Forge Creek Maremma's

11/10/2023

11/10/2023

According to what I have been told, this photo would allow Facebook to ban or remove our page posts as it shows the puppy in a basket and that would be cruelty to the animal and the promotion of this cruelty here..

Now, I have a different view and think this photo is fantastic and the puppy seems to be as happy as can be..

What do others think?

11/10/2023

I have had the pleasure of breeding dogs a few times in the past and this goes back to the late 1970s at Hallam with German Shepherds, Rupanyup in 2016 with Izzy our German Shepherd here and now 2023, with Meena..

This is the first time I have been able to undertake an online training module or course to be somewhat recognised as having the ability to get the job done

11/10/2023

Over the next day, I will be posting photos of the details of Meena and Luca as well as their history here..

There are quite a few parts to their history from where they have come from, why they are here and what we have planned for the future.

PS: This image of a mum and pup is not Meena and any of her pups but it was found online and way too cute to not want to post online.

10/10/2023

See folks, already have been disabled and I have no ads created, but have been blocked for my ad?

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03/10/2023

Our Maremma bitch, Meena, is expecting 9 and possibly 10 puppies, due in a week..

The whelping box is in the garage and all is ready for arrival..

We expect her to give birth around October 12 as the general gestation period is 63 days for dogs and she will be due around then by the calendar.

18/09/2023

Luca loves to relax and let it all hang out...

I am sure that he looks totally stressed out and on duty in the photo..

He is on guard and looking after his chooks for sure..

18/09/2023

This is Luca, our current Sire at Forge Creek Maremma's

He is just 16 months old..

17/09/2023

Meena was our first Maremma puppy to be added on our property here, however we have had loads of other dogs and they also had pups, just not Maremmas at Forge Creek Maremmas.

Here is Meena, the current pregnant bitch we have now, and this was shortly afte we collected her from Canberra in Feb/Mar 2022.

The German Shepherd in the video is one of our other dogs here, Izzy..

Izzy is now a senior and she has previously had a litter of 8 healthy pups in 2015.

17/09/2023

What are the Pro's and Con's of owning a Maremma?

Well, the Maremma,

They have a general life expectancy of around 10 years, although some local owners with the breed that I know say that their Maremma has lived to 13 plus years.

Advantages

• Extremely intelligent.

• Easily trained to a basic level of command.

• They bond strongly with both their human and animal families.

• Very protective of children and whilst large dogs, can be quite gentle with small children.

• Excellent property and personal guard dogs.

Disadvantages

• Quite Noisy - barking is a normal part of their guarding behaviour and instinct, and can annoy neighbours.

• Maremmas can tend to roam, so fences should be in good condition - fences need to be reasonably sound but they are not great jumpers, but a Maremma will go through or dig under a fence.

• Dogs need dog food, whereas some of the flock guardians will often also eat what their flock eats.

• A dog that has lived its whole life with sheep or poultry and little time with humans is difficult to give veterinary care to and when is left in the paddock, it will treat a vet as an intruder and will fight to remain on the land or even refuse to get into a vehicle for a trip to the vet.

• Late maturity - Maremmas don’t fully mature until they are between 18 months and 3 years old so they will perhaps need to be supervised by other adult dogs, or trained by humans, and may need some close supervision to be good working dogs and most will play up like bad teenagers before then.

BUYER BEWARE

Unfortunately, the growing popularity and uniqueness of Maremma pups have attracted expectations far beyond the abilities of the puppies or dogs to deliver and it is not uncommon to see a large number of puppies and dogs surrendered with wrong types of both owners and breeders.

Fashion-conscious owners looking for something different have often purchased Maremmas as white, fluffy and totally cute little puppies only to find they grow into noisy big dogs that need a lot of exercise.

The breed is one of the most dumped and surrendered at rescue places and often needs to be rehomed onto large properties, or is simply euthanised as being unable to be rehomed.

These are not a dog that should be left unattended day after day in a small backyard and in general, ethical breeders, knowing this, are unlikely to sell a Maremma to a suburban owner.

17/09/2023

Our Maremma Dogs

It is pretty well known that the Maremmano-Abruzzese Sheepdog or Maremma Sheepdog are true livestock guardian dogs that are indigenous to the Abruzzo and Maremma regions of Italy.

They have been used as guardians for herds of sheep for many centuries and in Australia, they perform these tasks and more, just like have been seen in movies (Oddballl in 2015) where a Maremma cared for Penguins on an island and similarly themed ideas in cartoons (Ralph the Wolf and Sam the Sheepdog).

Given the task, many of them are often seen as valuable for working amongst their family of stock and from a puppy, will fall into the guarding role instinctively, just like Meena in the photo here..

Often, maybe more often, Maremmas are not as good in the field and many crave human companionship as well and they will bond to a family just as easily as livestock.

Some Maremmas will also be able to manage a small flock of sheep or poultry and at the same time, cover a localised area and be as valuable in guarding an in-home situation accordingly.

When bonded with chickens from a young age, Maremma takes on the guardian role and protects the chooks from predators in the air as well as on the land.

We have a couple of Maremma here at Forge Creek/Eagle Point, on our farm, and our bitch, Meena, is sharing the guardian role with our male, Luca, and together they share the role of several types of predators to look out for. Foxes, Rats, Wild dogs, Crows, Snakes and Wedgetail Eagles.

We haven’t lost any chickens to predators since commencing the use of both Meena and Luca as caretakers.