Great Pyrenees Twin Finder: 290 in the Pool

To find your Great Pyrenees' twin, upload one clear photo to PetMatch and the model compares your dog's face against the 290 Great Pyrenees already in the pool, returning the real dog whose face sits closest to yours. The white double coat is what a thumbnail shows. The match leans on the head under that coat: a wedge with no apparent stop, dark almond eyes, and small V-shaped ears carried low and flat.

A wedge with no stop

The American Kennel Club standard, approved June 12, 1990 and effective August 1, 1990, treats a correct head and expression as essential. The head is not heavy in proportion to the size of the dog. It is wedge shaped, with a slightly rounded crown. The expression is elegant, intelligent, and contemplative.

The eyes are medium sized and almond shaped, set slightly obliquely, and rich dark brown, with close-fitting lids and black rims. The ears are small to medium, V-shaped with rounded tips, set on at eye level, and normally carried low, flat, and close to the head. A characteristic meeting of the hair of the upper and lower face forms a line from the outer corner of the eye to the base of the ear.

The muzzle is about as long as the back skull, and the skull is about as wide as it is long. It blends smoothly, with flat cheeks and enough fill under the eyes. A slight furrow sits between the eyes, and there is no apparent stop. The lips fit tight, the upper just covering the lower, and the nose and lips are black. A scissors bite is preferred. A level bite is acceptable.

A too-heavy head, which the standard calls St. Bernard or Newfoundland-like, is a fault. So are a foxy appearance, an apparent stop, and missing pigment on the nose, eye rims, or lips.

Height at the withers is 27 to 32 inches for dogs and 25 to 29 inches for bitches. A 27 inch dog weighs about 100 pounds, and a 25 inch bitch weighs about 85 pounds. The dog is of medium substance, and the coat deceives anyone who does not feel the bone and muscle. A face photo shows none of that size.

A white double coat, shorter on the face

The weather-resistant double coat has a long, flat, thick outer coat of coarse hair, straight or slightly undulating, over a dense, fine, woolly undercoat. It is more profuse about the neck and shoulders, forming a ruff or mane that is more pronounced in males. The hair on the face and ears is shorter and of finer texture. Correctness of coat matters more than abundance. A curly coat is a fault. A stand-off coat, which the standard names as Samoyed type, is a fault.

Color is white, or white with markings of gray, badger, reddish brown, or varying shades of tan. Those markings may appear on the ears, the head (including a full face mask), the tail, and as a few body spots. All of those are equally correct. Outer coat markings covering more than one third of the body are a fault. A clean white face and a badger or tan mask put different borders on the same wedge.

What the matcher keys on

PetMatch matches on facial geometry and pattern rather than a breed label. For a Great Pyrenees the strongest signals are the wedge with no apparent stop, the oblique almond eyes, the black rims and lips, the low flat ears, the shorter face hair, and whether a mask or an ear marking breaks the white.

Great Pyrenees or Samoyed?

The pools stay separate: these 290 Great Pyrenees, and 349 Samoyeds. The Samoyed standard, approved August 10, 1993 and effective September 29, 1993, calls for longer, harsh outer hair that stands straight out from the body and is free from curl. That stand-off coat is the coat the Great Pyrenees standard faults. Samoyed ears are strong, thick, erect, and triangular, slightly rounded at the tips and set well apart. Great Pyrenees ears hang low, flat, and close to the head.

The Samoyed stop is well defined. The Great Pyrenees has no apparent stop. Samoyed lips curve slightly up at the corners, the "Samoyed smile." Great Pyrenees lips stay tight. Samoyed color is pure white, white and biscuit, cream, or all biscuit, and any other color is a disqualification, as are blue eyes. Gray, badger, reddish brown, and tan markings are correct on a Great Pyrenees.

The Great Pyrenees vs Samoyed post covers size, tail, and the two jobs. The Samoyed twin finder covers the erect-eared white dog.

When the twin is a mix

A mixed-breed dog that kept the wedge, the absent stop, the dark almond eyes, and the low flat ears can place ahead of the Great Pyrenees. The model is matching the face in the photo, not guessing at a pedigree. Mixed Breed holds 10,187 of the 53,124 pets across 70 breeds.

A photo that shows the drop ears and the rims

Shoot head-on at eye level in open shade, mouth closed, so both eyes, the black rims, and the base of each ear stay in the frame. Leave the ears as the dog carries them. Open shade keeps a white coat from blowing out and keeps a badger or tan mask from losing its border.