This is Tina our one year-old Pyrenean mountain dog. We have had her since she was 12 weeks old and she has proved to be a very welcome addition to our family.

I grew up with a Pyrenean and have very fond memories of the breed, so when it came to choosing another dog I was very tempted to get another one. I have always found them to be a gentle, calm, good-natured breed. They are good with children and will also be protective of the family. This was important to us as we needed a dog which would make a good family pet. Tina has not disappointed us. She is soft as butter, with no aggressive tendencies and has never had a fight with another dog.

Pyreneans probably aren’t for the houseproud. When they start moulting there is fur everywhere. Muck ends up on the walls up to waist height when they come in from the garden and floors   constantly needs washed.

Despite their great size Pyreneans do not require as much exercise as one might think. Too much exercise can actually be bad for them. The breed is prone to arthritis in old age due to the heavy weight the joints are bearing. You need to be careful while the dog is young to protect it’s developing joints. The breeder advised us to   lift Tina in and out of the car during the first year, as jumping could damage her young joints. However, by 9 months, Tina weighed 44 kilos and we could no longer lift her. We had to get her into the car by lifting her head and shoulders in first and then heave her rump in afterwards.

In general, Pyreneans can be quite noisy, and prone to bark a lot. We’ve been lucky, though, and Tina doesn’t appear to be showing much sign of this trait yet.

Having had a Pyrenean in the past I knew that problems can arise with a large breed and this is why I contacted Anna at Pawsability for help and advice. Behaviour, which is annoying in a small dog, can be a serious problem in a large one and I wanted to train Tina from the outset to teach her good manners and avoid her getting into bad habits.

In this respect I found the early training invaluable and would recommend anyone to do the same. Speaking personally I find it preferable and probably easier to try to instill good behaviour from the outset rather than try to change poor behaviour once it has been established.

As well as early socialisation and basic training, dealing, for example, with the ‘sit’, ‘stand’ and ‘down’ commands we concentrated on the following possible problem areas.

Jumping up on people.

This is a major nuisance as Pyreneans are heavy enough to knock people over. There have been a few occasions when Tina has accidentally scattered my younger children like skittles in her eagerness to rush up and play with them.

Pulling on the lead.

Pyreneans are strong enough to pull you over or drag you into the road. Tina went through a stage of pulling hard on the lead when she was 5/6 months. It was winter when she went through the worst of her pulling stage, and it was often icy underfoot. I was actually quite worried walking her incase I lost my balance. Also, if Tina were pulling too hard none of my children would have been able to walk her and would have missed out on part of the fun of having a dog.

Mouthing.

I really didn’t want my dog doing this. It was upsetting for my children and I certainly didn’t want this puppy behaviour continuing into adulthood, as it is quite frightening when a large dog does this and at worst someone could get hurt.

Toilet training.

This soon became a priority with Tina as ‘puddles’ and poo in the house were on a large scale! I used to find that Tina was able to ‘hold on’ for a considerable time and ‘cross her legs’ until she got home making it harder to teach her that it was appropriate to go to the toilet when out for a walk.

Chewing.

Obviously I didn’t want the dog chewing all my furnishings and possessions so I was keen to teach Tina what she could and couldn’t chew. I found that the fact that Tina could reach high up to get things was an extra problem. She could reach things on the table and on the kitchen units with no effort at all. Standing on her hind legs she could reach things off the top of the bookcase.

One to One, Personal dog training.

I definitely found it extremely beneficial and worthwhile to have personalised one-to-one lessons tailored to the individual needs of my dog.

Anna showed me how to deal with my dog’s behaviour using humane, kind methods,  which, I think, have helped me develop a good relationship with Tina, based on trust.

I have also gained a greater understanding of how a dogs mind works and why it behaves in certain ways.

Anna has a wealth of experience and expert knowledge and was able to explain the various different approaches and methods which could be used in a given situation . Between lessons there was always lots of  support and encouragement from Anna via telephone and email to help me and Tina continue working towards our goals. I knew that Anna would always be on hand  to offer friendly advice if I wasn’t sure what to do.

Training is ongoing as Tina is still young but I know she has got off to a good start and I feel confident that she will turn out to be a well mannered, sociable dog when she is mature.

 

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