These dogs are native to the Pyrenees of Spain, France, and Andorra.
Although not strictly a “Basque” breed, the Basque shepherds did use them guard their flocks.
It’s easily the most common livestock guardian breed in North America.
The show version is a bit different from the working guard dog version. The dogs also vary greatly in appearance, which is exactly what one would find in a landrace.
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Oh, you wrote about the wonderfull bears!
Check also this. The pyrenese has a rescuing instinct in the water too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9oGs3DPF-M&feature=related
While these Estonian Pyrres enjoy cooling in the sea:
The typical position for a guardian:
And these is personally to our Retrieverman, Scott (just to admire):
It’s awfully hardmouthed, and this breed has been toned down since it was solely used for work. Originally, it was more like a Maremma.
I don’t know that this breed had anything to do with the dogs of Newfoundland, simply because I don’t think Basque fishermen would bring them across the ocean. They are very big and costly to care for. However, the English may have had some long-haired mastiffs that may have played a more direct role.
About the cost to feed them – until the recent times, they had to hunt the food for themselves, small rodents, in the fields where they worked. They do those funny looking air-jumps to catch the rodent. Many think they are clumsy, but they can jump amazingly high.
But they act nothing like the big Newfoundland dog– at least when they were in their original state. And the biggest Newfoundlands are bigger than these dogs by quite a bit.
Yes but some questions still remain.
One the most interesting is, how did the Newfoundlandin inherit his great rescue abilities? It’s been told that the dog rescued even other animals besides humans.
That strictly hands to a strong flock guardian insticts.
Some breeders-traders mixed the former landrace Pyrr / Spanish mastiff with Neuf, like Heinrich Essig (1809-1889) suppossedly did. He traded even 300 dogs per year. Via these kind of professionals, different breeds may have distributed quite effectively around the Europe and even the world in few decades.
Essig, isn’t he the fellow who developed the Leonberger?
The one and same.
He surely wasn’t the first in that breed and trade business, was he?
Dog traders were very common. Originally, they sold tons of working dogs on the streets. Then, when people had disposable incomes, they offered all sorts of pet dogs.
The bull terrier is a dealer’s dog, as is the modern Newfoundland, and the Leonberger.
I wonder if Basques trade their dogs like that also, and overseas?
They were known very skillful traders.
In later days they did. In 1808 commentators write of the existence of truly marketplaces for Great Pyrenees adults and puppies. “Every Sunday the shepherds come to Cauterets, to the marketplace. They know for sure that they won’t head back home with empty pockets, as long as the dogs they bring are pure breed”.
The French were involved in producing the guard dog of the Pyrenees as a pet or “estate guardian.”
But I don’t know that Basque fishermen would have had these dogs.
If I ever go to Basque country, I’d like to interview them about their relation with their dogs. Until then as you say, who knows.
In the far history, I see some young basque men leaving their hometown in the valleys and heading for the coast, taking their dogs with. But as you indicate, the case is closed for good.
These dogs do have a rather large appetite. The one I owned I named “Hoover” for that very reason. They also have the most amazing coats. They can become completely covered in mud one moment, and be white as snow in under 2 hours. Rather convenient. lol Their fur is quite soft as well. The woman who originally gave me Hoover was a weaver and often used her Pyrenese’ discarded hair to knit with. To each his own.
Sorry. but for the life of me I can’t see what is there “to admire”, I mean the youtube clip of a man throwing a stick to his dog!
Are people really that simple minded not to realise the risks involved? :O
There’s another water working Landseer – Newfoundland team out there – including one great, white furry LGD-dog (I recall a Kuvasz, not a Pyrenese; but they are closely related breeds).
Kuvaszok are even less of a “water dog” than others.
But I suppose they could learn.
Hungary is a long way away from Newfoundland.
I don’t think anyone claims the Magyars were the first in America.
However, I believe Leif Ericsson had a man on his crew named Tyrkir. He is the one who supposedly found grapes at Vinland.
He is said to have been a German, but I’ve always had problems with that story.
One is that he could speak in “German” (a language that didn’t exist), and the Norse couldn’t couldn’t understand him. In the year 1000, the Germanic languages were close enough together to have some semblance of a conversation.
Hungarian people were called Turks, because they were not Indo-European speakers. This bias has somewhat infiltrated our linguistics, because it was once believe that Turkish and Uralic languages were closely related.
I think it was more likely that he was a Magyar or Hungarian.
And I don’t know how I got onto this from talking about a dog.
What a great blog about Great Pyrenees and the youtube videos are wonderful. I don’t have the ability to post videos, so I invite everyone to visit my website http://www.shefaro.com/LGD where you can see some of my Great Pyrenees working livestock guard dogs. My best Great Pyrenees was my girl, Sugar, who passed away at 13-1/2 in her sleep. She is pictured throughout the page with her baby goats. What an amazing dog. I could call Sugar from any part of the property, if she wasn’t already there to help lick and clean baby goats during kidding season. A truly amazing Great Pyrenees working livestock guardian and friend, Sugar is sorely missed at Shefaro.