Raising Belle

Flocked

Five months

So we went down to the usual spot to pose for the monthly portrait, and Syl was just getting Belle sat when another dog appeared nearby. It wasn't quite the formal portrait I intended, but I guess the general idea is clear: our tiny puppy isn't quite so tiny any more....

(Left below at 2 months; right below at 5 months, today. Click on the pix for the full-sized versions)

Caught in the act

We are paying a terrible price for allowing her to sit on the sofa with us when she was a tiny puppy.

Faces in the crowd

Here for those of you who don't see my Facebook pages are some of the other dogs we encountered in Middleburg last weekend. We also learned a little bit more about the work of the Appalachian Great Pyrenees Rescue group, which is kept surprisingly busy for such a little-known breed. The sad truth is that many farmers regard Pyrs as working dogs, employ them to guard their livestock, but don't want to spend money on neutering/spaying and disregard their dogs' mating habits.

The result is a disastrous imbalance in supply and demand, with too many litters of both purebred and mixed breed puppies being born and not nearly enough families ready to take on such big dogs as pets. Add to that the familiar problem of families who fall in love with those impossibly cute little puppy bundles of fur, only to find that they stop being little very quickly and start eating children, cars and houses, and you end up with a serious problem.

The AGPR does its best to find families or foster homes for unwanted adult dogs, and we hope to continue to be able to support them - provided, of course, that Belle doesn't eat my chequebook first.....

Nice ta meetcha

We took Belle to the Christmas parade in Middleburg, Virginia, where a wonderful group called the Appalachian Great Pyrenees Rescue somehow managed to gather 75 fluffy white giants for the march down Main Street. I'll be writing more about AGPR, which has some pretty heartbreaking stories about the Great Pyrenees breed, but for now some happier news: Belle (and the rest of the family) was thrilled to meet so many other Pyrs and to parade with them in front of cheering crowds. She was by far the youngest puppy there, but behaved herself splendidly.

The pix below show her meeting a nine-month old dog twice her size and still growing; parading with Anouk and Zelie; and taking a break in the sun at the end of a busy day.

Digger

Great Pyrenees puppies have to be taught that they simply must wash the mud off their paws after they've been caught digging holes in the garden.

Unleashed

We don't often dare let Belle off-leash - all Great Pyrenees dogs seem to be equipped with an internal GPS homing device that automaticaly  directs them towards the Spanish border at the first hint of freedom. And Belle loves nothing better than to have her entire family chasing after her screaming "come back, you *&^%$#@ hound".

But there's a stretch of Rock Creek where she can't come to much harm and there are comparatively few distractions early in the morning. That's where I often allow her to run, and by now I know pretty much where and when she'll try to make a break for it. I've learned to head her off at the pass.

We were out there this morning, crunching over the frost. Belle had a ball, sniffing at this and jumping over that. We got to the bit where the path turns back, and she eyed me suspiciously, then tried to run. Too late - I grabbed her collar and the Spanish border will just have to wait.