The first book we purchased on the Great Pyrenees was a short but information-packed book recommended to us by members of the Great Pyrenees Club of America (GPCA). This book "Great Pyrenees: A Complete Pet Owner's Manual" by Walker is quite good and truly loaded with useful information.
Based upon the recommendation of Romy's breeder, Debbie Gates, we purchased Strang's classic "The New Complete Great Pyrenees". This book is a must for the serious Pyr fancier. I also recommend Mary Crane's classic work "The Great Pyrenees: Handbook of Breed History". Unless you are a collector, the reprint is a great choice. Stephen Budiansky's book, "The Truth about Dogs", was quite interesting. While I enjoyed a fresh and different perspective on dog behavior and enjoyed the book, I cannot say that I agree with all of his ideas. Regarding the working breeds --such as the Great Pyrenees-- Budiansky essentially states that the effectiveness of Livestock Guarding Dogs (LGD) is more a function of their 'goofi-ness' than any real ability to guard their charges. Well, if you have ever watched these dogs work (and learned the breed's history) then it becomes plain there is nothing goofy about a Pyr on patrol. If the coyote is not chased away then the Pyr will kill the predator outright. The fact they bark is to 1) alert the shepherd that something is wrong ("Hey...something is strange out here, come help!") and 2) scare off the predator. Surely, I will be accused of being bias or lacking objectivity on the above topic. In all honesty, there probably is some truth to this because I do love the breed. However, I also understand the breed, its history, and predator-prey ecology. In fact, much insight into LGD's was gained through a USDA publication titled "Livestock Guarding Dogs: Protecting Sheep from Predators". I highly recommend it. A very good book that explains the origin and function of livestock guardian dogs is Raymond and Lorna Coppinger's "Dogs". Changing gears just a bit, I have found several very good books for conformation enthusiasts. One is Robert Cole's "Developing an Eye for a Dog". Robert Cole is a dog show judge with great experience and an ability to not only assess dogs, but also to describe how others can more accurately assess the conformation of dogs. This is a very good book. I specifically recommend reading and studying his sections on balance. It was not until I read his book that I fully appreciated the meaning of this common term. If you are a movement person (meaning you find some joy in watching the beauty of a dog in motion) then Lyon's book "The Dog in Action" is one for you. While written quite some time ago, the concepts will never grow out of date. A third, excellent book on the subject of conformation deals with the term "type". This is Beauchamp's book which seems to have immediately become a classic as it is now quite rare. I was lucky enough to purchase one of the first copies and found it truly excellent. Surely one of the three best in this entire list. Mary Roslyn-Williams' book, now titled "Reaching for the Stars" is another of the top three books in this list. Her earnest candor is great advice for the breeder. "Canine Reproduction" is a very good reference for the breeder. There is plenty of scientific and also practical advice. We own several books on the topic of breeding, but consider none as valuable a reference as this one. Cesar Millan's dog training ideas are rather controversial amongst the community. I do not necessarily agree that he tactics should be used on all dogs but he certainly does have some very good ideas and advice. Surely we could all learn something by reading his book and thereby add that little something to our "training toolbox".
