Golden Retriever Dog Forums banner

Golden Retriever or Golden Pyrenees?

8K views 34 replies 27 participants last post by  PrincessDi 
#1 ·
I found an apparently older golden retriever at a local SPCA. I would love to share all the details of finding him, but it would fill pages and pages. Basically he was an abandoned dog found loose wandering the streets. He and I clicked and now he is mine, or I really should say, he has chosen to stay with me. This is one big dog. Last weighed in at 85 pounds prior to becoming accustomed to regular meals after coming to my house. His paws are huge, his head is heavy, his coat is pale and he has creamy markings on his body, legs, feet and what appears to be the mask of an older dog. His teeth are great. This dog, Cyrus, is amazing. AMAZING. He is gentle, playful, quiet, loves to put his paws on my shoulders and stare into my eyes. Never fights with other dogs in fact trips trying to get away. NEVER FETCHES! Totally indifferent to tennis balls, sticks, any throw toys. Will amuse himself when I am busy by tossing a rope chew into the air and catching it. When he chooses to bark it is a thunderous deep roar. He stands in the yard still and surveys the territory in and outside the fence. He simply adores the snow. He likes to lie in it for even hours if I let him. He likes to roll around in it. He has selective hearing when it comes to commands and prefers to stand in the yard at watch than to come in. Sometimes I feel like I am the first person to tell him his home is indoors with me, the person in his life. Once he wanted to follow me to the car and climbed over the 3 foot picket fence to get to me. I said in a quiet and sensitively stern voice, No, Cyrus, you have to stay in the fence. Since then he never, never attempts to get out regardless of the temptations which go by. So. Is my wonderful companion a large Golden Retriever? Or is he a mix with the reputedly independent and gentle Great Pyrenees? Do Goldens adore the snow and lie in it until forced to leave? Do some Goldens ignore tennis balls? Anybody know about the mix of Goldens and Great Pyrs? I read they are called Golden Pyrenees.
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#31 ·
My sweet angel, Cyrus

A bit more detail for those who love dog tales... I gave up a 3 year old English Shepherd Dog because of major health problems at home, a teen age daughter dx'd with CP and Bipolar disorder who was just going through repeated hospitalizations and when at home was violent and angry. And my mother at the same time was suddenly severely demented, yelling in the halls of my parents condo, and also had to be hospitalized. I essentially shut down. It was all I could do to help everyone, including my father who was looking so frail, I was worried. So I worked with a rescue and found a home for my very active herding dog who would curl in a ball when my daughter raged through the house. I was devastated. She was my sunshine, who understood what needed to be done before I told her. But she was so anxious and I was not living up to her needs. Three months of grieving and my daughter is now out of the house in a residential placement for independent young adults. My mom is back home from her stay in a memory unit in a retirement community. My dad is strong. There are professionals surrounding my daughter to help her when she slips. And I still was having night mares about my lost English Shepherd. So I started slowly looking at Petfinder for an older but active dog with a steady nature. One day, the day before Thanksgiving, I saw his picture. I called the SPCA and spoke to someone who knew him. I found out he had been rescued off the streets where he seemed to have been living for a while, that he was housebroken, and good natured and they thought a senior. I went over the day after Thanksgiving and met him. He was very very anxious leaping in the air about 7 feet, well above my head and arms. He could not focus on anything, not on me, not on the other people or dogs, he just barked and leapt in the air. So I asked if I could take him to a quiet spot and they put him on a leash and directed me through the snowy yard to an area away from the hub bub. First I told him to sit. And he sat. Then someone would walk by and he would leap into the air looking all around. This was repeated numerous times, but then I asked him to heel and we walked to a small animal graveyard adjacent the SPCA. He needed me to make him heel, but he did it without too much fuss. I took him over to a bench and sat down and asked him to sit close so I could stroke him. It was a time of really deep reflection for me. I sat and stroked his massive head and wondered if he would connect to me. He leaned on my legs and let me pet him. I wondered if I was ready for another love, still hurting from losing my ES. It was major cold and I felt at peace sitting in the quiet with him. I just felt the decision come to me to take him home. As I have said before he did not eat for over 3 days, I had to coax him too. He is still nervous when I raise my hand over his head to touch him and will stop me by grabbing and holding my hand in his mouth with absolutely no pressure at all. Not sure how to handle that, but my thoughts are that he was struck in his past. He has an old scar under the fur of his nuzzle and he will panic if I move suddenly in his direction. So I am just being as gentle and firm as I can. He is a goofball and rolls around in a pretzel on his back and loves to be scratched. I have two little old dogs who he more or less ignores and the same for my cats. He can be trusted not to run away off leash and comes when called. So what could have happened to him? It hurts to imagine.
 
#35 ·
A bit more detail for those who love dog tales... I gave up a 3 year old English Shepherd Dog because of major health problems at home, a teen age daughter dx'd with CP and Bipolar disorder who was just going through repeated hospitalizations and when at home was violent and angry. And my mother at the same time was suddenly severely demented, yelling in the halls of my parents condo, and also had to be hospitalized. I essentially shut down. It was all I could do to help everyone, including my father who was looking so frail, I was worried. So I worked with a rescue and found a home for my very active herding dog who would curl in a ball when my daughter raged through the house. I was devastated. She was my sunshine, who understood what needed to be done before I told her. But she was so anxious and I was not living up to her needs. Three months of grieving and my daughter is now out of the house in a residential placement for independent young adults. My mom is back home from her stay in a memory unit in a retirement community. My dad is strong. There are professionals surrounding my daughter to help her when she slips. And I still was having night mares about my lost English Shepherd. So I started slowly looking at Petfinder for an older but active dog with a steady nature. One day, the day before Thanksgiving, I saw his picture. I called the SPCA and spoke to someone who knew him. I found out he had been rescued off the streets where he seemed to have been living for a while, that he was housebroken, and good natured and they thought a senior. I went over the day after Thanksgiving and met him. He was very very anxious leaping in the air about 7 feet, well above my head and arms. He could not focus on anything, not on me, not on the other people or dogs, he just barked and leapt in the air. So I asked if I could take him to a quiet spot and they put him on a leash and directed me through the snowy yard to an area away from the hub bub. First I told him to sit. And he sat. Then someone would walk by and he would leap into the air looking all around. This was repeated numerous times, but then I asked him to heel and we walked to a small animal graveyard adjacent the SPCA. He needed me to make him heel, but he did it without too much fuss. I took him over to a bench and sat down and asked him to sit close so I could stroke him. It was a time of really deep reflection for me. I sat and stroked his massive head and wondered if he would connect to me. He leaned on my legs and let me pet him. I wondered if I was ready for another love, still hurting from losing my ES. It was major cold and I felt at peace sitting in the quiet with him. I just felt the decision come to me to take him home. As I have said before he did not eat for over 3 days, I had to coax him too. He is still nervous when I raise my hand over his head to touch him and will stop me by grabbing and holding my hand in his mouth with absolutely no pressure at all. Not sure how to handle that, but my thoughts are that he was struck in his past. He has an old scar under the fur of his nuzzle and he will panic if I move suddenly in his direction. So I am just being as gentle and firm as I can. He is a goofball and rolls around in a pretzel on his back and loves to be scratched. I have two little old dogs who he more or less ignores and the same for my cats. He can be trusted not to run away off leash and comes when called. So what could have happened to him? It hurts to imagine.
I'm so glad that you have given Cyrus a home and all the love that this beautiful guy deserves! He is such a beautiful boy. It is amazing what love and a safe home can do in time. It is so tragic that there is so much abuse of defenseless animals. Particularly goldens.
 
#32 ·
Sounds as if he needs you just as much as you do him. Our rescue Cody we knew came from a very neglected and ( probably) abusive backround. I don't know that it ever leaves them ,but I know with tons of love, attention and time, they love and bond so strongly it is almost not to be believed. You are both blessed to have one another. And just remember that no matter what his past was, he lives in the moment so do your best to try to be there with him. Enjoy every day, every hour that you are together filled with positives.
 
#34 ·
He's a lovely dog. With time, patience and consistency, he will learn to trust. You might try some desensitizing exercises, such as when you lift your hand over his head, be sure to drop a treat. He will come to associate your overhead hand with good things, rather than whatever experiences have made him hand shy. Go slowly. You want his trust in you to build over time, and trying to rush the process never really solidifies the relationship. It's wonderful that you found one another....
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top