The pups are getting bigger including little Sofia who is now weighing a whopping 10 1/2 ounces. Eyes are not opened yet but I do notice them trying to use their back legs more. It’s been very cold here in Georgia but the pups are under a heat lamp, have another heater next to the whelping box, and can curl up into each other to stay warm. Not to mention that they can snuggle right in with mom. It is a sight when all of them are lined up in front of Donnie’s belly. All the pups are well and have the curious alpaca females peeking in at them daily.
Update on Sofia: Sofia is nursing well off the bottle. When I first started feeding her she could only nurse 1/4 of an ounce of milk at each feeding. Today she can drink a little more than 1/2 an ounce. She used to be able to fit in the palm of my hand. Today she is definitely larger. I feel her belly getting bigger too. After each feeding I notice her almost rolling to one side or the other. Her belly putting her off balance. Other than Sofia’s cleft lip and her smallness she is definitely all puppy. She kneads her paws into the air as she feeds and then is off to plow into her siblings trying to squeeze into the middle of them all. Sometimes I find her underneath a pup or two and other times I see her riding away on top of her siblings heads as they are nursing off mom. Sofia is very strong willed and voices her opinion openly.
All the maremma lgd pups are available. If you have a farm or ranch and need a working dog please contact me at info@desertmtnalpacas or you can call 520-220-2778.
For more information on maremmas and the parents of this litter, Donatella and Santino, Click Here.
Donatella, Maremma LGD, whelps 10 pups on 11/29/10:
On the 28th Donatella refused to eat all day. I knew that the time of labor was upon us. At times while walking she would whimper. I sat with her for what seemed like endless hours just waiting for her to begin. After the evening chores I grabbed my laptop and some magazines. I figured I would spend the night in the barn with her. At 9pm Donatella was resting peacefully. It was cold so I decided to go into the house and would return at 11 pm. At 11 I went back to the barn to find Donatella sleeping. That’s it I was coming in for the night.
At 4:30 am I got up to go check on Donatella. Sure enough she had 4 puppies already on the ground. I had left the small heater on but it was still too cold so I went to turn on the overhead heat lamp. I sat with her helping to dry off the pups. While I sat with her she had 2 more pups. After cleaning them off I went back to the house to feed house dogs and the cat.
At 6:30 am I returned to the barn to find another pup was born. I helped Donatella clean up the pup and then proceeded to feed the alpacas and the other maremmas. Each time I did a feeding I would check on Donatella to make sure she was ok and look for the puppies to nurse. Sure enough she gave birth to another pup. My count was now seven, four girls and three boys.
By 10:30 am I was now just about done with my outside chores and Donatella was up to nine pups. I went to sit with her and give her plenty of attention for a job well done. As I did so out popped the 10th pup! This is where she finished. Vincenzo and Donatella are the proud parents to six males and four females. All of the puppies are doing well.
I am spending more time with the runt of the litter, a little female, who was born with a cleft lip. The lip doesn’t allow her to suck as well as her siblings but she is getting the hang of it. I supplement her with a bottle that she eagerly drinks. She is quite the character. I brought her into the house the 2nd night so I could feed her around the clock. I thought this would be easier but my goodness she can scream when she is hungry! I thought the bottle would never heat up. Last night I left her in with her mom and she did just fine. The vet said that she will be fine and we can probably stitch up the lip. Today I will take pictures of her and forward them to the vet to get the final opinion.
Now all I can think about is to complete our puppy proofing of the area. With the last litter of five pups I was running around like mad. I can only imagine the nightmare it will be chasing after 10 curious pups!
All the maremma lgd pups are for sale. They are $850 each which includes the first vaccination, first deworming, microchip, and registration paperwork. Our maremmas are registered with the Maremma Sheepdog Club of America. Both parents are onsite and guard an alpaca herd of 26. Initially the pups are raised sharing a fenceline with the alpacas. Eventually they are integrated with the alpacas.
Where has the time gone? I cannot believe the pups are already seven weeks old. Four of them leave me on November 9th which is only next week. They will surely be missed. They are full of life and watching them discover themselves as well as what is around them is truly amazing. Let me introduce you to them:
This is Sadie. Sadie is going to an alpaca ranch in Texas. She is a friendly and outgoing puppy. Sadie walks around the alpacas like she owns them. She is the only puppy who will lay in the middle of the barn aisle and fall asleep without worrying that the alpacas will step on her. Sadie loves attention and is always looking to play. If any of the pups is going to get into trouble you can be sure that Sadie is leading the pack.
This is Vita. Vita is going to a ranch in Montana where she will be guarding sheep and goats. Vita is a pure joy. She is very sweet and laid back. This doesn’t mean that she isn’t part of the puppy clan. If Sadie or another puppy is going to escape well Vita won’t be left behind. She also likes to do her part of exploring. Vita is not thrilled with being picked up. She rather have all four feet on the ground. If you walk by Vita chances are she will lift a paw up as if to say, “hey, come pet me….I’m here.” With a quick drop to the floor she will roll on her back for a belly rub.
This is Romeo. Romeo is going to a sheep ranch in Puerto Rico where he will meet his new mate, Julietta. Tom calls Romeo fat boy, but it isn’t because he is the heaviest of the group but it is because he is definitely the fluffiest. He reminds me of the furry alpaca teddy bears I sell in my ranch store. Romeo has a great personality and is first to begin the playing around. Although I have to scold Romeo more than any of the others as he likes to use his mouth a lot now to grab the alpaca leads, my pants, shoelaces, etc. However, I can’t stay mad at Romeo long….could you?
This is Aria. Aria is going to a sheep ranch in Washington. Aria has the most precious face of all the puppies. It is just so innocent looking but believe me Aria is no angel. She and her sister, Sadie, are usually the two trouble makers in the pack and when I pick Aria up to bring her back inside the perimeter she gives me her little puppy kisses that just melt my heart. At least with each escape we learned where the holes are and hopefully have now puppy proofed the area completely.
This is Bingo. Bingo will be going to an alpaca ranch in Florida once his new owner makes the move from Texas. I used to call Bingo, Little boy but after a while I quickly changed his nickname to Big boy. He is a solid puppy weighing almost 18 lbs now. When you look at him with the others you would never guess he weighed the most out of the group. Take a good look at the picture at his left paw on Tom’s arm. That should be your hint that this boy is going to be huge. Thankfully he seems to have his daddy’s personality of being lovable and mello.
The puppies are now showing their first signs of being livestock guardian dogs. The other day mom, Gianna, got up barking and all five pups got up and started barking too. At what? They had no idea but they were looking around trying to figure it out. Also, now when I walk into the barn the puppies start to bark and run into the barn to investigate. Once they see it is me then tails start to wag and little puppy paws are all over my legs.
This concludes Santino and Gianna’s litter. We have one more to go with Donatella and Vincenzo who are due to whelp at the end of November 2010. Contact me at info@desertmtnalpacas.com if you are needing a livestock guardian puppy.
The six wk old Maremma Lgds are quite the handful. They are getting faster and faster and unless they are tired it takes both Tom and me to get them into their whelping area for the night. They hate being closed up for the night and they are very vocal about their disapproval. In the morning they come out and spend some time with the adult females under my heavy supervision. The adult females don’t like have little puppies under their feet. In the afternoon the pups are allowed to stay with the juvenile and yearling females who are more tolerant of them being under foot. Early evening they spend time with the older females again before bed.
Personalities are now abundant. Sadie, going to TX, is an expert climber and is very adventureous. She is the most outgoing of all the pups wanting to explore new things. Then you have Romeo, going to a sheep farm in Puerto Rico, who is extra playful and loveable. He runs over to you and then is quick to roll onto his back for a quick belly rub. He is quite the looker with his curls and waves. Next we have Vita, going to a farm in Montana, who is very mellow and laid back. She likes to play but is more quiet in her ways. The last of the sisters is Aria, going to a ranch in Washington, who is surprising me more and more. She is quiet and very watchful. She has the look of innocence but this is just a disguise. She follows her sister, Sadie, over the boards and under the perimeter fence. She will walk quietly up to a sibling and then with a pounce and a growl is on top of them. Last, but definitely not least, is big boy. He is still for sale. He is so loveable that he makes you want to pick him up. However, I have to think twice as he is sold and heavy like a rock weighing over 15 lbs already. This pup takes after his powerful dad, Santino. I can see he will be very relaxed until he hears or sees something and then will jump into action barking, growling, and sounding very intimidating. He needs a new working home to go as this little male deserves the alpha dog of his own herd. Contact me if you are needing a livestock guardian dog. Both parents live onsite and care for a herd of 26 alpacas. Mom is full Italian import and dad is first generation.
I went out to the barn and found the front half flooded this morning. In an effort for Tom to fix the spickets in the pastures he went to the barn and started turning on and off all the water spouts to see what was and wasn’t working. Obviously one spout wasn’t working at the time and Tom forgot to shut it off. Well it was working this morning. As I was trying to sweep the water out I realized that I hadn’t checked on Gianna. At least she was in the back of the barn that wasn’t flooded.
To my surprise Gianna looked up at me and 2 pups were at her belly nice and dry. I immediately went inside and then heard more crying. I looked and looked and finally found two pups on the side of the bale stacks and one was stuck in the chain link fence. Simply adorable to see it but they were cold and now was not the time to get the camera. I picked them up and rubbed them and then set them down with mom for a drink. Wow four pups born without me and then I heard another cry. OMG. I found the last pup under a wood board that we placed under the table with the fan on top of it. I was amazed at how it got under there and that it was ok. Again it too was cold so after some rubbing I placed with Gianna.
Everything was now going well and mom was quiet as pups nursed. All of a sudden Gianna got up in a funny stance and I knew one more was coming. Sure enough at 10:30 AM the last of the pups were born. Gianna and Santino are proud to announce they have a total of 6 pups- 3 females and 3 males.
Funny but when I look back at this whole pregnancy I can’t believe Gianna actually had pups. This is Gianna’s first litter (this is Santino’s 3rd) and to be honest with you I never saw them breed. I watched Santino make several attempts with Gianna growling and moving away at first. Then I saw where Gianna became receptive but it was summer in Arizona and Santino would try but give up so quickly due to the heat. Therefore, I never saw them mate and assumed it didn’t work.
Next we had the trip cross country. In my calculation Gianna should have been 4 – 5 weeks into the pregnancy. The stress alone could have made Gianna lose them. Then she was in a totally new home which I’m sure came with more stress.
I’ve watched Gianna carefully throughout her pregnancy and it wasn’t until she was in her sixth week did I confirm to myself that she was actually carrying. Her nipples were swelling and she was slowly getting thicker but her temperment towards Santino didn’t change too much like my other female maremmas did. She was typically very happy and calm.
Every once in a while I would feel a kick and I assumed then that she was carrying maybe one or two pups. Even in the end when I could feel the kicking more often it was still in the same place which made me think I was correct in the count.
Gianna has had me fooled all along. Nothing has gone the way it should starting with the breeding, puppies kicking to give me the correct or closer count, and then her temperature didn’t give me the sign that she was going to whelp. In all my other females when their temp dropped to 98 I knew they were going to whelp within 48 hours. Last night I took Gianna’s temp and she was at 102. Hence why I missed the birthing of her first 5 pups!
This is Bella. She is currently 4 months old and weighs 45 pounds. She was initially claimed by a ranch in California, but unfortunately that ranch has fallen into some financial hardship. This means Bella is once again available.
Bella is turning into a wonderful guard dog. She’s had plenty of time to learn from her parents who live onsite guarding over 30 alpacas. Bella is not afraid of the alpacas and is already barking at the fenceline whenever something unusual appears.
Bella is loving and friendly to her family and all guests that are introduced to her. She is playful too.
Bella’s cost is $85o. She has already had all her puppy shots and just the other day received her rabies shot.
We still have 1 female and 3 males to select from. These adorable pups are 9 wks old and have had their first vaccination and deworming. Included in the price is micro-chipping and registration paperwork.
The pups have been living and observing their parents, Donatella and Vincenzo. They also have 3 other adult Maremma role models. They are already showing their guarding instinct. They bark when the adults bark and if they hear something first they sound off the alarm.
The pups are very healthy and quite playful. They are fast to roll onto their backs to expose a belly to be rubbed.
Contact us if you are interested in attaining a Maremma lgd.
Remember we will transport for free to TxOLAN and SWRAS.
