Good fencing is essential to owning a Great Pyrenees. Pyrs need room. They should be confined to a spacious, well-fenced area or they will roam. Great Pyrenees have a powerful instinct to establish and patrol large territories—it comes naturally when your ancestors roamed the Great Pyrenees mountains. In-ground electric fencing is not recommended for Great Pyrenees. It may keep your dog in—if you are lucky. Keeping the contact points of a shock collar close enough to the skin is difficult with thick fur. Pyrs have a very high tolerance for pain, so may not flinch when they are shocked. An electric fence will not keep other dogs or critters (like skunks) out. Your neighbors’ dogs and cats may be at risk if they enter your Pyr’s electronic boundary, as well as any strangers.
We strongly urge owners never to leave their dogs outside when no one is home. Your dog may be tempted to escape (or, disapPyr). They could try to pursue a “predator” outside of the yard. Or, someone could enter the yard and leave a gate open. If the dog escapes, you won’t know until you get home and by then your dog could be miles away. If your dog is hit by a vehicle, it may be too late to find and save him/her. So please, fence them in and don’t leave your Pyrs unattended.
Great Pyrenees fencing can be practical and attractive. Chain-link and stockade fencing are effective, but horse fencing reinforced with wire, electric fencing and other fencing used to enclose livestock works well too. Six-foot no-climb woven wire fencing (right) can also work in agricultural or residential settings.
Here are some Pyr-tested fence solutions that work for most dogs. It’s up to you as the owner to know and monitor your dog outside. Some dogs can get a “toe-hold” at the bottom of the most secure fence and catapult themselves over. Other dogs may be inclined to dig under. We occasionally see Pyrs who don’t respect barriers and can scale 6-ft. fences if they can get a foothold on crossbar supports or in chainlink. Or they dig under the fence and squeeze out. See our pages for fencing solutions for these escape artists at climbers and diggers.
Even the most secure fence is useless if the gate latch is not closed. We strongly recommend using bungee cords to secure gates with simple fork latches to ensure they are completely closed and cannot be manipulated by dogs. Preferable locks are an automatic/self-latching latch exactly like this one: (because the fork latches can easily be knocked upright by these big dogs).
Another option is a type of heavy-duty gate latch that can also be used with a padlock; there also are “automatic” locks; slide and barrel style latches that could work, preferably placed high enough on the gate to prevent interference.
Whether you use chain link or woven-wire horse or farm/goat fencing, it should have a sturdy tension wire threaded through every other link at the bottom to keep it from being bent out when the dog is trying to squeeze or dig under. #7-gauge wire fencing is typical. This page from a fence company gives step-by-step instructions on installing the tension wire securely. The top should be stabilized as well, with a tension wire or steel bar.
Some people use hog panels tacked securely on the inside of split rail fencing and put concrete with rebar along the bottom. To discourage squeezing out or digging, if you don’t think a tension wire is sufficient, a heavy metal cable or rebar can be run along the bottom and fastened it to the fence post to hold it solid.
