Hello Everyone.

[DPW]

Just a quick note to introduce myself. My wife and I are in the process of building up a meat goat business here in the Willamette Valley near Eugene, Oregon. We started with raising fruits, veggie's, herbs and cut flowers and have now added Boer and Boer cross goats to the mix. And two full blood Nubians to provide milk for emergencies, cheese, and soap.
We have our share of coyotes in our area with the occasional cougar sighting on a neighbors' farm.
We bought a twelve week old male Great Pyrenees pup about five weeks ago. What a delight it has been having him around. His name is Cider. Pressing apples into cider for our customers here on the farm helped pay for him so we thought the name appropriate.
He has bonded with the goats very well and shows an incredible instinct for performing his job so well at this early age. Very impressive. We have our fingers crossed that the coyotes give him a chance to grow up before they come a callin'.
Although doing well we are still working on keeping some of his "puppyness" in check.
I'm looking forward to relating our experience with others and seeking help from those more informed than us when needed.
So far it's been nothing but a treat entering the world of the Great Pyrenees. Well, 90% of the time anyway. :)
Well, time to get back to work.
Dave.

[midwestgirl]

Hi, and welcome! So glad you found this site, it's been so helpful to me! Sounds like you have a great dog and a great business. Do you have a link? Send it to me privately if you want, I'd love to see your farm!

[GrendsLori]

Hi! Welcome to the board! This is a good place to get help with the breed and the people are really friendly. Great Pyrs are wonderful dogs and very good guards. you should have no trouble with him doing his job! I will be interested to see how he progresses in his duties!
Kristy

[DPW]

Thanks for the welcome. Before getting Cider I spent quite some time on line researching LGD's. It was a toss up between a Maremma and a Pyr. There were more Pyr's in my neck of the woods so I had more of a choice.
Talked with four people on the phone that had pups for sale and were in a hundred mile radius. Three Pyr people and one Maremma. One lady, a Pyr owner, clearly stood above the rest. Both in knowledge and concern for the health of her animals.
Out of a litter of nine she had five left. It didn't take long to make my choice. As I watched them run around in a fairly large pen there was one who trotted around with a more confident air about himself. He wasn't always in the lead as they ran about but he held is head high and just seemed to be more aware of his surroundings.
I'd read how natural the guarding instinct was in this breed but am continuosly amazed at seeing it first hand. After the initial getting to know each other phase it was fun watching Cider interact with the goats. While up on the hill he would find himself a spot to laydown above the herd so he could keep watch.
I realize that Pyr's are not herding dogs but a few days ago I looked up the hill to see Cider chasing the two Nubians. I was ready to yell at him but realized he wasn't really chasing them. The rest of the herd was quite a ways farther up the hill and Cider was running back and forth below Laverne and Shirley pushing them up the hill. He wasn't barking, he wasn't nipping at their heels, he was just running back and forth just below them forcing them to go uphill toward the rest of the herd. This from a pup not yet five months old. Amazing.
Again, thanks for the welcome. I am very excited to be part of the wonderful world of the Great Pyrenees.
Sorry midwestgirl, no website for the farm. My parents were from Missouri. Bowling Green to be exact. My brother was born in Hannibal and I ran a business near Branson a few years back before moving to Oregon.
Hope everyone here has a great new year.
Dave.