I was up four times during the night... twice to take Savannah outside to the grass, and twice to just come downstairs to the kitchen and reassure this puppy that the raccoons on the porch could not get into the back door and steal her dog biscuits.
As promised to myself, I have not gotten upset with her during these night-time barking sessions. Savannah is nearly a year old now, and I've learned that she does not bark at nothing. I've also learned that this watch-dog behavior is not about to quit anytime soon, if at all.
During my after-midnight visits to the kitchen, I've been searching the Internet for solutions to the powerful night-time roaring barks of the Great Pyrenees. The solution? Simple--- deal with it. Just. Deal. With. It. Period.
This breed is known for their protectiveness, whether it be towards their people, the livestock in the fields, or the other pets in the house. After dark, it is part of the Great Pyrenees instinct to guard everything and everyone, protecting them from anything that the dog senses could be a danger. And that 'danger' could be anything from a mountain lion to a moth, and everything else in-between. Oh goodie. Obviously, neither my husband nor I knew that before we decided to adopt this puppy. And that surprises me to no end, because my husband researches every little thing on this planet, but we did absolutely no research whatsoever on the Pyrenees breed.
And why did we even think of a Great Pyrenees.... I blame our somewhat questionable decision on the annual Christmas Parade in our little sleepy town. We watched the Great Pyrenees Rescue Group walk those beautiful dogs up and down the town's Main Street... so beautiful, so calm, such a regal and distinguished presence. My husband and I both agreed--- "If we ever get another dog again, we'll look for a Pyrenees." And so we did.... and history has been unfolding since September 12th of last year. This past December we took Savannah into town for the Christmas Parade and the three of us sat on the steps of the courthouse and watched those serene and regal dogs walk down Main Street. And my husband and I both agreed--- "Next Christmas, we will walk Savannah with the other Pyrenees in the Christmas Parade."
The night before last, Savannah barked at an armadillo who had the nerve to walk around the lawn on the kitchen side of the house. Last night, two raccoons dared to come up on the back porch, which is right outside the kitchen. Savannah sleeps either in the kitchen or the breakfast room at night, so of course she hears everything that goes on in the yard. I thought of keeping her in the TV room at night with Sweet Pea but I don't trust Savannah to not bother Sweet Pea when he doesn't want to be bothered. Savannah wants to play with Sweet Pea constantly, and all Sweet Pea wants to do is be a cat. So keeping them both together in one room at night may be taking chances with our cat's emotional stability. I don't think Savannah would hurt Sweet Pea at all, but I don't want a very good cat to feel intimidated by a relentless wide-awake dog in the middle of the night when I'm upstairs.
After all the reading I've done on the web-sites for the Great Pyrenees, I've come to the sad conclusion that "it is what it is" with this dog. Savannah is a mix of Border Collie and Great Pyrenees and after having her all of these months now, I've learned that she is more Pyrenees than Collie, especially between the hours of midnight and six o'clock in the morning.
One of the web-sites suggested that reassuring your dog during the night-time barking may be beneficial, allowing the dog to feel as if it's done its job properly and it will rest and possibly go to sleep. Ignoring the after-midnight barking of a Great Pyrenees is like trying to ignore the engines of a jet plane as it takes off from a runway, should that runway be right behind your house. And I have to admit that Savannah's day-time barking can in no way compare to the decibel-level of her night-time roaring.
I'm seriously considering asking the vet if there is a medication that Savannah can be given before we go upstairs at night. Possibly something that would allow her to sleep a little better and not be aware of every cricket or spider or raccoon that walks across the porch.
As I type this, Savannah is in her bed in the breakfast room, quite near the table where my laptop is. This puppy is snoring, and must be dreaming because her legs are twitching a bit. After I finish typing this paragraph, I'm going to get Savannah's leash, wake her up, and take her for a good long walk. It won't help much, because no matter how much exercise she gets during day-light, she is still on High Alert as soon as it gets dark. Homeland Puppy Security at its very best.
Oh well. We wanted a Great Pyrenees and that's what we've got... and she barks at everything after midnight. One of the web-sites said that the shelters and rescue organizations are always over-flowing with Great Pyrenees whose owners have given them up. Why? Because of one thing that the owners couldn't cope with: the relentless night-time barking.
We took Savannah to the dog park this afternoon... we talked to a very nice young couple who had two dogs-- Lola (a 60-pound Husky mix) and Roxie (an all-black German Shepherd puppy who will grow to be over 100 pounds). Both were friendly and playful and Savannah loved running around the grass with them. Savannah was so happy with our little group that she even let herself get close enough to be petted by both of the owners, something she never ever does in that park. "Such a beautiful dog," they said.... "Such beautiful eyes, looks like she has make-up on," they told us.
"What made you decide to get a Great Pyrenees?" the couple wanted to know. I resisted the urge to tell that nice young girl that we became temporarily insane last September and decided we really didn't need that much sleep at night anymore. Instead, we told them about the Christmas Parade and all of the Great Pyrenees walking down Main Street.... and then my husband told them that we're planning to walk Savannah in this year's parade come December.
And so we shall. I just hope Savannah lets me get enough sleep the night before we have to walk down Main Street.
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