Re: [PyrNet-L] re size/typetemperament

[Charlotte & Jack Perry <pyreau@erols.com>]

Jan, good luck with your surgery. It's really strange to read of
approaching snow when we are looking forward to warm enough weather to
go swimming! It has been too warm the last two days to put the dogs out
in the field to run.

Some more thoughts on size. When we first got involved in this breed, we
did know prominent breeders in the US who were quite outspoken about not
choosing the largest pups in a litter "because they would never be the
best moving dogs".  I have often wondered if the desire in the US to
finish champions at a young age had something to do with the choice of
the smaller pups.  Certainly pups that are not going to be huge look a
lot better at 8-10 months than their bigger litter mates.  I personally
can't bring myself to give up a pup that is the best moving dog in the
litter simply because it is a bit smaller.  In fact, last year I kept
what I considered to be the best pup in the litter (wonderful mover,
beautiful head which looks just like his grandfather....my all-time
favorite).  Although he was not the largest in the litter, he was not
the smallest either.  Now, at almost a year, he still looks nice, nice
balance and head and good mover, over standard size but not large.  His
brothers are all a good two inches taller and quite large but none are
ready to be shown now.  Their movement is not bad but not great either.
Luckily our daughter has one of the big pups and I have faith that he
will "get it all together" in a couple of years.  The problem is if I
had to make a choice between these two right now, I would have to choose
the smaller dog because he is much better at this time. 

I don't think that Great Pyrenees were ever meant to be as heavy as St.
Bernards or Newfoundlands (are the dogs in the UK comparable to those
breeds?). I know that Newfoundlands are known to have horrendous
orthopedic problems and wonder if bone mass and weight contribute to
this.  It does seem that some of the very large and heavy Pyrs do have
more problems with joints diseases, etc. 
Oops, have rambled on enough this morning, time to head for work.
Charlotte