In 2016 we decided to move to the country and purchased an acreage here in the heart of Saskatchewan Canada. We are situated close to the village of Annaheim.
When we moved here we wanted protection for our livestock from the many predators that roam the area and from those that have made the creek behind our place their home habitat. Our main threat is coyotes, but there are also wolves, cougars, bears, foxes, skunks, and raccoons to name a few.
After extensive research of the different livestock Guardian Dog breeds we decided the Maremma was the best suited Livestock Guardian Dog for us.
Our search for a Maremma led us to RLT Farms in Spirit River Alberta and we purchased our first two Maremma female pups, Sheena Maria Chevalier and Lexi Anna Starling. RLT farms imported both of their Sire and Dam into Canada directly from Italy and there are many Champions in their bloodlines. In 2017 we decided to acquire a breeding male and that search led us to Peavine Hollow Farms in Virginia, U.S. and shortly after we imported Peavine Hollow’s Nicolo’ Thunder into Canada. He is a fourth Generation male from their breeding program and from one of their last litters as they have retired from farming. In the spring of 2018, we were excited to welcome our first two litters of puppies, and we decided to retain a female pup from each of the litters for future breeding Dams, Whispering Aspen Ridges Copper Penny and Whispering Aspen Ridges Indigo Ray. We also wanted to know the quality of our pups firsthand. This meant we needed a second breeding male. Our search took us in many directions looking for the perfect male and ended at MoonAcer Maremmas in Chino Valley, Arizona, U.S. and we imported Cambrian Irino of MoonAcer into Canada.
The Maremma originated in Italy and they are held in high esteem by the shepherds, especially in the mountains where they thrive in the snow and are resistant to both cold and brambles.
The Maremma has proven to be a friendly and very well-balanced Livestock Guardian that loves their work. They are very loyal, dignified, brave and determined dogs with a loving, friendly and affectionate disposition, yet independent, alert and guard their flock and family with dedication. They also love the attention of their human partners and they are very attentive to children.
These dogs will defend their flock or house and master with their life if they need too.
With other family dogs and pets, they get along very well. They are very respectful and strive not to intrude on their space or trigger conflict.
They can be a little smaller in size but have just as much endurance and strength as other guardian breeds but have a much smaller roaming area. Over all we have found them to be very content to stay with the flock they love and protect, and in their area as they like stability.
They bark only when they need to providing there are enough dogs to manage the predator load. Their bark is their first line of defence when it comes to dealing with predators and they can come off as being very ferocious. They have the ability to communicate extremely well with predators and develop a mutual understanding that this is my territory, you stay out and I won’t kill you. They will not hesitate to do battle if the need arises.
They are very intelligent and were bred to be thinkers and to follow their instincts. They will not necessarily follow your every command but with a strong and loving bond between you and your dog, calm, firm, consistent and confident leadership they will comply most of the time. Allow them a little time to consider what you have asked of them as they may not necessarily respond instantly. A successful partnership with your dog requires a level of mutual respect in handling and tone of your voice. They are highly aware of your body language and thought process which they instinctively lead off of. It is very important to only think what you expect of them because they may comply without a word spoken. If you’re thinking the opposite you may trigger unwanted behavior.
The Maremma has very good instincts when it comes to people. They may be slightly reserved and standoffish with strangers, or they may be outright friendly. People who are not welcome on your property or in your pasture, however, will be stopped in their tracks.
They are pack orientated and work very well together to protect the livestock entrusted to their care and patrol their pastures and have the ability to co-ordinate their duties very well.
They are a terrible enemy to predators including wolves and cougars but having more than one Livestock Guardian Dog in large predator areas is vital. Some people make the mistake of thinking one dog is all they need to protect their livestock and while this may be true if the predators are smaller or few, the occasional coyote or fox, it is not the case when dealing with larger predators, or a group of large predators. A single dog cannot successfully confront a pack of wolves, or even a pack of coyotes, nor bears, mountain lions or cougars. A one-on-one confrontation brings a very high probability of injury to a single dog. In large predator areas, two or more Livestock Guardian Dogs are recommended. A study done in Alberta over several years proved that cougars would challenge two Livestock Guardian Dogs but not three.
We have also learned that the dogs and livestock alike are at ease when there are a sufficient number of dogs to manage the heard and predator load.
These dogs start to display their well-bred characteristics as soon as their eyes open at two weeks of age.
