What could be more adorable than an eight-week-old, 20 pound, kissy, cuddly bouncing bundle of white fluff? Of course you “fell in love” with that Great Pyrenees puppy. He is irresistible cuteness with his wiggy-waggy little tail, fat, fuzzy, kissable tummy and melting dark eyes. You want him! He is your perfect puppy. You know that it was “meant to be.”

 

Well, maybe...But before you decide to purchase or adopt that perfect puppy, please read the following information about Great Pyrenees’ development, behavior and needs.

 

  

  

Like all giant breed dogs, pyrs mature very slowly. After growing exponentially in their first year or so, pyrs continue to grow until they are 2-2 1/2 years old (females) and 3 – 3 1/2 years old (males.) An 8-month-old pyr puppy may well weigh more than 100 lbs. Are you prepared to deal with a 100 lb infant?

 

  

Cognitively and emotionally, pyrs are puppies for at least their first 2 years. Females do not reach maturity until around 2 1/2, if then. Males are puppies until they are 3 – 3 1/2, or sometimes even 4 years of age. Are you ready for 3 or more years of galumphing, needy puppyhood?

 

  

 

The majority of Great Pyrenees surrendered to NEPR are male puppies between 8 and 18 months old. They are surrendered to rescue not because there is anything wrong with them, but because they are puppies. Their original owners/adopters give them up because -

 

- They didn’t know a Great Pyrenees would get so big!

 

-They can’t understand why this 120 lb, obviously fully adult dog (age 10 months) is so clumsy, needy, hungry, messy, destructive (chews everything, knocks over furniture and people,) mischievous and uncooperative. He must be misbehaving on purpose to spite me (the owner!) There’s something wrong with him!

 

 

 

When prospective NEPR adopters request a dog <2 years, although they may not be aware of it, they are requesting a puppy. Rescue puppies have often been neglected, traumatized or abused. They may take even longer to grow up than more fortunate pyrs, due to developmental delays caused by the deprivation they have experienced.

 

We hope that families considering adopting a pyr puppy understand that they are making a commitment to a very long developmental process, and to a dog that, while he may well top 120 lbs before he is a year-old, will still think and behave like the very young puppy that he is.

 

Great Pyrenees are magnificent dogs. Unsurpassed as steadfast, devoted family companions and guardians, pyrs possess complex minds, highly individuated personalities, extraordinary levels of perceptiveness and sensitivity, great determination, and devotion. They replique montre are utterly loyal to “their” people. If you want to include a Great Pyrenees as a beloved member of your family, be prepared to invest at least three years of love, nurturing, training and patience in the process of helping him reach this state of mature “pyrfection.”