Sergeant York

We, that is myself, my wife and 4 children, adopted a Great Pyrenees Black Lab mix when he was just a pup. We named him Sergeant York. He was always strong willed and a bit difficult to train. He got a hold on a pork roast one night when he was about a year old and wouldn't let me near him. He had a great meal and I didn't begrudge him his snack but I did realize then that he could be a monster. We then set out to do the best we could to train and socialize him. A bit late perhaps but mostly successful. I didnt do the proper reasearch when we adopted Serge, but after I realized his breeding we tried to minimize the potential aggression. He is a protective giant of a dog with loyally that never stops.

He almost ran himself to death one Fourth of July. We live in Missouri where the temperature in July often is 100 degrees with high humidity. We always have guests and that year we had about 30 children playing baseball in a 3 acre field. He had always patrolled our 6 acre lot and sat and watched our kids play but on that day which all the extra kids to watch he had a difficult time keeping them all under his watch. He ran and patrolled until he passed out from exhaustion under the shade of a big oak tree. When I found him he could barley stand. I got him inside and he has fully recovered. We dont let him out anymore on the fourth and he seems content to find a quiet corner inside and spend the day resting.

He also displayed his breeding one day with our trash collector. We have always let him roam off his leash but with a shock collar. He rarely, never anymore, needs a shock but responds to just the beeping of the collar and comes to heel right away when he hears the beep. He responds a little slower and with an almost disappointed frustrating look when he is called to heel and really doesnt want to. He always does but always on his schedule. Our trash collector changed his schedule one day and we were unaware of the change. Serge was out patrolling when he came. My son make a mad dash to get the last of the trash out before it was too late. Serge followed closely behind, watching intently to make sure there was no threat. No barking or any sign of trouble and my son delivered the last of the trash just in time. Then it happened. The trash man saw Serge and was startled, and made an unexpected and quick movement away from Serge and toward my son. Serge took it as a threat and took what I'm sure he thought was an appropriate response to the "threat" on his charge. Without warning and in a split second he leaped, or reallly just stood on his back legs and nipped the trash man on his shoulder. He barely cut the skin after ripping a small hole in his shirt. That was enough for the trash man and thankfully he responded with extraordinary calm and simply stood still and slowly backed away from my son. Serge took his place right next to my son and never made another move toward the man. My son came back inside with Serge right behind him. We learned the lesson the hard way to never allow Serge outside without supervision when visitors are arriving. The trash collector was very gracious and never asked for anything other than proof of proper shots. Serge is still faithfully patrolling, guarding and watching over his charge. We love Serge and he loves us. He is usually calm, collected, and gentle but always aware of whats going on and always ready to protect.