Big Paws Only Dog Forums

Ursa just LOVES the water so she and her Daddy had fun on the Slip n Slide today!  She doesn't acutally slip or slide on it but she still had a great time!

Your baby is so cute!

Armed with all of your suggestions and some advice from the trainer from puppy class, we're going to bite the bullet and start doing some serious crate training this weekend.  I'd be lying if I said we're looking forward to the barking that's bound to ensue!!

I can't wait until she's big enough to graduate to having her own room!  So much easier and roomier than the crate.  We've got a lot of growing up and training to get through before then though.

I've posted a few times already but thought I'd finally introduce us and our puppy, Ursa.  We're experienced large dog owners (Weimaraners and lots and lots of Greyhounds)but Ursa, our 4 month old Great Pyrenees, is our first giant breed dog and our first puppy in many years.  After our last Greyhound went to the Bridge, we were dogless for over a year before we found Ursa.  We've known some Pyr owners and really liked the breed but wanted to wait until our schedules allowed for a new family member before we brought a puppy home.  She's been with us for just under 3 weeks now and has settled in nicely. 

I'm so glad we found this board.  Everyone seems really supportive and friendly and willing to offer advice or encouragement! 

Just want to see if I added my avatar correctly.  This is Ursa hiding in the puppy cave - under the coffee table!

I should have mentioned that our Ursa is the least treat motivated dog I've ever met.     Should make puppy class a lot more interesting, huh? 

We took Ursa to Petsmart today to visit with the local GP rescue group.  Met a couple of really nice people who were very willing to answer any questions we had about our new puppy or about Pyrs in general.  If I can figure out how to post a picture, I got a cute one of our 30 lb girl nose to nose with a 165 lb boy. 

We've taken her to Petsmart several times to check out possible training classes.  We didn't care much for the first couple of trainers we met but found one who we believe will work for our girl.  We'll start puppy class in a couple of weeks.   

The leash training is progressing nicely.  We have to lure her out of the house with pieces of cheese but she walks along nicely once we get her started.  She's not crazy about riding in the car though.  We're really working on that because it won't be any fun to try to get her into the car once she's full sized. 

Question though - if you crate your Pyr, what size crate do you use?  We currently use a 48" crate but we're wondering if that will be big enough for her once she's hit her adult size.  We ran into differing opions at the meet and greet. 

TIA

We just brought our new 4 month old baby girl, Ursa, home over the weekend.  We've had lots of big dogs in the past but this is our first Pyr. 

Ursa is doing well in the house so far - just one small accident, doesn't chase the cats, and the barking so far is less than we expected.  We crate her during the workday but have a neighbor who comes by at lunchtime to let her out and play with her a bit.  Basically, she's doing better than I hoped in most areas.

The problem is with the leash.  I'd like to take her for walks to burn off some puppy steam (and maybe burn a few calories of my own) but she almost refuses to walk on the leash.  She doesn't buck or try to get away - she just lies down and refuses to move - wagging her tail the whole time!  I've tried treats but so far she's not terribly food motivated. 

I know it's early days still but I'd like to get started on leash training soon in preparation for enrolling her in puppy class.  Any advice would be much appreciated.