Hi

Every thing we have read in books and on the internet stresses how bad recall is with Pyreneans. Is it really that bad?

We get the impression that we should never even consider letting a Pyrenean off the lead. If so, how do we ensure the dog gets sufficient exercise?

Hi My Daz is about 14 months old now and have been doing training with him with other dogs and recall since about 3 months old i have let him stroll off the lead and have found on odd occasions he does wander off but not dissapear totally just get a bit distracted.I have found that when we take him into the local woods with the kids they play hide and seek with him and he runs off looking for them rather than us chase him (big no no) and when we then give him his usual walk he is constantly looking for us and therefore he stays by us.When i first tried this i used a 25 foot lead incase he made a run for it and he tried once or twice and bearing in mind he is a puppy really he is doing really well.Recently we took him to the moors and introducedhim to some ponys up there(on a lead of course) and i was amazed how calm he was have some pics of him there will put them on here when i get 5 mins todo so.And i forgot to mention welcome to the site i learnt everything i need to know from here
alan

Thanks for the info Alan.

We have bought an 8 metre Giant Flexi lead with just such an idea in mind.

To be honest, I would let your puppy off lead from the first day you can take him out (where it is safe of course). At this young age, puppies do not run away! Practice loads of recall with treats. This is your best bet - though unfortunately not a guarantee! Many young pyreneans are fine, but lose their recall as they grow up... but there are always exceptions, so do not just forget about recall training, but give it your best shot instead.

Unfortunately we haven't had Troy from a puppy, and his recall is not great. The problem with him though is that he doesn't like other dogs, so we couldn't even ever practice really.

Vera

Erm Vera , sorry to disagree with you about puppies not running away , dont you remember the hairy moments i had with madam the first few times i let her off lead as a puppy ? :lol: :lol:

Practise practise practise in a safe enclosed area if possible as Vera says use loads of tasty treats and practise loads .

Akira is still not trusted off lead at all unless we are in an enclosed area , on the few occasions i let her off as a puppy , she would come back a few times then she just gave me the famous "look 2 and i just new she was not coming back , the worst heasrt stopping moment with her that i can remember she was only about 16 weeks old and i took her down the beach where i could see there was really no where she could go the sea on one side and cliffs on the other or so i thought .

She managed to find a pathway up a very steep hill and decided to investigate , i called her back to me , she stopped looked back over her shoulder then bolted further up the hill , i started climbing after her got sort of half way up and though right i dont want you to think its ok to ignore me so i did not ask her to come back again i called her name then i ran back down the hill Akira stopped turned around to watch me get all the way to the bottom then merrily went further up the hill , which then meant i had to climb back up behind her , she was not going to come back and i did not kow what was at the top of the hill , you know the little madam climbed all the way tot he top turned around to watch me climbing and waited for me at the top :rolleyes:

Another time was on the beach and again she came back 2 or 3 times then i got the famous "look" again , luckily i had Taz with me and told him to go get her and i will never forget to this day the sight of my gorgeous Dobe hearding Akira back towards me like a sheep dog knocking her from side to side right back to me :D

On a dog walk with other people with loads of dogs i kept getting told she would run with the pack even though i knew she would not do that i knew there were enough of us to catch her when she decided to go , which she did , she was fine for a wee whle playing with the other dogs then she just bolted the other dog walkers could not believe she did not stay with the pack , but Pyr's do not have the pack mentality at all they are far too independant .

Sadly when Akira was about 6 moths old i lost Taz and her training did take a back step a bit while i nursed him through a horrible illness , however even now at 3 years old i would not trust her off lead at all .

Storm my rescue boy is totally different in nature ot akira and for a Pyr is very obidient but i have had him for 2 and a half years and i only let him off l;ead to play with another dog not that long ago ,he was a star but the same circumstances have not happened agian yet but i am hoping he will be allowed off agian one day soon .

They are all differernt but in the current climate where people are screaming about dangerous dogs i would rather be safe than sorry as under the dangerous dogs act you can be charged if your dog frightens anyone , which could just mean them barking , i grew up terrified of dogs so i know if people are scared of dogs how much they can over react to a strange dog running up to them not doing anything at all but a full grown Pyr running up barking is quite a formidable sight and could frighten anyone dog friendly or not

Fiona xx

I stand corrected... :P I thought she started the taking off much later than that...

Naw she was a wee Madam from day one Vera and some things never change , she is just a bigger madam these days :lol: :lol: :lol:

I love her to bits but she is definately harder work than Storm in a lot of ways :rolleyes:

Fiona xx

:D Thanks for all the information guys.

hi :)
i can see why the breed has this reputation but i do believe it comes down to the individual dog.my first pyrenean daisy could be let of the lead no problem.my next one druss was scaty and just got distracted and my husband lost him out in the hills (we live in a remote part of Scotland) after his land rover broke down and he let him loose while trying to get the landy going again.druss was never found again despite extensive searching,contacting the police,rspca,local shops,putting up posters ect.i was devastated .we now have myrtle who is a year old and she is wonderful.her re-call is almost perfect.we let her off the lead right from the start at 8 weeks old on the hill behind our house always rewarding her as soon as she came back.i still carry treats when out on walks and make a fuss of her.often calling her just for the sake of it rather then just at the end of the walk as i don't want her to associate being called with the end of fun.to be fair she is my dog and my hubby will only walk her on a flexi lead as he is worried about losing her.i do think that it is important for a dog to have off lead exercise.maybe i just got lucky but i am wondering as well if female pyreneans are easier then males?myrtle will pretty much do what is asked of her within reason ;) .
lassy

Pyree- I must say that your girl sounds like a handful!! I bet she's just the sweetest thing on four legs, though, isn't she? I like a girl with spunk! LOL!
It's cute that your Dobie herded her for you.

Lassy- I am so sorry for your Druss. I can't imagine that feeling. Myrtle sounds delightful!