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My name is Rachel Maness. I'm a shepherd here at on the lam ranch in Camarillo, California
And this is our guard dog Teddy the Great Pyrenees on the lam ranch is a ranch located in Camarillo
California
Where we teach cheap hurting lessons for dogs and their people?
We're about 60 acres backing up to the wilderness on the other side of the Malibu Hills. We have
just under 100 sheep right now, but it's lambing season there could be two more out there and
We have a couple of horses a few geese some chickens lots of dogs and a few barn cats
We have routine issues with coyotes primarily coyotes are very successful
Urban predators and because we're located close to town we have a higher than normal coyote population
We also occasionally get mountain lions coming in from the wild lands. Especially as we're getting deer coming down is the during the drought?
Mountain lions aren't usually at issue
But due to the drought we're starting to get deer coming down into the pastures and with the deer come mountain lions
Right now teddy is our guard dog in training. He's under two, so he's not considered
Fully trained most livestock guardians aren't considered
Fully trustworthy until they're two years old we got Teddy to help keep the coyotes away
he has acts as both a powerful deterrent and
As actual frontline defense against the Coyotes while our sheep are very well fenced
Which helps keep the coyotes out, and we have give them close to the house at night
We do have to worry about coyotes. They can jump fences
They also come right up to the houses we find tracks we find Pooh. We hear them at night
We used to have trouble with coyotes coming in and trying to get to our sheep almost every night
but since Teddy arrived on the scene he acts both as a
flock guardian staying with the Sheep and protecting them and as a farm guardian he patrolled the area
He leaves his scent. He urine marks, and he makes sure the Coyotes don't even come on the property and since Teddy arrived
We have not had the same kind of coyote pressures
Teddy is a great pyrenees. They originated in the perineal mountains
That's the south of france north of spain
But they're a very very old type of dog great pyrenees are part of a family of big white
livestock guardian dogs with long hair and floppy ears
There's descriptions of those this type of dog dating back to 37
BC so very very old type of dog great pyrenees our flock Guardians they are
Intended to bond with the flock and stay with the Sheep so the sheep are really his family. He likes us
We're great, but that's who he'd rather hang out with Great Pyrenees or also known as perineum mountain dogs in Europe they live
10-12 years depending on lifestyle breed and genetics
males can be
27 to 32 inches tall 110
to 130 pounds. Teddy, here, is not quite a hundred pounds yet. He's under two years old and still growing
Females are 26 to 30 inches tall and 90 to 115 pounds. Very large dogs.
Their breed standard says they are supposed to be white and also all of the old
If you go back to the primary sources they say they're supposed to be white so you can identify your dog at night and tell
the difference between your dog and a predator, but great pyrenees can also have badger markings which are
sable or tan colored markings on their faces and ears and heads and
Those are more often seen in working great pyrenees versus the show line or pet line types
Great pyrenees are known for being gentle giants, and that's why teddy fit really well on our farm
They are gentle. They are sweet with everyone. They're good with lambs
children other pets other dogs whatever kind of animals you have chickens
They're generally regarded as a very safe dog when they're raised properly we previously had an Anatolian
sheepdog and
we were raising her to be our flock Guardian, and she didn't work out very well because
Because we teach herding lessons here
We have a lot of different people and dogs coming in all the time and our
Anatolian had a little bit too much stranger danger. It's a breed. They're very aloof and they guard against people and strange dogs
We don't have a stray dog problem out here, and we need a dog if that could
accept 10 new people and dogs coming on the property each day and tell the difference between the neighbors and the neighbors guests and
our clients and
People that come by to visit and small children and an actual threat so Teddy as a great pyrenees
They are generally good with everything except things that are actually posing a danger, and he's very good at assessing
What is and isn't a threat. He's more of a guard dog than an attack dog towards people.
He guards by barking at people. He's not actually gonna bite
Somebody unless they make a very aggressive move, but he will follow an intruder around barking on the property
Teddy like most Great Pyrenees are primarily nocturnal
He spends most of his nights barking, which is very much a breed trait
And that's exactly what we want him to do because that's part of how he keeps the Coyotes away
He likes to patrol at dawn and dusk. He goes around and does a perimeter of the property
He does some scent marking checks for coyotes
And that's also when we often find him out chasing coyotes and warding them off that way
During the day he likes to get into the Sheep pant pens and take a nap
And he's generally very sleepy and slow-moving during the day if we take the Sheep out to graze
He likes to go out and follow them around and stay with them
Which is good?
Because that's when they're most at risk for predation although the predator isn't primarily active at night
During the days when the sheep are loose and we're not watching them
We don't have fences
Here well there the sheep are penned, and we don't have dog proof fencing
We've got entirely too much land and people coming and going - for us to keep Teddy securely fenced so in order to keep him
Safe we use GPS tracking technology. He is wearing a whistle three on his collar here
This is a GPS that works with an app on my phone
It'll alert me if he goes off of our property or too close to the paved roads were about half a mile off the pavement
And it allows me to see what he's doing at night
So I can see when he's going out into the farm fields nearby to chase the Coyotes and what he's been doing
Tells me when he's been visiting the neighbors it tells me how long he's been gone and been doing while he's been gone
Teddy is very cold proof when it rains he likes to go out and lay in the rain
He's not as heat tolerant
But he makes do with by finding shade and by being at not being active during the middle of the day
Teddy routinely takes on coyotes, I'm not sure if he's fighting them because I'm not out at three o'clock in the morning
But I know I hear coyotes. I hear him barking and I see him taking off into the fields
So far he has not had to actively defend our sheep
We don't have the Coyotes coming in near the sheep or our geese anymore since he's been on the property
We are currently looking to add a second great pyrenees to the ranch we're hoping to find a senior female
Hopefully a working dog. Maybe in a harsher climate who's ready to retire to a mild climate and easy job basically
We're looking for a dog that wants to stay and snuggle with the Lambs like our previous senior Pyrenees that we lost last year
The Great Pyrenees is a phenomenal working dog
Teddy digs holes climbs fences barks all night and roams for miles
And that's exactly what we need him to do it makes them less of a good fit in the city as a pet
But for for our needs I mean that that's why they do that livestock Guardian breeds in general and Great Pyrenees in
Particular are not bred for being eager-to-please dogs
We have herding dogs you give them a command they're excited to follow the command he's more of an independent
dog he needs to be able to do his own thing and make his own decisions when he's out in the field without us and
for that reason
Great Pyrenees aren't very eager to please, so he's he comes when called kind of I
Don't know if he sits on command actually
But his primary things that he needs to do our walk on a leash. He needs to be handleable
I need to be able to check him for Fox tails and burrs
I need to be able to brush him and give him vaccinations and for that that that kind of training is paramount
The rest of the obedience training no he needs to be able to do what he does
Great Pyrenees, they are a fabulous working dog for our property where we have lots
Visitors all the time he's very good at telling the difference between goes good visitors and bad visitors
And he's very dog-friendly which is very important for us
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