PyreShep Rant

I am honestly so worried about the future of my breed. Dx

PyreSheps are in a delicate place currently as far as temperament and drive goes and I'm afraid that if more people get into the breed that only want to show, it will be a mess. A few breeders [I wont name names] don't even screen potential homes! And they talk up the breed like it is perfect! These things are naughty! And crazy, and hyper, and stubborn and an armful and a half!

Everytime I hear someone say "I really want a PyreShep" I just cringe. I don't know why...I love the breed. I just feel so overly protective of it. At least one breeder I know of [again, not naming names] has at -least 3-5 litters PER YEAR. What the hell?

It makes me so sad to imagine my boy in a home where he doesn't get constant attention. In my opinion, not everyone is suited for a PyreShep...in fact barely anyone is. I'm not calling myself special...I just have a lot of time, willpower, and experience training stubborn dogs. Coming from a Siberian, my boy seems really obedient and "easy" but if I was coming from say, a BC or Aussie, he would seem like an impossible demon.

People love them because they are "fast and obedient" but what Pyres have you seen? Oh right! The -trained- ones at the agility trials. You didn't fall in love with the sense of humour, the charm, the crazy "try anything" attitude....you fell in love with the "pretty outline" or the fast run times. You hear that they need tons of socialization. You think "every breed claims that, of course every breed needs socialization..." but they are over the top. You hear that they need exercise but you think "So do all dogs..." but they are over the top. This breed is not for everyone. You may think "Borders and Huskies claim that as well..." but they are OVER THE TOP. Honestly, most people would hate my Pyre...and they do. Everyone that meets him either loves him or hates him...the latter being the majority.

They aren't like Borders. They aren't like Labs. They aren't like Aussies.

People let the insanely amazing "Pros" overshadow the insanely terrible "Cons". Sure, they barely shed, are fast, are a perfect size, and can be trained to do amazing things. But they bark excessively, their coat holds a ton of water and dirt and mud that they bring into the house, they dig like crazy, they get very dirty on purpose, they are bossy with other dogs, they chase cats, can be hard to housetrain, they take the wrong obstacle in a second when you run agility, and so on. Yep, people claim that most this stuff can be trained out. It can. But they of course don't tell you how hard it is. My boy is now a year old. And after battling accidents in the house, dirty pawprints on the carpet and my clothes, him constantly jumping the 4 foot fence into the goat pen, him chasing the horses and eating horse "apples", chasing the cats, purposely provoking other dogs, him barking and growling at every visitor and sometimes even members of the family that come home, and him ignoring my recalls, I am starting to see results. The past few months have been horrible- I didn't want to admit to anyone that my perfect puppy turned into a disobedient nervous wreck. I socialized him, did everything right and he turned out wrong. He is now comes when he is called most of the time, leaves cats alone, only barks a little when people come over, and doesn't have accidents inside anymore. But it was hard and the only reason it happened was because I started to do online schooling so I could be with him 24/7 to fix his problems. He still is reactive to people out in public, and even goes after our horses still.
If you can't commit to being with your dog at least most of the time-especially during the first year or two of life-then don't get a PyreShep.
Nothing prepared me for this experience, not research on the computer or meeting them in real life. Everyone I met talked them up like crazy and I only met well behaved dogs. Remember this post before considering one, please!