Because of all the outdated information, regarding introducing your Pyr-puppy to the herd, that continues to exist in the LGD community today, I am creating this page as an "explanation resource" for future Pyrents-to-be. Here you can learn how all the misinformation started back in 1980s.  I have also included a hyperlink to Paula Lane's old website because some of her information was/is so valuable that I hate to see it disappear.  I hope this helps!



I had a Pyrent-to-be want to know as much as possible about introducing their Pyr puppy to their herd. They wanted all of the resources I could send to them while they waited for their future puppy. I sent an email with the advice to read the links on this page https://www.wellsprovidence.com/training-your-livestock-guardian-puppy-to-be-a-livestock-guardian-dog.html (and adopt whichever version sounds closest to their setting). I will copy and paste that email here so you also have the information in that email as a resource.  


Begin copy and paste:


I don't see any difference in loyalty or guardian instinct in males versus females. Both are very loving, loyal and effective as a livestock guardian dog (LGD). Males do get bigger than females so, if you are going to have just one LGD, a male may be a larger force for predators to contend with. It is all based on your predator pressures and the size of territory the dog is expected to cover. Getting one or two dogs depends on the size of acreage the dog is required to protect. One livestock guardian dog is effective in a smaller pasture. If you have 5 acres, or more, then I suggest a working pair as one LGD cannot cover that much ground alone.

I don't see any genetic difference in our Sires and Dams... all are good guardians so, whichever Sire or Dam you pick, the quality is there. The success, or failure, of a livestock guardian puppy does not fall upon the puppy or its genetics... it falls upon the owner. So, the success of our Pyrs (your puppy's parents) does not equate to "better success" of the puppy. Success of the puppy is based on how they are trained and raised by you. Yes, they have the instincts to be LGDs but they also have to have the mentoring of the older dogs of their pack or by their shepherd (you).


I know many breeders will state, "Put them in the pasture at 8 weeks, with little human handling so they can bond with the stock and not you, they will know what to do". That is called the "hands off" method and it is preposterous advice. Below is a copy and paste of an article (which has updates since it was so old originally). Follow the hyperlinks to learn more about what it is discussing if the information is new to you:



     The "hands off" mentality is an ill-advised, outdated practice, that unfortunately many breeders of Livestock Guardian Dogs still practice today. The shepherds of Spain and France live a trans-humane existence with their flock and their Livestock Guardian Dogs. Those European shepherds are in the presence of their flock and dogs 24/7. Many European breeders that I interact with are shocked that this "hands off" method is practiced and so widespread in North America. None of the European shepherds or breeders practice this "hands-off" method in the mother countries and they become appalled when I tell them "how it's done" in the United States.

     According to the lgd.org library, we can trace this ill-advice back to Raymond and Lorna Coppinger who, between 1977 and 1990, bred and placed more than 1400 Livestock Guardian Dogs on sheep farms and ranches across the US and Canada through the United States government-funded Livestock Guarding Dog Project. The United States was encountering serious predator pressures that they were unable to solve because of the Animal Rights Activist push-back against shooting predators. The United States government wanted to inquire how the European shepherds, who weren't allowed to carry firearms, were dealing with their predator encounters. They learned that the European shepherds were effectively using Livestock Guardian Dogs to protect their large herds. The United States government selected Ray Coppinger to go to the European countries and learn their techniques.

     Ray Coppinger was a biologist whose passion was studying sled dogs (a totally different creature mentally than Livestock Guardian Dogs). He brought back dozens of Livestock Guardian Dogs to implement here in the United States and Canada. The original dogs bred for the project were imported by the Coppingers from a variety of countries overseas where these dogs were traditionally used. Even though Ray Coppinger physically observed the dogs in their native lands, and handpicked the ones for import, he failed to recognize how much the pastoral environment and group/family "pack" dynamic, that the Livestock Guardian Dogs were raised in, contributed to their success. As a consequence of this failure he recommended, to the United States government, and to breeders of Livestock Guardian Dogs, that Livestock Guardian Dogs in North America should be raised "hands off" and kept solely with their charges from a very early age with minimal human handling. This is the exact opposite of what he observed in the trans-humane communities of Europe.

     The "hands off" method developed by Ray Coppinger, which consists in isolating very young puppies with the herd with little human contact, claiming it would promote their attachment to animals, is an aberration. The basic needs of puppies (game, protection and education by adult dogs or humans) have been totally ignored leading to dramatic situations where dogs in the US become almost feral toward unknown humans. The problems posed by dogs that have been given this type of education are innumerable and this should not be so as this is not the nature of the Great Pyrenees.  

     An eight-week old puppy will bond with whatever will accept it so, of course, it will bond with the animals if left alone with only the herd. Outoffear. Any young dog will bond with the flock if forced to in such a manner. Dogs are pack animals by nature and even puppies know "there is strength in numbers" so they will bond with the sheep out of fear of being even further isolated.  Putting an eight-week old Great Pyrenees puppy in the pasture, forcing it to bond with the herd with little human interaction, and thinking "it will know its job" is equivalent to strapping a badge on an eight-week old German Shepherd puppy and calling it a Police Dog. Yes it has innate instincts but it still needs training. Psychologically, a young dog must have the interaction of its shepherd or hierarchical dominance issues can create relational problems later on.

     Ray Coppinger, the sled-dog guru, did a huge disservice introducing Livestock Guardian Dogs to North America in the 1980s with his "hands off" theory. The impact of this ill-advice is still felt today in that raising a puppy with little human contact is still seen advocated among many western Livestock Guardian Dog breeders as the ideal way to care for these dogs. It is just bad practice and the outcomes can be detrimental.