Great pyr versus Standard poodle (border collie, bulldogs, poodles, boxer)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My Great pyr has...if I'm lucky, a couple of more years to live. We (wife and I) take turns picking breeds.
She hates the hair, but loves the dog. We are both getting older, and although she yo-yos back and forth about getting another G. Pyr, tonight she said he's had it. Leo puts on his ABS breaks when she needs to grab him by the collar and open the gate. She is getting too old to have her shoulders pulled out of joint by such a giant breed.
BTW, we love big dogs and will not consider a smaller dog.
Great pyrenesees do not mind. At all. They have a mind of their own, for anyone who has never owned the breed. But, they are loyal, excellent guard dogs, and love their master. That's why she goes back and forth with her next choice.
Says the sweetest dog she's ever known, but she likes to be able to protect the dog from itself, and a G. pyr is looking to get hurt.
Not mentioning the hair...OMG. She wants to hang me on a daily basis over the shedding...
So, she has returned back to Standard poodle. More intelligent, in her opinion, and does not shed.
Which would you pick, and why?
We need a guard dog. We live in a rural area with some idiots about, the Great pyr has an excellent set of lungs and does scare off any potential mistfits.
Poodles are not that intimidating to look at, but if trained, would inhale an intruder... and we are getting older.
It is her turn to pick. I love the G. pyrs, how can I, or should I; convince her to pick another G. pyr?
Thanks for your input.
Last edited by TerraDown; 02-23-2016 at 07:34 PM..
I love poodles, but the grooming is extensive, frequent, and expensive. Check with 2-3 grooming shops to get price quotes.
You want something big that guards, minds well, easy to train, doesn't shed a lot, and, you don't say so, but I am going to add family friendly, consider a Doberman. Safe around people that you invite in, not so safe for a burglar. Just their appearance alone will stop anyone except for the deeply drug addled, and they can physically stop the drug addled.
Ex husband has had 2 standard poodles. Scatterbrains both of them. Friends have a male Doberman. He is the friendliest dog when they let me in the house. I had occasion to drop something off when they were not at home. Dog was the best guard dog at that time.
My Catahoula is very intimidating (an insane bark and his markings make him look kinda scary) but only about 55 lbs - they can get much bigger. There are likely quite a few in your area of the country and they are bred to deal with that climate. You should have your pick of good dogs. If you're getting older, I'd normally assume that you were heading into your 70s, but since you're considering a Pyr and a large poodle, I think you'd do ok.
When I lived in a bad neighborhood, gang members would cross the street to get away from my dog when I was walking him. And a friend of mine who used to actually BE a gang member a couple decades ago actually laughed when I mentioned thinking about an alarm system. He said "Trust me, that dog is all the alarm you need."
But my Houla is very friendly outside of his territory. He doesn't have a Pyr's tendency to roam either.
Houlas bond very intensely with their owners and are very affectionate. But they're also not velcro dogs. My border collie and kelpie mix are sleeping on a dog bed at my feet while I work right now, and my Houla is sacked out in my bedroom. He checks on me from time to time though And if I summon him, he basically crawls into my lap and stays there until I tell him to go away.
Funny story - my dog has caused massive scenes twice on one of Boulder's main streets (we live in Denver). We were meeting my old roommate for lunch one time and my boy LOVES his uncle. When he saw my former roommate, he started shrieking hysterically and writhing on the end of the leash before covering my buddy with kisses.
Another time, he saw a large statue of a mountain lion about 50 yards away and started barking very fiercely at it. People who were cycling by and saw what was happening almost fell of their bikes from laughing so hard. I had to take him right up to the statue and let him see that it wasn't alive. When I touched it with my hand I thought he was going to lose his mind.
But he will do anything I ask him to do (eventually, and sometimes after an argument). And when he's running flyball - his favorite thing in the world to do and he goes crazy for it - I can literally call him back from the middle of the lane if there's a false start. His recall is that insanely good.
I normally don't recommend the breed to people, but I think after dealing with stubborn Pyrs you would "get" a Catahoula, and you clearly like smart, high-energy dogs. They're not that big, but their personality makes them seem big. One of my friends tells me she is always surprised he's not as big as she remembers him.
Another time, he saw a large statue of a mountain lion about 50 yards away and started barking very fiercely at it. People who were cycling by and saw what was happening almost fell of their bikes from laughing so hard. I had to take him right up to the statue and let him see that it wasn't alive. When I touched it with my hand I thought he was going to lose his mind.
That is awesome. That is something my current border collie would do.
That is awesome. That is something my current border collie would do.
I tell people he "went full Houla" that day. It was very funny. He was obviously trying to protect me and getting very frustrated that I didn't recognize the threat.
There are many large breeds that can be great pets as well as watchdogs.
In my opinion it is more about the individual dog than the breed. You also want a healthy dog, which is not always the case with many pure bred dogs. Find a good breeder, go visit them and see their dogs. In FL there are many breeders (I live in NY and here we don't have even a fraction of FL breeders). You can have a great dog with much less hair:
Rottweilers, Dobermans, Cane Corsi, Bull Mastiff, American Bulldogs, Bouvier de Flandres (a great herding breed but with long hair), Boxer... The list goes on and on.
There are many large breeds that can be great pets as well as watchdogs.
In my opinion it is more about the individual dog than the breed. You also want a healthy dog, which is not always the case with many pure bred dogs. Find a good breeder, go visit them and see their dogs. In FL there are many breeders (I live in NY and here we don't have even a fraction of FL breeders). You can have a great dog with much less hair:
Rottweilers, Dobermans, Cane Corsi, Bull Mastiff, American Bulldogs, Bouvier de Flandres (a great herding breed but with long hair), Boxer... The list goes on and on.
And, I always at least try to tell people to at least check out the pound. They could have the perfect dog waiting for you. One persons throw away dog can be another persons best dog they ever had. It happened to me.
My Great pyr has...if I'm lucky, a couple of more years to live. We (wife and I) take turns picking breeds.
She hates the hair, but loves the dog. We are both getting older, and although she yo-yos back and forth about getting another G. Pyr, tonight she said he's had it. Leo puts on his ABS breaks when she needs to grab him by the collar and open the gate. She is getting too old to have her shoulders pulled out of joint by such a giant breed.
BTW, we love big dogs and will not consider a smaller dog.
Great pyrenesees do not mind. At all. They have a mind of their own, for anyone who has never owned the breed. But, they are loyal, excellent guard dogs, and love their master. That's why she goes back and forth with her next choice.
Says the sweetest dog she's ever known, but she likes to be able to protect the dog from itself, and a G. pyr is looking to get hurt.
Not mentioning the hair...OMG. She wants to hang me on a daily basis over the shedding...
So, she has returned back to Standard poodle. More intelligent, in her opinion, and does not shed.
Which would you pick, and why?
We need a guard dog. We live in a rural area with some idiots about, the Great pyr has an excellent set of lungs and does scare off any potential mistfits.
Poodles are not that intimidating to look at, but if trained, would inhale an intruder... and we are getting older.
It is her turn to pick. I love the G. pyrs, how can I, or should I; convince her to pick another G. pyr?
Thanks for your input.
There would be no inhaling. Poodles can make great watch dogs but they are not guard dogs. There is a big difference.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And if I summon him, he basically crawls into my lap and stays there until I tell him to go away. 
