The Most Interesting Dog in the World
There are seriously thousands of blogs out there dedicated to the Great Pyrenees breed. This one is only different in one way. This one is about MY Great Pyrenees. Luna Lovegood was born on April 28th. The only reason that I remember that and feel like it is significant is because she and I share the same birthday.
Steve and I had been talking about getting a large guard dog for the farm (which we still don’t have). We had been doing some research and I decided that I wanted to get a Great Pyrenees. I wasn't in a rush or anything, honestly I had planned on seriously looking once we were actually on our farm land. Like all things in my life recently, that plan did not work out how I thought it would. In the infamous words of Rooster Cogburn, "That did not pan out". Anyway...
Steve and I were doing some house work, dumping trash, and donating to Goodwill when he got a text. He asked me, “if you had a choice between a puppy here locally or a puppy that was born on your birthday, which one would you pick”. I, of course, picked the puppy that shared a birthday with me. How could a puppy that was born on the same day as me not be incredibly awesome?!?! We started driving to almost Kentucky right then. I was a little shocked but super excited!
I picked Luna out of her litter mates because she was the one female that didn't care what was going on. She even walked away at one point, only to be found sleeping in the shade of the truck. We were getting her to be a livestock guard dog so I didn't want a super friendly pup, that assessment also "did not pan out". I couldn't be happier with Luna and all her personality. She is by far the best dog that I have ever known.
I have learned so much about the breed since then, things that I read but didn't really understand until I actually experienced them. Have you ever seen this picture of Great Pyrenees tricks? It’s completely true. She very very rarely comes when she is called. She is prone to wondering. She loves escaping. She will run after a ball if you throw it, if she does pick it up (instead of just sniffing it and walking the other direction) she WILL NOT bring it back. She will sit IF it suits her and ONLY if you have a treat in your hand. She looses A LOT of hair in the summer. She loves and I mean LOVES to get dirty. We took her once to a friends farm (close to 60 acres), and she found the ONLY mud puddle on the entire thing. She also digs, endlessly digs. I know that she is just trying to stay warm or cold depending on the season. She is smart enough to know that the ground maintains it’s temperature year round, the problem is that I don’t really want her digging a hole that deep in my nearly non-existent yard. I’m certain that my neighbors don’t really want to look at it either.
Speaking of neighbors, ever tried to keep a Great Pyr from barking? Well, I have, or at least I have tried. They are livestock guards for a reason and part of that reason is their bark. They bark at everything. If it moves… she barks. If it doesn’t move but looks suspicious… she barks and she doesn’t stop until the perceived crisis is averted. Leaf blowing down the street, birds, flags, shadows, rain, and sometimes nothing…. at least I can’t figure out what it could possibly be…. WOOOF WOOF BARK. Side note, I’m really really ready to be out of this HOA neighborhood. Side side note, if your neighborhood has a neighborhood Facebook page… just save yourself a lot of drama and do not join it… trust me, you’ll be happier without it.
Luna talks to us. She moans and groans; she growls and has even been known to stomp her foot. She also lets us know when she wants to be pet. We affectionately call it Pyr Paw, but in reality it’s something more like the Wampa snow beast in the mountain caves of Hoth. Those paws are sooooo big, she has good intentions and I’m sure she doesn’t mean to take the flesh off my face. I’m kidding….. kind of.
All joking aside. She is by far the best dog that I have ever had and I can’t wait to set her loose on a farm to run, survey her kingdom, nap in the sun, dig to her hearts content, and bark at everything real or imaginary!!
“ASAP. Whatever that means. It must mean, ‘Act swiftly awesome (Pyrenees)!”