# Escaping Great Pyrenees - Help?



## GoatGirl123

Our 3-year-old great Pyrenees has been escaping fences since she was very young. First she would dig out. Fine; we put up hot wire. It stopped. Now it seems she is jumping out. We're going to put some on the top of the fence, but it seems she is determined to find a way. Is she unhappy with the goats? Would another dog help? If so, what breed? We do not want a puppy, because she had terrible habits as a puppy and we really can't go through that again. We also don't want another great Pyrenees, seeing how she is so naughty. She has finally settled down like a great Pyrenees is supposed to, lying down most of the day, but we're at our wit's end with the escaping. She lives with our 3 bucks most of the time, in a big yard with plenty of room to run around in, but it just doesn't seem to be enough. Any help appreciated!


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## Maura

GP&#8217;s typically require lots of room. They are known as roamers and will tour the neighboring farms. It is natural for them.

Sometimes, if you make a daily habit of taking a wanderer for a walk, they stop wandering. Big dog, use a bicycle and just take him around the section. Start with a 20&#8217; leash so he gets the idea of staying close to you, that you are walking together.


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## BGE farms

We are relatively new to the LGD game but from what I have been able to gather, most breeds are roamers. I think we have to remember the origins of these dogs and how the flocks from their COO were grazed. That said, we have a 3yo anatolian female that has only escaped maybe 3 times and they were all our fault. We used to let our sheep out of the fenced pasture to let them graze in front yard and as soon as the sheep were out of her sight she would try to get out. The other time involved a metal water trough that I am fairly certain shocked her in the winter time and she refused to drink out of it and escaped and went straight to the pond! When I saw that we went to rubber! Pearl has been nothing less than an amazing guard dog! We recently got a male anatolian pup who is 4 months. He has slid under the fence a few times. To correct this, I keep a leash out there by the pasture and if I catch him out I slip it around his neck (bring the end through the loop) and tighten it up until he is uncomfortable (not chocking!) keep it tight and walk him back into the pasture through the gate and immediately realse once back inside. So out side of pasture pressure and inside pasture no pressure. Haven't had any jail breaks that I have seen for two weeks now. It took a couple of times so be patient and it may not be as effective with an adult dog either. To sum this up, it's the dog and the training on the dog not necessarily the breed based on my experience.


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## thestartupman

Here is absolutely the best way I know of to train them. Get a invisible fence system installed. It will train them in one day. You don't have to bury the wire, you can just run it along the fencing. The only time you have to retrain is if you change the way your pastures are laid out. I have two LGD's, and they both stay in now.


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## GoatGirl123

thestartupman said:


> Here is absolutely the best way I know of to train them. Get a invisible fence system installed. It will train them in one day. You don't have to bury the wire, you can just run it along the fencing. The only time you have to retrain is if you change the way your pastures are laid out. I have two LGD's, and they both stay in now.


We used to have an invisible fence around our whole property for other dogs, but it didn't work. Also, it required a collar, and whenever we put a harness or collar on Pearl she chews it off. Thanks for the tips, though, everyone!


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## aleefarms

Pyrenees are not great at jumping. By this I mean completely clearing a fence of 54" which should be the minimum for predator control. They can however gracefully catch the top of a fence with their front feet and pull their back feet to the top and push off in one motion. If a high tensile wire is placed on the top with an adequate jewel rating of >4 that will prevent most dogs from jumping twice. If Pearl is the exception then the best alternative is a Trashbreaker Pro that would also require a collar, which you have expressed presents another problem. On a GP a proper fit is a must which includes proper placement, and tightness and also a spot shaved for the studs to make contact with the skin. All excess length should be trimmed. Use the lowest strength that she presents a response to preceded by a beep using the tone setting. The key as mentioned by a poster before is pressure and release. While she is on the outside apply a beep followed by a shock. Do this at predetermined spaces in time such as every two minutes until she makes a move to get back where she belongs. This is the release and you should stop and help her to get back inside the fence. The Trashbreaker Pro works up to 5 miles and is a very valuable tool in the right hands. I don't think you need another dog unless it is a mature fully trained lgd which is hard to find available.


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## GoatGirl123

I think our fence is 4 feet tall. At night the goats are locked up and predators have never been a problem -- to tell the truth, we originally got Pearl to be an LGD but we never ended up needing one. We realized there was a helpfully placed stump that she could stand on top of and then jump out, and since we moved it there hasn't been a problem, so we'll see. Thanks for the help, everyone!


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## Eagle1

GoatGirl123 said:


> I-- to tell the truth, we originally got Pearl to be an LGD but we never ended up needing one.


I had a farmer around think that way and he got rid of the dog and all of sudden the livestock started disappearing. That white speedbump he was feeding just told all the evil doers to not even bother to try. 

I have four right now and they very rarely work but they've build a half mile bubble that is evil free.


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## RichNC

She is bored, she doesn't have a real job to do, and GP's love to roam when bored, more resarch before you got her would have been good.


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## Janis R

We have a buried fence, our GP and Newfie trained in one day. We didn't have the money to fence our whole property. I don't understand how a dog can chew off it's collar???


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## fordy

GoatGirl123 said:


> Our 3-year-old great Pyrenees has been escaping fences since she was very young. First she would dig out. Fine; we put up hot wire. It stopped. Now it seems she is jumping out. We're going to put some on the top of the fence, but it seems she is determined to find a way. Is she unhappy with the goats? Would another dog help? If so, what breed? We do not want a puppy, because she had terrible habits as a puppy and we really can't go through that again. We also don't want another great Pyrenees, seeing how she is so naughty. She has finally settled down like a great Pyrenees is supposed to, lying down most of the day, but we're at our wit's end with the escaping. She lives with our 3 bucks most of the time, in a big yard with plenty of room to run around in, but it just doesn't seem to be enough. Any help appreciated!


 .........Several years back I built a sizable dog run , 30'x250' , for two GP's....a breeding pair , out in the country ! , Customers wanted 6 foot chain link . There were 3 , 60 acre peanut fields on three sides of this homeplace these folks farmed . They had been keeping both dogs in a 20'x40' fully enclosed pin until I finished the dog run . Both dogs could see a half mile in most directions . 
..........The female had come into heat just as I got the dog run finished . They transferred both dogs into the dog run feeling they "could not" escape , lol ! Late that afternoon , male dogs started falling out of the woodwork and the male GP immediately climbed the chain link fence and attacked any dog that he could see . The lady was really PO'ed and called me up the next morning demanding I "DO" something.........I told her I had done all I was going to , Unless she wanted to pay me to put a wire roof over their dog run . 
...........Turns out those GP's were More trouble than they were worth , in fact , the male continued to climb the fence , even when the female came out of heat . Personally , I would never own a GP , just not worth the head aches . , fordy:shrug:


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