Great Pyrenees

Originally posted December 2008 (again, with comments by Teresa Frohock)

NOTE: Kera is now titled Shattered Home

In my novel Kera, three of the characters (Jake, Molly and Bo) are Great Pyrenees dogs. They're integral to the plot, as well as to Kera's mental, emotional and physical well-being. Our family has had three "Pyrs", our most recent is our puppy Bella Rose.

It's been my experience that most people have never heard of Great Pyrenees, much less know anything about them. They're a giant breed, all or mostly white, taking their name from the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain. I've always thought this was appropriate because the big ones are as much like snowy mountains as animals. Our second Pyr, our boy Balyn, weighed 160 lbs as an adult, with very little fat on him. He intimidated a lot of people not just by his size, but also by his quiet and sometimes not so quiet opinions about threats. Kera's dog Jake is based on Balyn. (His full name was Balyn Le Savage, named after the knight in Le Morte De Arthur who used his sword to cleave an opponent from head to saddle.)

Pyrs are traditional herd guards, bred for loyalty and fierce protection of their charges. They also had to be very independent because their duties included patrolling over large areas, looking for and fighting predators, including wolves. Stories are told of even modern Pyrs in America who go out patrolling their ranches, only coming home at night for supper. Pyrs are NOT shepherds -- they're guardians. Other dog breeds round up or guide the flock; Great Pyrenees make sure nothing harms them.

One good source of information on the breed is a book called "The New Complete Great Pyrenees" by Paul Strang. There are other sources, and we've learned from breeders, and of course from our own experiences. Our first Pyr was a very easy going girl named Sabaka. (Bolshaya Byelaya Sabaka -- for what I thought meant Great White Dog in Russian. I'd had a couple semesters of Russian language at the time.) So far Bella has definitely been our most affectionate dog, and maybe our smartest. I'm thinking she might not be too different from Kera's Molly.

Pyrs are magnificent dogs, and I love the breed, but they are definitely not for everyone, nor even for most people. As I said, they can be very independent and will make themselves the leader of your family pack if you let them. We've made our mistakes and have some hard learned lessons. They like to wander (presumably to patrol), and will make their escapes by either going over your fence, or digging under. Occasionally they will just go through a barrier, like when Sabaka was visiting friends with us. She was wandering their house. We heard a crash. The next thing we see is our dog, wearing a baby gate around her neck. She'd wanted to get up their stairs, so she just punched through the gate with her head.

They love to dig, if nothing else to give themselves a little foxhole to sleep in, to keep their bodies against the cool earth. They also like to chew. Boy do they ever, at least Sabaka did. Part of that was due to our own mistakes raising her, when we weren't around the house enough. Stupid. But, we got some good jokes out of it. Why did the Great Pyrenees cross the road? To chew the other side. Why does a fireman wear red suspenders? Because a Pyr chewed his belt.

Spencer

Teresa said:

I love Great Pyrenees, because of their size and their beauty, but all that hair that choked me up. ;-)

My husband ran Katu Kennels and showed boxers for many years, and I fell in love with the boxer breed. At one point, I wanted to show Pyrs and investigated the breed then, and that's when I found out I should only worship them from afar.

Spencer said:

Hi Teresa,

Glad you stopped by! Do you folks still have any dogs?

I dropped by your place (http://frohock.wordpress.com/) to get the first chapter of An Autumn Tale and saw you're from North Carolina. I've heard some very nice things about your state (including Orson Scott Card living in Greensboro), and I got to thinking about it being a good place for dogs, but maybe too humid for the likes of Pyrs.

Spencer

Teresa said:

Thanks, Spencer. I'm only about 19 miles from Greensboro and shop there often, but I've never had an Orson Scott Card sighting. I've really got to get to more book related events. ;-)

We have one mutt by the name of O.B. right now. My husband stopped breeding boxers a few years ago and when our last one died, it broke our hearts. We've been spending a lot of time traveling, so we didn't want to get too many more dogs until we were home more often. It is humid here, and because boxers have trouble breathing in the extreme heat, we had an air conditioned kennel for them.

Are you on the west or east coast? You've got a lovely ocean view behind your picture! I love it here in NC, although I've moved around in my day and lived for several years in Charleston, SC. You want to talk about humidity, try living in a swamp. ;-)

Spencer said:

Hi again, Teresa,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you -- taxes, room remodel, and other vicissitudes of life interrupting my attention to writing and related matters. (Same for OWW crits right now as well - I feel bad about that for a couple of other folks besides you).

Regarding your question about which coast I live on, it's the middle coast! Toledo, Ohio is home, and that body of water in a couple of the website pictures is Lake Erie. I've lived in Chicago and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as well, so Lake Michigan and Lake Superior are both familiar puddles. I've also lived in Southern California, but the Pacific was just too small. :-) (Actually, some coastal transplants are amazed when they get to a Great Lake -- "Wow. You can't see the other side!" In fact, a little difference in wave size is about it until you taste the water.)

Teresa said:

What a lovely area! I love the Great Lakes; I just hate your winters! ;-)

Thanks again for the crit - I'm going to get off my lazy and work on those two chapters today (I hope). I'm like you, I get woefully behind on OWW crits sometimes, but I'm not in a hurry. (I've got to finish re-doing my kitchen someday!)

I've been reading several posts by agents regarding people who submit their manuscripts far too soon, resulting in rejections. I really think that OWW saved me from the same mistake. The whole experience has tempered my impatience a bit so that I'd rather delay my plans than submit a poorly edited manuscript.

Thanks for your help!