15/12/2020
I'm going to explain something ONCE to the judgemental Pitchfork Puritans who are attempting to crucify me based on NO KNOWLEDGE of me, my dogs, or what I am trying to accomplish. See, I made the mistake of posting very congenially, very low key, very respectfully on The Great Pyrenees Owners and Trainers FB page. I've been a member for quite some time, own a Great Pyrenees, and always at LEAST emote on nearly every post, and have offered sound advice on MANY. But that does not matter. I have been labeled everything horrible imaginable. That's fine. I saw 145 comments in under 2 minutes flat and knew what was going on. Skimmed a few and left. I'm not giving them the power to make me feel like s**t. They certainly do not deserve that much power. But for those who may or may not feel influenced by these... people, let me tell you a story. Yep, this will be long. So here we go.
I am 53 years old and disabled. My entire life I have busted my ASS up and down the highways of this country as well as Canada to bring the food and other goods you require daily to your local stores to feed your family, clothe your family, etc. Then, I found myself beaten to hell and barely able to even walk. I have lived in extreme pain, poverty, and loneliness having NO family for many years. I did everything for myself or it did not get done.
I am also an animal FANATIC. I ADORE animals and have rescued my entire life, repeatedly and extensively. I once took a pigeon into the vet and PAID to have it PTS because it had hit a window, breaking its beak so badly it was twisted sideways and laying against its neck. It could not be saved. I could have left it. At most, I could have twisted its neck and ended its pain. I PAID to have it PUT TO SLEEP. I picked up a FROG in the road once that had JUST been hit enough to crush the side of its mouth shut. I sliced through the crushed part, medicated and doctored it, and kept it in my KITCHEN SINK feeding it mealworms and flies until it was able to fend for itself again. That is but two of many, MANY examples.
I have rescued hundreds of animals in my life and in fact as we speak, I have 5 cats. ALL but two were rescued from the cold inhospitable outdoors; freezing cold and rain, starving. Gabriel was free, as the woman wanted rid of her purebred cat and all her kittens and Gracen is DISABLED. He has Cerebellar Hypoplasia (Wobbly Cat Syndrome). His owner had to move and needed someone to take this moderate to severely disabled cat. I did so. Even though he is SO much work and expense and effort... I took him and love him dearly and unconditionally.
When my beloved Ravyn, who is my service dog, had this litter, I had NEVER seen a dog have puppies and had only seen ONE cat ever have kittens. Why? BECAUSE I DON'T BREED and am VERY responsible. Ravyn was FOUR years old when I decided to breed her a MAXIMUM of twice, and never once in all her heats has there been an "oopsie litter" as I am very responsible.
Ravyn was bought FOR me by my ex who had brain cancer and knew he was dying and would not be able to be there for me much longer (he took his own life Thanksgiving several years back to end his suffering) from a BREEDER. You know why? Because I needed a very specific dog, capable of handling my weight and height. My previous service dogs WERE RESCUES but were too small and I was going to hurt them trying to use them for what I needed. Ricochet was rehomed to a combat veteran who has night terrors and cannot sleep without her. YOU DON'T KNOW ME. Grabbing any old dog from the pound DOES NOT WORK for service work, as any good responsible service animal group will tell you. They have to be very carefully vetted, you need to KNOW all the variables to expect from their size, temperament, personality, etc and Great Pyrenees are NOT known for their trainability ANYWAY, though some do excel. They were BRED (yes I said bred; they didn't magically appear in a Cracker Jack box) to work independently of human intervention; to make decisions for themselves. That doesn't tend to make them easy to train, and leads to the erroneous belief that they are "stubborn."
I never planned to breed her. However. At some point, I decided after MUCH thought and worry that she is SO intelligent, SO calm and reliable, SO damned good at her job, it'd be a crying shame to not allow others the same chance. Also, I wanted... just once in my life before I die, which will be soon, to give something worthwhile back to this world. To submit some part of myself to improve this world and not just be a lump existing in it, taking yet never giving. See, I had discovered that JUST like a Labradoodle, or a Pomsky, or any one of hundreds of other designer breed dogs, Great Pyredanes, Great Pyradors, and others WERE A THING. A great thing. A BIG wonderful growing thing. And HAD been for almost 15 years or so.
It is a wonderfully adept and versatile breed being CAREFULLY modified, responsibly bred, and extensively recorded in every way, in order to advance it to the status of every other dog deemed worthy by the AKC. It requires so much work, patience, learning, and love. It means being meticulous in record-keeping and knowing who and what you can breed, when, and to whom. The breed is going places fast and everyone who owns one says hands down, they are the BEST DOG EVER EVER. Since it's obvious you will not take my word for it, why don't you do a search on Facebook for Great Pyredane, including The Great Pyredane Breeders Association, and READ THE BREED STANDARDS. Check out the Puppies and Litters groups. READ all the glowing reports of this BREED. And then for fun, try Googling it. I know what you will find. Ten times more than even I did way back when I first got my girl.
Because YES, it is a BREED, not a MUTT as some so callously flung the label at my gorgeous healthy happy, and emotionally well-balanced babies. A MUTT, in case you were unaware, and apparently, many of you are, is the unintentional (or intentional) breeding of at LEAST two different dogs whose lineage is completely unknown. A wild guess. Sometimes many multiples of breeds. A HYBRID is the intentional, careful selection of two REGISTERED dogs intended to create a new breed or improve upon an existing one. Why the hell do you think so many purebreds are nearly bred out, including German Shepherds, French Bulldogs, etc? Did you think your precious purebred dogs that are AKC registered just mysteriously appeared from within the primordial ooze for your high falootin' pleasure? THEY WERE BRED. Every single one of them was CREATED.
This breed has been extensively worked on for years. These puppies that are high-quality, registered puppies sell for this amount EVERY DAY, and the prices are more or less set BY the GPBA. I had my choice of MANY males and it took weeks to decide which one I wanted to breed her with based on what I was looking to define in my puppies. I think I did exceptionally well, thanks.
YES, the parents are registered. In the sire's case, dual registration. In the dam's case, as the AKC does not yet recognize them, she is dual registered as well but on the AKC side, she is a companion pet. She is microchipped too, so yes she matters to me. NO, I did not do genetic testing and neither do the other breeders of these registered puppies, though I INTEND to as soon as I get on my feet and can afford to do so. Every single test through Embark is $150 ish. EVERYONE had to start somewhere, and my road has been far more difficult than you can even begin to know. Or care. I went from the promise of having my own land to moving cross country in an RV to escape psychotic farmers hell-bent on murdering all the wonderful dogs belonging to people around him, to several hurricanes later, Covid-19 later, forced to live in a 29 foot RV later and in an RV PARK later.
I STILL managed to care exceptionally well for my girl and her babies even though I had to let her birth them in my trailer, puppies romping in my trailer, sharing the space with them, my cats, my Pyrenees, and my 4-month-old Pyredane female pup. That pup would be Willow, my wonderfully genetically blue Pyredane displayed on the page background. My babies are kennel trained, trained to stay safe in an X-pen outside during the day, taught basic commands, and LOVED. I WORK MY ASS OFF making sure everyone and everything is CLEAN, healthy, fed well. My pups have HAD all their wormings, their shots. They are raised with cats. They ADORE me and go nuts with happiness when I tend to them. Every one of my puppies comes with a PRE-PRINTED form to send in to register them. So DO NOT TELL ME I am a "FAKE BREEDER" or a backyard breeder. I intend and dream of, having the best-damned kennel in southern Louisiana and I happen to be one of THREE breeders of registered Great Pyredane puppies spanning the US and Canada so I take this very seriously.
I have done all this on $803 a month disability BY MYSELF. A few people who either know the breed personally (and many own one or more) or know ME personally and know my heart have given when they had little to give to financially support this endeavor with food, x-pens, kennels, etc. THEY know me and HAVE FAITH IN ME. I have known unbelievable hardship to do this. I OWE $5,000 OUT OF MY FIRST LITTER to the breeder of my Great Pyrenees and my Great Pyredane (genetically blue pup) Willow. I also had to give up TWO puppies from my first litter, the biggest male and biggest female in exchange for the right to use Dalton to sire my first litter, as I did not have the stud fee, but wanted the best sire I could get. Potentially $3,000 in puppy sales gone just to have that amazing AKC Dane breed my lovely girl. I SACRIFICED MUCH. Do you know how hard it is to go into debt THAT far as a new, struggling business in this Covid world? But I needed SPECIFIC, QUALITY dogs and I did NOT want to be a "backyard breeder" so I am sacrificing AGAIN to make sure my future litters are the BEST they can be. They are trying to help me past this first litter, knowing that each successive litter will do MUCH to progress this breed. I knew the first litter would be SO hard; I literally have nothing. I have given every penny I have, every bite of food, every minute and every kiss and snuggle to these puppies. I knew if I could ever get started, I would be one of the best breeders of this breed in the US and I intend to do just that, whether YOU like it... or not. I ALSO made myself a promise to donate free of charge ONE pup from every litter to someone who NEEDS a service dog, yet cannot afford $6,000 and up for your precious purebred Goldens, Labradors, etc. And guess what? My dirt poor ass did exactly THAT. I donated a puppy... free, to someone in NEED.
So now for the ugly part. You call me whatever the HELL you want to but at least know wtf you are talking about. I am many things but a liar, a pos human scumbag, a backyard breeder, a fake breeder, etc I am NOT. What I AM is tired of your holier than thou judgemental puritan BU****IT. I have a dirty mouth, I don't put up with s**t. I am opinionated, headstrong, loud, and obnoxious, and can be a bitch. Get it right.
I am also the kindest hearted, non-judgemental, loving person you will ever meet and severely empathic with animals. Not all animals can be plucked from a shelter. I give everything I have, everything I am to care for, and love animals. I also train. Very well, I might add. So to you stuck up, snooty ass bastards who think the sun don't shine on your ass, BITE ME.
For those of you interested in knowing more about this amazing breed we, myself and others, are working so diligently to offer up for MANY roles, please drop us a line and me and others will be thrilled to tell you more.
For those with questions concerning the tail docking (NO I DIDN'T "CUT THEIR TAILS OFF!") please go read a very thorough explanation on the post that talks about the kennel's "mission statement." I wanted to pin it but in light of the pitchfork crowd, I had to let it go unpinned for now, sorry.
