DMAR Alpaca and Maremma Blog

Maremma Pup, Poppy, Goes to New Home this past March 13th. Late night on the 12th we had our alpacas and Poppy in the truck on our way to the IAO show in San Diego. There we would make the transfer of Poppy to her new owners of Alpaca Knolls Ranch.

The ride was long at 8 hours plus. However, I held Poppy on my lap for the first couple of hours. She was very good not whining or moving around very much. I eventually had to place her in the kennel in the back seat as I could tell she wasn’t very comfortable on my lap. She didn’t want to go, but once inside she laid down and stayed quiet. We stopped occassionally to let her drink water, eat breakfast, and go the bathroom. For the last couple of hours I held Poppy on my lap again. She was absolutely wonderful.

When we got to the show Poppy was allowed out to walk around while I supervised her. She was now 10 wks old and looking fluffier than usual as I washed her the day before. The new owner appeared and we could tell that Poppy was nervous. Eventually we asked the new owner if he wanted to hold her and he said yes. To our horror she peed down his leg and then starting yelping as if he were hurting her. Thank goodness the new owner understood her nervousness. After a little bit we placed her in his car. Poppy then went on to poop in his car seat. Oh my goodness! I hadn’t realized just how attached she had gotten to Tommy and me. It was almost heart breaking, but we knew she would love where she was going.

Alpaca Knolls ranch bought another female maremma from another ranch to be delivered the same day Poppy arrived. This made me feel good as she would have company for her first day at her new home.

The next day I saw the owner’s wife, Lorraine, in which she stated that when she went out that morning Poppy was waiting with her tail wagging and quickly rolled over onto her back for a quick belly rub. Yes, that is the Poppy I know. She get that from her dam, Bianca, I said. Lorraine also went to tell me that although Poppy was a week younger than the other pup that she was bigger. Lorraine believes Poppy will be the Alpha dog and when she does breed she will breed Poppy only. This was a thrill to hear.

All in all it was sad to say good bye to Poppy, but I trully believe that she deserves to be alpha dog of her own ranch. What Lorraine shared with us just proves that we are breeding the right kind of temperment as well as guardian dogs.

Gino is now 12 wks. old. He is still available as a prospect pulled out at the last minute. Gino is absolutely gorgeous and ready to protect your herd. Call us today.

Maremma Pup, Poppy, Goes to New Home this past March 13th. Late night on the 12th we had our alpacas and Poppy in the truck on our way to the IAO show in San Diego. There we would make the transfer of Poppy to her new owners of Alpaca Knolls Ranch.

The ride was long at 8 hours plus. However, I held Poppy on my lap for the first couple of hours. She was very good not whining or moving around very much. I eventually had to place her in the kennel in the back seat as I could tell she wasn’t very comfortable on my lap. She didn’t want to go, but once inside she laid down and stayed quiet. We stopped occassionally to let her drink water, eat breakfast, and go the bathroom. For the last couple of hours I held Poppy on my lap again. She was absolutely wonderful.

When we got to the show Poppy was allowed out to walk around while I supervised her. She was now 10 wks old and looking fluffier than usual as I washed her the day before. The new owner appeared and we could tell that Poppy was nervous. Eventually we asked the new owner if he wanted to hold her and he said yes. To our horror she peed down his leg and then starting yelping as if he were hurting her. Thank goodness the new owner understood her nervousness. After a little bit we placed her in his car. Poppy then went on to poop in his car seat. Oh my goodness! I hadn’t realized just how attached she had gotten to Tommy and me. It was almost heart breaking, but we knew she would love where she was going.

Alpaca Knolls ranch bought another female maremma from another ranch to be delivered the same day Poppy arrived. This made me feel good as she would have company for her first day at her new home.

The next day I saw the owner’s wife, Lorraine, in which she stated that when she went out that morning Poppy was waiting with her tail wagging and quickly rolled over onto her back for a quick belly rub. Yes, that is the Poppy I know. She get that from her dam, Bianca, I said. Lorraine also went to tell me that although Poppy was a week younger than the other pup that she was bigger. Lorraine believes Poppy will be the Alpha dog and when she does breed she will breed Poppy only. This was a thrill to hear.

All in all it was sad to say good bye to Poppy, but I trully believe that she deserves to be alpha dog of her own ranch. What Lorraine shared with us just proves that we are breeding the right kind of temperment as well as guardian dogs.

Gino is now 12 wks. old. He is still available as a prospect pulled out at the last minute. Gino is absolutely gorgeous and ready to protect your herd. Call us today.

SouthWestern Regional Alpaca Show was held on March 7-9 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix. The weekend was absolutely gorgeous with the temps in the 70’s. The show was a level IV and proved to be very competitive with many of the color classes being over 10 alpacas.

We took with us DMAR Apollo, DMAR Diego, Walls Edge Emma, and Walls Edge Shasta.

First to go into the show ring was Emma (true black yearling female). She had to compete against 10 other alpacas. Emma’s previous owners never showed her, so she was understandably nervous and kept moving around. We were in the second row and the judge moved us up into the first row. No, we didn’t take a first, but we did take a 6th place. Placements only go up to 6th place at the shows, but we were thrilled since that meant she was better than 5 other alpacas. The judge stated that her fleece was not as dense as the others before her, but remarked that although she was dusty she could still feel the fineness. This is wonderful as you all know getting fineness in the darker colors is easier said than done. By the way the following week we took Emma to IAO and she took a second.

Next in the ring was Apollo. Apollo is now a senior alpaca (2 years old). Apollo has always had a very calm, confident air about him. He walks in the ring like he owns it and demands your attention as he stands there calmly with head held high and ears standing on end. It didn’t take long for the judge to pull us up into first place. The judge commented that Apollo was very dusty (this is usually a problem for Arizona ranchers as we do not have pasture, but dirt,dirt, dirt) and not as fine as the other boys, but he definitely had the fleece growth along with density to pull him into first. Also, she commented on the width of his chest which would make him a good breeder.

Diego was next. Oh my Diego. He is without a doubt the most friendly alpaca I have on the ranch. He runs up to guests and kisses them all. You can’t help, but love Diego. Except of course if you are the one showing him in the ring. Diego cannot stand still. He is constantly moving and in one show he actually laid down threatening that he wouldn’t get up. At least at the SWRAS he didn’t lay down. We didn’t place this time around, but we do have hopes again after we get him sheared. His staple length at this point is very long and with long staple lengths the alpaca loses some of its definition in crimp. He is still super fine, but it just wasn’t enough this time.

Last in the ring was Shasta. She did great considering it was her first show as well. She walked with me and stood still. Of course she is a white alpaca and she was up against 12 other white yearling females. We didn’t place with Shasta, but we do expect her crias to be something else. No more shows for either girl. It’s time to get them bred and see what they can produce.

All in all the show I feel was a success. We had a lot of fun and we always love interacting with the public and fellow ranchers. The show is free to the public, so if you missed it this year there is always next year.