Many dog fanciers assume that all large European livestock guardians are Mastiffs, also known as Mollossers.  As a result, for many years the Great Pyrenees was assumed to have been brought to the Pyrenees with the Romans, who spread Mastiffs throughout their empire.  However, most modern dog experts, and particularly those who have studied the Great Pyrenees dispute this origin.  There are a number of large European breeds whose ancestors were unrelated to Mastiff, although they may have been bred with Mastiff-type dogs throughout the ages.  These breeds tend to be very ancient, most being hundreds, if not thousands of years old.  Because these dogs are more wolf-like than most Mollossers, they have become known as Lupomollossoids, lupus being Latin for wolf.

At this point, it is unclear what breeds constitute the Lupomollossoids, what the connection between them is.  Breeds which are most commonly considered to be Lupomollossoids are the Pyrenean Mountain Dog, the Tatra Mountain Sheepdog of Poland, the Akbash Dog of Turkey, and the Kuvasz of Hungary.  Other breeds which are sometimes considered to be Lupomollossoids are the Maremma Sheepdog of Italy, the various Owtcharka breeds of the Caucasus Mountains, and possibly the Komondor of Hungary.  These are all ancient, large livestock guarding breeds, and with the exception of the Great Pyrenees and the Maremma Sheepdog are native to Eastern Europe and Asia Minor.

When and where the Lupomollossoids originated is something of a mystery.  Although it was certainly thousands of years ago, and most likely in what is now the Middle East or Southern Russia.  It was in this area that humans first began to practice agriculture around 10,000 years ago.  This allowed for more food security, greater populations, and settled life.  However, it also created new problems.  One of the major problems was that sheep and goats which are kept in pens or in tight herds in open pastures are highly vulnerable to predation from creatures such as the wolf or bear.  Shepherds could not watch their flocks 24 hours a day, and needed assistance.  Luckily, the dog had been domesticated from the wolf several thousand years earlier and had been serving as a loyal guardian ever since.  The wolf is naturally protective towards its pack members, and regularly defends its territory and pack mates from the assault of outsiders, even other wolves.  The dog has these same instincts, only it has been bred to accept humans and livestock as its pack members.

The early farmers bred those dogs which showed the greatest protective instincts and pack loyalty until they had animals which were excellent protectors.  They also bred the largest specimens until their dogs were the same size as, or considerably larger than the wolf.  This created a race of dogs which was both fiercely protective and physically capable of providing defense against large predators and marauding humans.  As agriculture spread from the Middle East across Europe, these early farmers likely brought their livestock guarding dogs with them.  While the exact date of when agriculture reached the Pyrenees is unknown, by 6,000 years ago sheep and goat herding was so prevalent that it had dramatically altered the landscape.

These early farmers definitely used some type of livestock guarding dog.  Whether these dogs were brought from elsewhere such as the Middle East, or developed from local dogs will probably never be known.  The truth is most likely some combination of the two.  It will also probably never be known whether these earliest guardians were the ancestors of the modern day Great Pyrenees.  However, there are many reasons to believe that this might be the case.  If the Great Pyrenees is not a Mastiff, which appears to be the case, it would have almost certainly been developed prior to the introduction of the Mastiff into the region by the Romans.  Additionally, there are incredibly similar breeds of ancient origin found in other areas.  The Maremma Sheepdog almost certainly predates the Roman Empire, as do the Owtcharkas and the Akbash Dog.  It is very likely that at one time Lupomollossoids were predominant over Europe, but were eventually largely replaced with Mastiff-type dogs.  Lupomollossoid breeds survived in remote areas.  It would not be unusual for a remnant population of dogs to survive in the Pyrenees.  In many ways, history has passed this region by.  The Basque people have been in the region for so many thousands of years that their language now has no surviving relatives.  These mountains are the last home for animals that died out centuries or millennia elsewhere in Europe such as the Wolf, Bear, Ibex, and Desman.  Perhaps most tellingly, several other dog breeds from the region have remained virtually unchanged since time immemorial, such as the Pyrenean Shepherd, Pyrenean Mastiff, and Grand Bleu de Gascogne.

There is a great deal of debate and discussion as to what Lupomollosoid breeds were the direct ancestors of which.  For example, many believe that the Kuvasz is the ancestor of the Great Pyrenees or vice versa.  However, given the wide ranging geographical origin and ancient existence of most of these breeds, it is likely that no current breed is the ancestor of any other, but rather that they are all descended from the same ancestors, making them distant cousins.

Whenever these dogs first arrived in the area, they quickly proved themselves invaluable.  The Pyrenees Mountains have always been home to large predators, which have survived in the remote mountain slopes and valleys in greater numbers than almost anywhere else in Western Europe.  Additionally, there have periodically been human bandits in the region which would prey upon the flocks.  Every aspect of the Great Pyrenees has been developed to maximize the breeds livestock protection abilities.  The breed’s size allows it to battles wolves, and even sometimes bears.  The protective instincts have been honed over many millennia.  The Great Pyrenees’ loud bark helps to alert its masters and scare off potential attackers.  The dog’s white fur was most likely selected to allow shepherds to easily distinguish the dog from marauding gray and black wolves at night. 

In many regions, the Great Pyrenees would have had to serve as both a guardian and a herder.  However, Pyrenean farmers have long kept another breed, the Pyrenean Shepherd, for this purpose.  Perhaps nowhere else in the world have two dogs breeds had such an effect on the development of the other with so very little interbreeding; cohabitating and working the same lands over the course of centuries.  The small Pyrenean Shepherd, or Berger des Pyrenees was solely responsible for the herding of flocks, allowing the Great Pyrenees to be solely responsible for flock protection.  This division of responsibilities allowed breeders to focus their efforts on creating highly specialized dogs that excelled at their given duties; either herding or protection, without the worry of losing effectiveness in either category by trying to create a more well rounded dog to do both.  A similar partnership among breeds can be seen in Hungary, with the Komondor replacing the Great Pyrenees and the Puli replacing the Pyrenean Shepherd.

For many centuries, the Great Pyrenees remained a flock guardian of the remote mountains.  As a result, very few, if any mentions of the breed are made in medieval literature.  Eventually, the local French nobility began to realize that this dedicated guardian of livestock would also make a dedicated guardian of their estates.  One of the first written mentions of the Great Pyrenees describes this practice.  In 1407, French writers commented on the usefulness of the, “Great Dogs of the Mountains,” in guarding strategic forts in the Pyrenees Mountains, most importantly the Chateau Fort de Lourdes. 

One of the first books written specifically for the breed; Monsieur Eugene Byasson’s 1907 work, “Le Chien des Pyrenees” (Pyrenean Mountain Dog), tells the story of the 1675 visit by Louis of France, (the French Dauphin, or Crown Prince and son of Louis XIV) to the small town of Bareges in south-western France. While enjoying the warm mineral springs common to the area, 14 year old Louis, came upon and fell in love with a Great Pyrenees that frequented the area; referred to as “Le patou” at this time, these specially bred sheep protection dogs were used by local shepherds to counter attacks by wolves.  When it was time to return home, Louis arranged for the dog to be brought back to the Louvre with him and subsequently honored his new friend by adopting the breed as the Royal Dog of France.

Largely inspired by the Dauphin’s pet, the Marquis Louvois went to Bareges two years later to acquire a Great Pyrenees for himself.  The dog which he brought back to the royal court was said to be exceptionally beautiful, and caused even more of a stir among the French nobility than even the Dauphin’s dog had. Over the course of the 1700’s, the Great Pyrenees became the preferred guardian of French Estate owners.  These dogs loyally protected their masters’ property across the entire French nation.  By 1808, French writers were describing markets in the Pyrenees which were essentially dedicated to Great Pyrenees adults and puppies.  Mountain shepherds were said to be guaranteed to make money as long as their dogs were purebreds.  This may be the first instance of what is now known as a puppy-mill.  Although the breed remained primarily in France, some were exported to other nations during the 1800’s by visitors who were impressed by these large protective dogs.  In 1850, Queen Victoria possessed a Great Pyrenees, and in 1870, the Great Pyrenees was used to help restore the Saint Bernard after its population was devastated by distemper and avalanches.  1885 brought the first registrations of Great Pyrenees with the Kennel Club (UK) and the first exhibition of the breed at the Crystal Palace dog show. 

As was common among dog breeds of the time, the Great Pyrenees initially exhibited a great deal more variation than it does today.  As late as 1874, the magazine “L’Acclimation” described three distinct varieties of the Chien des Montagne, or Great Pyrenees.  There was a Chien des Pyrenees Occidentales, or West Pyrenean Dog.  These dogs were known for being white and black and having a heavy muzzle, hanging lips, and rounded ears.  There was also a Chien des Pyrenees Orientales, or East Pyrenean Dog.  These dogs are more similar to the modern Great Pyrenees, having white coats with tan or grey markings, a more refined muzzle, and pointed ears.  “L’Acclimation” tells of a third variety that was native to the area around Andorra; that variety was either thought to be extremely rare or possibly extinct.

By the end of the 1800’s, poor breeding and a decline in predator populations had begun to take its toll on both the quality and need of the Great Pyrenees breed.  In 1907, two different breed clubs were founded to promote and protect the Great Pyrenees. The Pastour Club founded at Cauterets by Dr. Moulonguet, J. Camajou, Monsieur Bernard Sénac-Lagrange, and Baron A. de la Chevrelièrea; and the Argelès or Pyrenean Dog Club founded at Argelès-Gazost by Count Henri de Bylandt, Monsieur Théodore Dretzen, and Monsieur Eugene Byasson.  The two clubs searched for the best examples of the breed throughout France, but particularly in the Pyrenees Mountains.

World War I decimated the Great Pyrenees population, as it did that of many French dog breeds. The war also brought about the dissolution of both the Pastour and Argelès clubs as well. French fanciers led by Monsieur Senac-Lagrange combined the remnants of the two earlier clubs to form the Reunion des Amateurs des Chiens Pyrenees (RACP) in 1923.  The club, which is still active today was designed to protect and promote both the Great Pyrenees and the Pyrenean Shepherd, and created standards for both in 1927. Beginning in 1935, Jeanne Harper Trois Fontaines, began to export dogs around the world from her Fontenay Kennel in Amsterdam.  She is largely credited with the popularity of the Great Pyrenees outside of France.  During World War II, most of France was occupied by German forces.  This led to devastation for both the French people and their native dogs.  The Great Pyrenees population suffered even more greatly than it had in the First World War.  It would again be Senac-Lagrange who would take the lead in the post war restoration of the breed. 

The first Great Pyrenees to reach North America, did so with Basque Fishermen destined for Newfoundland in 1662.  These dogs were intended to be companions and guardians of the settlement.  Although it has long been debated, there is a belief that these dogs were major contributors to the development of the Newfoundland Dog, and in fact gave the Landseer the white and black coat for which it is famous.  There may be some credibility to this possibility, given that black and white coated Great Pyrenees were known to exist in the western Pyrenees where the Basques have historically dwelt. The first known Great Pyrenees in the United States came ashore in 1824, when General Lafayette gave two males to his friend J.S. Skinner.  The first Great Pyrenees bred in America came from the Basquarie Kennels in Needham, Massachusetts.  The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Francis V. Crane, imported dogs for their breeding program from 1931 until the outbreak of World War II.  The American Kennel Club (AKC) first granted the breed recognition in February, 1933.  The United Kennel Club (UKC) followed after the conclusion of World War II in 1949.  The Great Pyrenees Club of America (GPCA) was founded to protect and promote the Great Pyrenees breed by the Cranes in 1934 and was recognized by the AKC in 1935.  These North American breeding programs would prove instrumental in preserving the breed as they imported pre-war breeding stock out of Europe before the Continent was closed by World War II. These descendants of these dogs would then be exported back to Europe postwar for use in breeding programs to rebuild the breed there.

Today you can still find the Great Pyrenees present in their ancestral mountains, protecting flocks of sheep as they have for millennia.  More recently, the breed has been experimented with as a means of predator control in the American West, tasked with defense against marauding coyotes, cougars, and the recently reintroduced wolf.  Studies conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture have indicated that the Great Pyrenees is the most successful breed at reducing livestock losses, as well as being less likely to injure sheep or humans.  Some Great Pyrenees still work as property guardians as well, although this task has been primarily taken over by other breeds such as the Rottweiler and the Belgian Mallinois.  Despite the fact that most Great Pyrenees remain able to readily perform these tasks, the majority of today’s Great Pyrenees are either show dogs or companion animals.  These gentle and protective dogs make wonderful companions for many families and new uses are still being found for this breed, including search and rescue work and as therapy dogs.  The breed’s population has largely rebounded from the World Wars, especially in France and the United States.  According to the AKC’s list of most popular dogs for 2010, the Great Pyrenees is in 71st place out of 167 recognized breeds.