Breed History
The Great Pyrenees descends from a great white dog that was used to herd and guard sheep in central Europe and Asia Minor during the Bronze Age....
Roughly 5000 years ago, these dogs were brought to the Pyrenees Mountains in southwestern France, and it is here that the dog would grow and develop as a breed. For thousands of years, these dogs were used exclusively to guard the flocks of nomadic shepherds. During the Middle Ages, Great Pyrenees were brought out of the mountains and put to work guarding forts, castles and estates in France. By the 17th century the dog had found favor with the French aristocracy, and was particularly popular with Louis XIV, who named the Great Pyrenees the Royal Dog of France in 1675. Many believe that the Great Pyrenees made it to Newfoundland around this time, where it may have been a progenitor of the Newfoundland breed. General Lafayette introduced two Great Pyrenees to America in 1824, though the breed did not catch on there until the 1930s. Back in France the dog had fallen out of favor with the aristocracy, and once again the only place to find Great Pyrenees of good stock was in the Pyrenees Mountains themselves. By the early 20th century, foreign interest had once again called the Great Pyrenees out of the mountains, and in 1930 a steady stream of the breed was entering America. The American Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1933. Today the Great Pyrenees is most often seen as a companion, though it is still used as a flock guard dog by some farmers and shepherds.