There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to breeds of dog. We chose the Great Pyrenees for our family because the breed matches our lifestyle very well. Learning this however, was an experience that took a great deal of time.

Many years ago I avidly hunted waterfowl and upland game. My choice of breed at that time was a Laborador Retriever named Kelly. With years of obedience, gun-dog training, and "on-the-job" experience, Kelly became a phenomenal bird dog excelling at upland game in the thickets of Northern Wisconsin. Kelly died at age 13 on the eve of Ruffed Grouse season's opening day.

After getting married and moving "out west" my lifestyle changed. I no longer hunted in earnest and we had a family. With bird hunting out of the picture, we decided that a sporting breed may not be the right choice for us. Another way we looked at it was that now the whole world of purebreed dogs was available to us.

Where to start? Well, like many, I turned to the Internet to do some preliminary research. What follows is our recipe for success!