My Little Great Pyrennes

 

Little Spot came here as a stray.  I suppose someone threw him out near the house.  He is a big dog, but still a puppy.  Yikes.  He's already the size of a calf.  

Spot has had his problems.  After he came here there was a severe storm and the temperature started reaching -5º F.  I had no way to accommodate him, because I was already snowed in so there was no way to provide, and he was too large to get under the house.   So, good luck Spot.  I wondered how he managed.  

Little Spot had taken up at David's house.  David had provided his dog with a heated doghouse.  Spot was too large to even squeeze into the doghouse, but he laid in front of the door and squeaked by with some heat.  And David even fed him.   I also put out Purina Dog Chow for him, but he liked the food over at David's better.   David said he didn't think it was the better food.  Little Spot likes the way David is outside all the time.  

Spot has one giant flaw.  He has been tearing up parcels both at my house and at David's house.   David called me to warn me that the UPS truck had showed up at my house.  Too late.  Spot sits around just waiting for the UPS truck to come.  By the time I went outside, the parcels were all over the place, some of them in a cow pasture.  David is not happy about the parcel problem either.  

I have a closet at the back steps with a shelf, so I put a note on the door asking UPS to leave parcels on this shelf.  There has been some confusion around here about where to leave parcels, so I also explained that the dog has  parcel issues.  Then I also taped one of the shredded plastic envelopes on the door.   Maybe this will solve the problem.  

Aside from that, Spot is an intelligent and interesting dog, as far as dogs go.  I told David he's had some obedience training, and will sit, shake hands, and lie down.  Should someone get angry with him, he starts trying to make nice by sitting and offering his paw.   And David surprised me by mentioning that he knows how to herd cows.  He thinks he's had some training in that, too.  I suppose it just comes naturally to him, the way that terriers dig big holes in the yard.   David has a herd of cows, so it was of interest to him to see this doggie herding his cows.  

What other interests does Spot have?  Spot likes to make piles of twigs and rocks.  That's a new one for me.   He also likes to terrify stray cats.  

So Spot is a nice dog, but he's going to have to quit damaging parcels.  David ominously mentioned "the graveyard solution."  

This photo will give some idea of Spot's size.  

Another unusual feature of Little Spot - two dew claws.  This is typical of the Great Pyrennes.  

The first time I saw Spot, I thought, "Wow, what if I could train him to walk with me, and wear a harness with a handle on top that I could use as a cane?"