So Smart!

by Alisha
(Ontario, Canada)


Our first pyr was a revelation. We had a lab mix when we adopted her and thought we had a good handle on training. Our breeder was excellent at giving us a heads up and giving us training tips, but we thought "how hard can it be". Luckily we read the books she told us to read and we avoided disaster. Drifter was a willful, intelligent and incredibly special girl.
We found out how smart she was after we introduced her to one of our neighbors when she was 8 months. Every time he would try and pet her she would slink out of his reach. You could see her sizing him up and she didnt like what she saw. It perplexed me because I had never seen her like that and as far as I knew he was a great guy, who loved animals.
A few months later that same man, a farmer, was charged with animal cruelty, for letting several of his dairy cows starve to death in their stanchions.
From that day on I took her reaction to people very seriously.
She was my very special friend and even after 6 years I still miss her ever day.

Comments for So Smart!

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Dec 24, 2013
Dog people
by: Anonymous

Never trust a person that doesn't like dogs and always trust a dog that doesn't like a person.

Jan 04, 2014
Yeap Doggie knows.
by: HTan

Yeap, pyrs to me are actually smarter than some people even! Mine learned tricks without misunderstanding the concept in around 3-4 tries. Potty trained in 3-5 days (dad says 3, I say 5).

Anyhoo... just wanted to share something someone said while Roman and his ACD played together.

He says: "If my dog don't like a person, he won't like that person either."

Thought that was appropraite to your story.

Mar 17, 2014
A pyre is as smart as you let bim be!
by: Ed A New Jersey

In the summer when we are done with our work Beau likes to sit in our front lawn (yes he finally stopped roaming because he took a second job.) After school when the kids get home they play on the block, basket ball, frizzbee or just fooling around. When the mailman comes Beau barely notices him as he pats his head and moves on. But as a stranger enters the block Beau pops up and positions himself between the strangers and his flock of kids. He will just kind of drift in the same direction the stranger is moving to insure always being between the stranger and his kids. I never taught him this and while our block is very safe I have found out from the moms most of the younger kids on the blocks curfew is when Beau come in. They all say he is the mayor of the block.

Jan 23, 2015
yes, they are smart!
by: Kim

Similar thing happened to me with my first Pyr. He loved everyone. One day, we got a new neighbor, Cozy went ballistic any time he saw this guy. It was all I could do to keep him under control on a leash when this guy walked by. Mind you, this same dog would instantly lie down when approached by the two toddlers next door and would happily let them climb on and sit on him like a pony. About two years later, the neighbor that Cozy would not tolerate was arrested (and later convicted) of multiple counts of sexually molesting children. To this day, if any Pyr of mine does not like someone, I listen.

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