fence"; it will NOT work for YOUR dog.

Join a good Yahoo pyr group so you can discuss your problems in depth, which cannot be done in YA @->--

FINALLY... you really NEED some time with an animal behaviorist.

AND... you need to see if you can, at some point, attend obedience classes with him.

I think you'll have to desensitize him to what upsets him before he can attend those classes, however.

Lastly, didn't the rescue group warn you about his aggressiveness towards strangers?

If they evaluated him and didn't think he had problems, then there's a possibility that the dog doesn't see you as a good, strong, loving alpha pack leader, so I'll include links below for you to learn from, on being alpha and on dog behavior.

You need to do what his previous owners failed to do: GET HIM IN A TRAINING CLASS NOW. This is NOT normal gp behavior. They are defenders, not attackers. Digging is completely uncharacteristic and is probably a result of improper keeping in his former home--most likely he was left in a small backyard all day and was expected to be a good dog by some miracle of God. When that didn't happen, the owner probably got frustrated--most likely for the same behavior he is exhibiting now--and dumped him at a shelter, failing to realize their circumstance was their own fault, not the dog's. Unless you have experience with training aggressive dogs, don't try to do this on your own. (I'm assuming you don't have experience or you wouldn't be asking this question. :P) Get a certified dog trainer who has had experience socializing dogs like your's. You should probably look into an electric fence as well. I'm always the last person to suggest any kind of shock collar, but I believe in this instance, COUPLED WITH PROFESSIONAL TRAINING, it seems appropriate. You should talk to your trainer about this first.

I highly suggest browsing dogtime.com for info on various aspects of dog keeping. Even if you've had dogs before, this is still an excellent resource. Start with the articles on training and the great Pyrenees breed, and go from there. There are also tons of forums out there for breed specific dogs as well as for shelter dogs. You could probably get some good advice from people there as well.

Good luck. :)

Marking: He's trying to mark his territory. If he marks inside your home, that's not good and he'll be hard to rehome. If he's marking out of doors, what's the problem? Dogs do this. It's the "doggie newspaper". Worms: Your vet can answer this part of your question better than us here at YA. Did your vet heartworm test him? How much would the treatment cost compared to threating him with heartworm prevention pills? Heartworm medicine and heartworm treatment can kill a dog if the heartworm infestation is really bad. You can also ask your vet if he'd recommend your giving the dog 1cc of generic Ivermectin (plain, NO liver fluke medicine in it). This is what I give my adult pyrs each month to prevent heartworm. It saves me a lot of money and it's the same medicine as in Heartguard. Why have you contacted a pyr rescue group to place him? Did you not intend to keep him when you rescued him? While you're working on all this, you might want to join a good pyr group here at Yahoo to ask questions of. -!-

I have heard so many stories like this. My own dghtr rescued a dog...w/in a wk she bit 3 people, when she bit her son in the face she went back to the shelter. I believe this is why the dogs are in the shelter in the first place....then the people don't tell the truth when they leave them, because they are afraid the shelter won't take them. Dangerous. A dog this size can do serious damage. This is NOT the typical behavior for the Pyrenees, as you know...they are very sweet giants... If you can afford a trainer, and IF the trainer thinks he can change this behavior....GOOD. If not the dog needs to be euthanized. Sorry. Think about it.

Great Pyrenees Rescue Uk

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After I started training my dog, he became very attached to me and loves to stay by side as long as he can. But just going to them won't help. You have to practice what they teach you outside of the class and you need to keep up with it at least every now and then after the class ends otherwise they'll just go back to previous habits. This course is a really good place to go for dog obedience classes. It get's your dog around other people and dogs to socialize while getting the training you need. As for electric collars, I would say to not get one. In my experience, they're only a negative effect on your dog. I mean of course you're going to need to correct your dog, but being positive and encouraging your dog works a lot faster and easier.

Every dog is different, so unless you have a german shepherd or a really smart dog, it might take a while to train her. You might get frustrated with her, but go easy. She's still a puppy and has a lot of energy. A backyard or somewhere to run will help her get rid of a lot of energy that might cause her to misbehave from boredom.

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great pyrenees are bred to protect a given territory (and everything inside) by their very own. they act independently and would not necessarely wait for "instructions". also, any command must make "sense" to them or it will be rejected.

(a) does your four-legged friend have a larger (preferably fenced) territory to "protect" on his own? (any large garden may do; he would very much like to "guard" something alive -e.g. small children - but NEVER leave minors completely alone with the dog)?

(b) herding dogs like the great pyrenee are neither "toys" nor do they very much like or accept hugging from any stranger. people not belonging to the family should not actively approach the dog but wait until HE starts to make contact (in a friendly or curious way, of course). even then, your tail-wagging friend may not like to be touched or hugged. explain this to your friends (or do YOU like if any stranger you meet would patting or touching you?).

(c) neutering a dog is no good idea at all (and in my private opionion a crime!!! - or is anyone in your family and friends circle neutered without a medical reason?). It doesn't stop sexual desires (or very seldom at least) and makes most dogs a bit more agressive - exceptions may confirm the rule. it is the owner's (!) responsibility to avoid unwanted puppies. (i'm grown up with german shepherds and own myself this breed for over 50 years now - none of the dogs - all males - were ever neutered and i never ever experienced problems even by meeting female dogs in heat - of course, the breeds can't be really compared).

(d) trying to escape from the yard is indeed a bit strange for great pyrenees. how long do you have your dog? does he already recognize that you / your family is his new group and he is a member of it? do you keep him at night inhouse? do you / your family play with him? does he have some time on his own /freedom to live out his "guarding instincts"? but he has to recognize you're the "alpha" animal, the undisputed leader. great pyrenees don't like / accept harsh commands, shouting, etc. they should be given straight forward commands in a normal but firm voice and should be "logical" (for the dog!!!).

(e) if your dog is "growling and snapping" at people he does (in his view) exactly for he was bred. He protects you / your family / your territory. He has to learn, however, that it is not in his capacity to decide finally what to allow to strangers. Snapping is a no-no, but growling (better: barking) as a warning and "alarm" is in the nature of a herding dog and in principe okay. He has just to learn that he can start the alert but the moment you're appearing on the scene YOU take over.

(f) you will certainly agree that it is difficult if not impossible to analyze a situation in all complexity remotely. my recommendation: a dog of this size, with the special and fine character and with quite some special demands should be treated in a way making him an extraordinary fine companion. perhaps, the people at the shelter were he came from can help you with further information and recommendation. otherwise contact a dog training school - but very few do know enough to handle this breede (so make 200 per cent sre you find someone with experience and the right knowledge).

last but not least i've a great pyrenee (now 3 years) in my neighborship with similar behaviour (attacking people but not trying to escape). i was involved a bit into training the dog and now he "guards" the 4-year old twins in a yard of about 1 acre; no way for others to enter the yard if the owner is not around. but walking on the street is off-leash on heel and outside his territory anybody can pass him on closest distance without reaction; but he doesn't like to be touched and that should be accdepted.

perhaps, this helps a little bit and i wish all success that both the animal and you go happy along!

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