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The Digital Photo of Sunny perched on the rock outcropping in our yard took First Place in the 2008 El Dorado County Fair Photography Competition this year. It will be on display there through Sunday 6/15/08. . The photo, completely unmodified from it's original format, was taken with a Nikon D50 in our yard last winter, and appears on our SacPaws site, as well as a few others taken at home. Those who know Sunny, know her exuberance for life makes her not the easiest dog to photograph, but every now and then we catch her in repose. I think Pyrs keep their inner puppy going much longer than most dogs. I could not ask for a sweeter dog. A word of caution for anyone who would consider having a Pyr. The Great Pyrenees, although wonderful with livestock, are fearless perimeter guards, and bark a great deal. Owners should have plenty of well fenced acreage for these dogs to roam, and far enough from neighbors, so they will not be a nuisance. We use a bark box in her deluxe three stall barn and pen run, to prevent excessive barking if we have to be away for an extended period during the day, or make sure she goes to a doggy spa if we have to be away for a longer time. Recently, Sunny was featured in a Sac Bee article on dog vacuum attachments. I puchased a Kirby vacuum years ago, and it came with a rubber brush attachment, which we started using on Sunny as a puppy. She now follows the vacuum cleaner around the house like an addict until she gets her vacuuming. There are no moving parts on the brush, and, it is used on the end of the long hose, so there is no danger of injury to the dog, however, the brush needs to be periodically cleared of dog fur while grooming. Pyr fur sheds dirt particles, but we have to do daily sticker removal, which is combo vacuum and regular brushing to make sure no foxtails dig in. We live on acreage outside the town of El Dorado, and have Sunny vaccinated annually against rattlesnake bites. Our friends brought their Maltese up year before last, and it found the first rattler we had seen in the yard in 15 years, and was bitten in the face. A quick trip to the vets saved it's life, but want to make sure Sunny has a fighting chance til we can get her to the vet's if snakebite occurs. We found a total of 6 last year, and 2 so far this year, fortunately no accidents. The snakes seem to congregate here in drought years, maybe due to the rock outcrops and the squirrels living in them.