Maddie the wonderful Nanny

by Judith
(Victoria BC)

Ever since we first decided to get a Great Pyrenees I have been reading this site, laughing over the Frank stories and others. So I decided to tell you about our pyr, Maddie. She is now a year old, entering adolescence I think...amusing if you have had lots of sleep, but I digress.

Last Christmas our children and their families came out to Victoria from Ontario for three weeks. Maddie was then just over three months old and we were concerned over having very young children around her and her teeth. Our attempts to get her to stop using us as teething toys were somewhat unsuccessful - indeed we were mostly covered in bandaids or scars so our concerns were real.

Imagine our delight when our four grandchildren showed up and Maddie adored them. They climbed over her, hugged her, gave her toys and took them away and not a tooth ever showed. At each meal one grandchild was given the job of feeding her. The chosen dog trainer would give firm "sit" then after waiting for her to decide to obey would make her wait a few seconds and give the signal that she was allowed to eat. Even the three year old was in the rotation. She loved the children, would climb onto their beds (she liked the inflatables best) and snuggle down beside them. She followed them, pounced along beside them outside, played on the beach and was a perfect babysitter.

We have really enjoyed our year, love her dearly, but have abandoned wearing black and plan to invest in the stock market - in companies that sell vacuum bags.