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These dogs take their name from the mountain range in southwestern
Europe where they long have been used as guardians of the flocks. In
the United States they are called Great Pyrenees. In the United Kingdom
and on the continent of Europe, they are known as the Pyrenean Mountain
Dog. In their native France, they are Le Chien de Montagne des Pyrenees
or Le Chien des Pyrenees. Whatever the name, it is a beautiful
primarily white dog with a "certain elegance" which for centuries has
been the working associate of peasant shepherds high on the mountain
slopes.
The breed likely evolved from a group of principally
white mountain flock guard dogs that originated ten or eleven thousand
years ago in Asia Minor. It is very plausible that these large white
dogs arrived in the Pyrenees Mountains with their shepherds and
domestic sheep about 3000 BC. There they encountered the indigenous
people of the area, one of which were the Basques, descendants of
Cro-Magnon Man. In the isolation of the Pyrenees Mountains over these
millenniums, the breed developed the characteristics that make it
unique to the group of flock guardian dogs in general and the primarily
white members of that group.
The Great Pyrenees is a
lupomossoloid as opposed to a mossoloid. While there has surely been
some cross breeding over the many centuries, the Great Pyrenees is not
a mastiff nor are its lupomossoloid ancestors principally from the
mastiff family. There are other dogs of the region, such as the
Pyrenean Mastiff, and the Spanish Mastiff that fill that description.
It is no coincidence that the Great Pyrenees is approximately the same
size as the European Grey Wolf.
A Peasants Dog
The
Great Pyrenees is a mountain shepherds dog. Over this long period of
time the Great Pyrenees developed a special relationship with the
shepherd, its family, and the flock.
In 1407, French writings
tell of the usefulness of these "Great Dogs of the Mountains" as
guardians of the Chateau of Lourdes. In 1675, they were adopted as the
Royal Dog of France by the Dauphin in the court of King Louis XIV, and
subsequently became much sought after by nobility. Having a precocious
sense of smell and exceptionally keen eyesight, each dog was counted
equal to two men, be it as guard of the chateaux, or as invaluable
companion of shepherds. While their royal adoption is interesting, the
dogs main fame was from their ageless devotion to their mountain
flocks, shepherds, and shepherds’ family. When not working the flocks,
you would find “Patou”, as he is loving called, laying on the mat in
the front doorway of the shepherds humble dwellings.
Across the Ocean
In
1662, dogs were carried to Newfoundland by Basque fishermen as
companions and guardians of the new Settlement. Here it was they became
mated with the black curly coated retriever, favorite of the English
settlers. This cross resulted in the formation of the Landseer (black
and white) Newfoundland. In 1824, General Lafayette introduced the
first pair to America by bringing over two males to his friend, J.S.
Skinner, author of "The Dog and the Sportsman".
In 1850,
Britain's Queen Victoria owned a Pyrenean Mountain Dog, and in 1885-86,
the first Pyrenean Mountain Dogs were registered with the Kennel Club
in London and shown at the Crystal Palace.
In 1870, Pyrenean
blood was used with that of other large breeds to help bring back the
St. Bernard after that noble dog's numbers had been so greatly depleted
by avalanches and distemper at the hospice in Switzerland. It was not
until 1909 that the first Pyrenean Mountain Dogs were introduced into
England for breeding purposes by Lady Sybil Grant, daughter of Lord
Roseberry. It was twenty-six years later (1935) that Pyreneans were
again bred in a kennel in England. At that time, Mme. Jeanne Harper
Trois Fontaines started her de Fontenay Kennel at Hyde Heath, Amersham,
later becoming well known the world over and accounting for many
exports to distant lands.
Reconstitution
By
the late 1800's and early 1900's the state of the breed had
deteriorated due to the vanishing of the natural predator foes in the
mountains and the practices of many unscrupulous breeders selling to
naive tourists through the region.
In 1907 Monsieur Dretzen
from Paris along with Count de Bylandt of Holland and Monsieur Byasson
of Argeles Gazost formed the Club du Chien des Pyrenées (CCP) A.K.A.
Argeles Club in Argeles Gazost. They combed the mountains for a group
of “faultlessly typical” specimens. Monsieur Dretzen took these dogs
back to his kennel in Paris. Also in 1907, the Pastoure Club at
Lourdes, Hautes Pyrenées, France, was organized to perpetuate interest
in the breed. Each club wrote a breed standard.
After the
decimating effects of World War I the breed's numbers and quality had
been severely compromised. A few dedicated breeders, headed by Monsieur
Senac Lagrange, worked to restore the breed to its former glory. They
joined together the remnants of the two former clubs and formed the
Reunion des Amateurs de Chiens Pyreneans which still exists today. It
was this club that was responsible for the breed standard being
published in 1927. This standard has served as a basis for all current
standards for the breed. After World War II, it was again Monsieur
Senac-Lagrange who took the lead in getting the breed back on its feet
from the devastating effects of the German occupation.
First Kennel in the U.S.A.
In
1931, Mr. and Mrs. Francis V. Crane imported several specimens to
seriously launch the breed in North America with the founding of the
Basquaerie Kennels at Needham, Massachusetts. Their lifelong efforts on
behalf of the breed provided the breed with an atmosphere in which it
could thrive and prosper. They imported important breeding stock out of
Europe just before the Continent was closed by World War II.. The
American Kennel Club accorded the Great Pyrenees official recognition
in February, 1933, and beginning April, 1933, separate classification
began for the breed at licensed shows.
Today the Great
Pyrenees is a working dog as well as a companion and family dog. Most
of our dogs never see a show ring, but they are trusted and beloved
members in homes and may function as livestock guardian dogs on farms
and ranches. The Great Pyrenees is proving itself very versatile,
gaining fame as therapy dogs, rescue dogs, and many activities with its
human companions. They are very social dogs in the family and get along
extremely well with other animals that belong to the shepherd, farmer,
or family. They are wary of strangers in the work environment (this
includes the home). They adapt easily to other situations such as dog
shows, and make extraordinary ambassadors for the breed in many
settings such as hospitals, old age homes, with children, etc. They
have an special ability to identify and distinguish predators or
unwelcome intruders. They are nurturing of small, young, or sick
animals.
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