New Maremma

[Does’ Leap]

We lost 5 goats to coyotes this year – our first predator incident in 12 years of farming. This is a big loss for us b/c we have a certified organic herd, the only one in the Northeast, and were unable to buy replacement stock. We have had a Great Pyrenees for 7 years. He has definitely been a deterrent in the past, but not this time. We ended up buying a 1.5 year old female Maremma. This dog has been amazing. She bonded with the milking herd immediately. While our Great Pyrenees would alternate between staying with the herd and hanging around the barns, the Maremma does not let the herd out of her site except briefly to patrol and mark our land. Her pack is not our 5 other dogs, but the goats. Our neighbor tracked a pack of coyotes from their house at 1 am up to our place. They saw the pack split some circling to our 4 pigs and the others concentrating on the goats. They watched “Pink” (inherited name) bound between the 2 groups and drive them off. She is small for a Maremma, about 60 lbs, but very athletic. At the slightest sound she bounds of and barks aggressively. Fortunately, she shows no aggression to visitors who come to the farm. The only downside is that she is completely “untrained”. She will come to us when she wants to pet, but never when she is called. The GP has these tendencies, but not nearly to the extent of this dog. It took me a while to get over this as all our other dogs are extremely obedient. Meremmas were bred to be independent and are notorious for being hard to “train”. After chasing her around for a while, I soon got over my control issues and realized that as long as she does her job, she can do what she wants.

George

[dlskidmore]

Might do to build up a response to a dinner call, acclimate her to accepting your presence while she eats. May someday need to catch her for vetting after she tangles with something too tough.

Have you tried llamas for herd guarding? Not too compatible with dogs I hear.

[Billy Foster]

We keep 2 Maremma with our NCC flock. Depending on what time of year they may be single with a group in different pastures. I like feeding them every day, as opposed to an automatic feeder, because it gets them excited to see me and a reason for them to come to me. I have worked with dogs of one type or another for most of my life. My experience with LGD is one handles them on their terms, not ours. The only reason they are going to come to you is if THEY want to, not because you said so. I teach them to be respectful of peoples space, not to jump at the dog food and if I sit down on the ground and say there name playfully they will get their belly scratched and that is about all I try and teach them. It took me a few months before either one of these guys warmed up to me. Even though it seems like I have gained their trust, if they think something is up they will still stay just out of reach.

Billy

[Tyler Fournier]

A trick I used with my Kuvasz of 11 years was that I only offered food reward for the recall. I made sure it was good stuff too, like chunks of steak, cheese, etc. It made her semi-reliable, as she was very food-motivated. That being said, her hardheadedness would often respond with “keep your damn treat, I’m busy”. One hell of a dog.

[near horse]

I know llamas have a reputation for guarding but last week a local livestock owner had 2 llamas killed by what appears to be stray dog(s). There’s a point where they can’t hold their own against a determined predator.

[Author]

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