OK, we’re a day early. But, who else wants to join us in wishing our livestock guardian dog a happy birthday! Jadzia was born March 10, 2021, which means she turns 1 year old tomorrow. And, as we celebrate this momentous occasion, we can’t help but feel great pride for our great Pyrenees puppy.
She’s Growing So Fast
It took until February, but one of the big milestones for Jadzia happened last month when she broke the 90 pound mark. Seeing as she is a year old now, this means she’s pretty much hit her upper weight. Of course, she still has a lot of maturing to do as a dog, which is why she’ll still be considered a puppy until she gets another year of experience under her belt.
Despite this, she has matured immensely, even just in 2022. Sure, she still has her moments when a command to “sit” takes 15 seconds. And, she might still jump on a new human she meets (man that puppy energy is strong). But, especially since getting our Nigerian dwarf goats, she has proven to be well-trained and demonstrated extraordinary instinct in handling her new charges.
Doing Livestock Guardian Things
It seems fitting that this past weekend we opened up the gate between Jadzia and our goat herd as well. Yes, we spent the better part of both Saturday and Sunday outside with the four animals to make sure they interacted well. And, we could not have been happier with the result.
In fact, Delilah was the only one who really seemed to have any big problems. But, even her heart seemed to soften as they hung out more. And, with just a few instances where we needed to correct Jadzia’s behavior, we’re hopeful the whole herd will be finding comfort in our big fluffy great Pyrenees soon. For now, we’re still keeping an eye on them, but so far they seem to be getting along great!
Other March Birthdays
Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t point out that March is also when we got our backyard chickens. While we’re not 100% sure what day they were born, they were only a matter of days old when we got them, so it’s safe to estimate they are only a few days older than Jadzia (at most). Perhaps with that in mind we should say happy birthday to our entire flock as well! And, you can bet they got some extra mealworms to celebrate the occasion.
Will we Breed Great Pyrenees Puppies?
Not sure if you were expecting that question, but it’s heavy on our minds lately. Upfront, we want to make it clear that if we talk to our vet and there’s any health concerns that come up in her physical this year, we won’t. Whether it’s the all-too-common hip dysplasia or there’s any sort of health reason that might make her ill-fitted to raise puppies, we wouldn’t consider it ethical to breed Jadzia.
However, if she does continue to demonstrate a clean bill of health and extraordinary protective instincts, it would seem unfair NOT to breed her. She’s proving to be a great livestock guardian dog, so if we can produce other great Pyrenees for other homesteaders to have protecting their property, why shouldn’t we?
Well, there may be some reasons not to, but we wanted to raise this question for our readers. Mainly, to let you know we’re considering this option. Regardless of what path we take, we’ll keep you updated after we get her checked off with a clean bill of health. For now, join us in wishing her and our chickens a very happy birthday month! Until next time, we’ll see you around the homestead.