Leslie Roden
New Tazewell, TN 37825
Home Phone: (423) 526-2093
Email: Dozergirl12@hotmail.com
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON HIP DYSPLASIA IN GREAT PYRENEES AND OFA TESTING
RODEN FARM
AKC Registered Great Pyrenees Dogs
Registered Texel Sheep
Commercial Sheep
RODEN'S MICRO SHEBEAR
Call Name: Sheba
This beautiful girl is out of the successful show lines of "Rivergroves" and "TenBears". Sheba's Hall of Fame Grandfather "Champion Rivergrove's Piece of the Rock is Pictured below. This outstanding guardian of my sheep did a phenomenal job of raising my next generation of guardians before someone else fell in love with her and talked me out of her. This extremely versatile girl is now serving as a therapy dog in Virginia.
This solid white girl produced many solid white pups and has the fantastic facial pigment which she always passed on to her offspring.
RODEN'S MICRO ANGEL GABRIEL (Gabe)
Gabe has been evaluated for hip dyspasia. He was certified "Good" by OFA. Gave is an OUTSTANDING livestock guardian. Gabe is extremely watchful. I often observe him at the highest vantage point in his field so he can oversee as much of the property as possible. One of his most valuable qualities is the way he checks each one of my sheep. Gabe will go around and smell each of the sheep. I think he is checking their health. Should he find one that is sick, he will stay close to that sheep. This is often how I locate my sick stock in his field. He is very attached to his sheep. Should I remove one from the field, he will pace the fence and cry for a good day. Gabe is a fierce defender of his flock. One day a large ferrell dog got in the fence. Gabe's battle wounds left him with a large slice in one ear and a mean scar on his muzzle, the ferrell dog was killed. We have never suffered a loss due to a predator since the addition of Pyrenees to our family. Gabe is not only a fantastic LGD, but also a sweet and often playful companion. He is tolerant of being bathed and will do anything we ask him to. He is very affectionate and always trying to get me to pet him when I am in the field checking the sheep. I love the way he bounces around like a puppy when I come to check him and the flock. If that isn't enough, Gabe is a stunning boy! He is absolutely dripping with coat. A Tibetan Mastiff would be jealous of his thick coat. His big bear head complements his heavy bone. While Gabe is not from show lines, his excellent, well balanced conformation convinced me to give him a chance in the show ring. Unfortunately, Gabe did NOT enjoy being at a dog show so I quickly dismissed the idea. Gabe has been a fantastic addition to our family and we are blessed to have him.
Hi Sierra:
AKC registered Sierra is the daughter of Sheba and Canuck. She is now what I consider my most effective Guardian. She has been in the field with sheep and learned how to protect her flock by both of her parents since she was 8 weeks old. Sierra checks the fence line more often than any of my LGD'S. When I don't find her checking the fence, she will ALWAYS be with her sheep. Wherever they choose to lay down and rest, she will be there with them. She also tends to be the first Guardian to see and respond to fence line threats. Her pedigree is just outstanding! Her Canadian Father, Canuck, is out of Limberlost lines in Canada which is the most successful Canadian Great Pyrenees line in history. Her Mother has Close Rivergroves Champions. Sierra is a very gentle, affectionate, intelligent little girl which makes her an ideal companion. Her intuitive sensitive nature makes her a quick study and she requires very little discipline. Sierra's outstanding show lines paid off giving her excellent structure. Her preliminary OFA texts came back with a grade of EXCELLENT!! Like her mother, Sierra is a solid white and has the best pigment I have ever seen in a solid white. I'm glad to know Sierra is guarding my very valuable livestock.
CANUCK
We imported this amazing boy from Canada. His OFA score was"Good". He has also produced at least one pup that we know of with Excellent hips. Double Champion bred, he has heavy numbers of Champion Limberlost dogs in his pedigree. The "Limberlost" kennel is the most successful Great Pyrenees show line in Canadian history and they continue to make new records. His father, Winningcolors, was the top show Pyrenees in Canada at the time that Canuck was born. Canuck will be starting his show career in January. I'll include a picture of him when he's clean then. Sorry for the grubby picture. I was in a hurry and he's been working!!! LOL!!! I'm confident he will finish quickly! Canuck is a powerful and formidable Guardian. He has a huge polar bear muzzle and is dripping with coat. His structure is my favorite quality of his. Watching him move across the field is impressive. He absolutely floats with perfect balance and movement. I'm excited about getting him in the show ring!
Below, Sheba teaching the kids to walk the fence line...
Hanging out with the sheep...
We no longer have Boar Goats
SASHA: (shown below and to the right)
This lovely girl is a daughter of Sheba and Gabe. She is an excellent Guard dog who is a gentle friend. Below is her puppy picture.
Hip Dysplasia is a common crippling genetic disorder which is found in many large breed dogs. It can cause arthritis and severe pain in the hip joint of dogs. If you are unfamiliar with the disease, it would well worth your time to do some research on it before adding a Great Pyrenees to your family. I could quote all the sites on causes, symptoms, and cures, but you would be better off just Googling "Hip Dysplasia" and "OFA" and getting your information directly from the experts.
Symptoms of Hip Dysplasia may not show up right away. They can, on the other hand show up by 6 months old and be so severe the dog will need surgery in the $1000.00 range just to be able to walk. Once a pup is 6 months old and part of the family, what choice do you have but to spend the money? On a more economic level, normally a Pyrenees will be at least 2 years old before it is mentally mature enough to be a reliable guardian. If arthritis caused by hip dysplasia sets in by the age of 3 and the dog is no longer able to effectively get around the field to protect your livestock, you have had only one year of service from your financial and time investment. You will be out looking for another guardian LONG before the dog should have been retired from service.
In my quest for quality guardians for my sheep, one of my questions was always, did you OFA your breeding stock and how did they grade? Many LGD and small breeders would respond with answers like "We have never had problems with hip dysplasia so we don't bother testing" or, "the x-ray process is very stressful on a dog and I don't want to put my dog through unnecessary anesthesia". These answers are nothing more than excuses. The truth is that getting an OFA evaluation is not only expensive, but also might reveal that you have a problem. My conclusion is that some of these breeders are liars, they simply don't want to know the quality of their dog's hips, and they don't want to spend the money getting the test done. Don't believe a breeder who states "I've never had problems". Make them prove it to you. The only breeders I found who responded with valid OFA test results were show breeders. Those are the people who are serious about producing superior quality dogs.
The dilemma that most livestock producers have in dealing with show breeders is that most show breeders want to have their dogs shown... When we first started looking for guardians for our sheep, I did not consider showing the Pyrs. Since I have been showing Yorkies for years and enjoy it so much, transitioning to showing the Pyrs is something I am able to do. As a livestock producer, I am in a rather unique position to be able to work with the requirements of show producers. I'm really looking forward to hitting the show circuit and getting in the ring with my Pyrs!
I hope you have found my thoughts helpful! Good luck in your pursuit of a high quality Great Pyrenees for your family.
HIP DYSPLASIA
Please go to www.WhiteKnightGuardians.com
to see new information on our Great Pyrenees and Anatolian Shepherds. Updated 12-19-17
