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.
Michelle- Rose: OMG! I can’t believe what I am seeing! Those of you who follow my blog know that both myself and Michelle Rose have been battling valley fever for just under 2 years. I can remember clearly the day I called Tom telling him Michelle wasn’t going to make it until he came home. Well I’m here to tell you that miracles do happen. Got back the latest blood work and the Valley Fever test was negative…..not a low titer but negative. My vet said she called the lab to confirm and they told her that they only count titers when they appear and Michelle had none. Could this be true? I’m skeptical but very hopeful. Also her white blood cell count came back normal as well which is wonderful because at one time it was more than double. I’m thinking the move to Georgia has worked wonders for Michelle. Oh and BTW……just last week I caught Magnum breeding Michelle. I’m not sure for how long but when I looked under her tail I definitely saw evidence of breeding. Funny because Michelle was the only female in the boys area even though the gate was ajar. All the other females stayed in their portion. Was this meant to happen? This weekend we will spit check and see. Fingers are crossed.
DMAR Magnum:
Is this not a good looking boy? Just under 2 years of age and already starting his breeding career with Michelle Rose. Magnum is such a joy to bring into the ring. He just stands posed ready for the judge to look his way. Son to Hraz Lock & Load and Kaitlyn Rose. I just can’t wait to use him this spring in our breeding program.
DMAR Dolce:
I have to chuckle each time I see this pictures. The photographer obviously has a sense of humor for taking them and even sending them to us. I just don’t understand what is so scary about taking pictures but for the most part even my best behaved alpacas in the show ring don’t want to stand still for a simple photo. Dolce is one of the worst we have to deal with. But her problems stem in the showring as well as the photos. I trained her the same amount that I did Dior and Dior is wonderful in the ring. Anyway I love seeing Tom’s expressions. He starts off being happy with a smile to get a photo taken with Dolce. Slowly his smile begins to fade until we great a good shot of Dolce and he is basically unamused and frustrated. Tom has no patience and the alpacas don’t help. LOL!
Bingo and Gianna:
Isn’t Bingo adorable? 8 weeks old and weighing 23 lbs. This pup is going to be big! New owner, Driwind Alpacas, has us holding Bingo until they move to Florida from Texas. They also reserved a female out of the next litter which is due shortly between Donatella and Vincenzo. Until he leaves with Driwind Alpacas it is my mission to spoil him rotten. So far I believe I am doing a great job of it!
Donatella and Vincenzo:
Donatella and Vincenzo are expecting their second litter together shortly. Donatella is currently on day 54. If you are needing a Maremma lgd puppy please contact us at info@desertmtnalpacas.com. This will be the last litter of the year. We are ethical breeders and only breed each breeding pair once per year. We are also part of the Maremma Sheepdog Club of America. All of our puppies are sold as working dogs only and they have gone to alpaca ranches, sheep ranches, and goat ranches.
Things are busy here at DMAR but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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.
Here are the pups. They are all walking around, growling, barking, and playing. They look like little poof balls. As soon as I walk in they are right at my feet making me watch every step I take. A few of them have even started to bite the end of my pants. No worries as the teeth haven’t come all the way out yet.
I told Tom that he needs to start preparing the puppy gruel. This will be a mixture of grounded up dry puppy food, yogurt, an egg, milk, and some canned pumpkin to help their stomachs adjust. At four weeks of age we begin to wean the pups slowly off of mom. At first they will wear more than they eat but mom will clean them up. I usually end up finger feeding them too since they are not used to lapping up the puppy milkshake.
We are currently looking at where we can move the pups to during the day. A couple of them got of their pen but they are way too young to be left directly with the alpacas. We have a round pen that is fenced up so with a few minor changes we will be able to put the puppies inside where they can play and still share the fenceline with the alpacas. This way they won’t get hurt.
If you are interested in a maremma lgd puppy please contact me at info@desertmtnalpacas.com or you can view more information on the parents by Clicking Here.
The puppies are currently 2 weeks old. The eyes are almost all completely open. Some more than others. Puppies are using their back legs more to get around and can go urinate and defecate without mom’s help.
The Maremma lgd puppies are beginning to interact with each other and me more. I have to trim their nails as they are cutting my arms like little razor blades. They are quick to suckle and just today one grabbed hold of my arm that when I pulled away it was listening to a sucktion cup disengage. I thought it was going to leave a hickie on my arm.
Gianna is being a great mom. She loves her babies but allows the alpacas to come close to the gate to look in. At first she didn’t know what to make of it and a couple of times she barked. After that she cried a little but now she doesn’t care. Basically the alpacas are more interested in the hay that is stacked up where the puppies are rather than the maremmas themselves.
Santino is stuck to Gianna’s side whenever she is away from the whelping area. Since Gianna is still discharging he thinks she is in heat. He tries to breed her only to get growled at and sometimes a quick snap of a bite to the cheek. Gianna is no way interested in breeding.
I picked up a puppy this morning and it was snuggling in my arm. Santino started to bark at me but it wasn’t an angry bark. I felt as if he was telling me to be careful with his offspring.
I have four Maremma lgd puppies for sale. 2 male and 2 female. The price includes first shot, deworming, microchip, and registration paperwork.
To read more on the parents you can visit my site by Clicking Here.
Tammy West who got a puppy from us out of Donatella and Vincenzo’s last litter wrote the following email to me this morning:
From:
“Tammy West”
To:
info@desertmtnalpacas.com
Hey there! Hope you guys are settled into your new place. Just wanted to send this photo of Hap and the girls waiting their turn for the sprinkler. Hap is always smiling. She is awesome. We love her so much. As you can see she gets along with the alpacas. Sometimes I think she believes she is an alpaca. She will eat their food and loves a bite of alfalfa.
A proud owner
Tammy West
Alpacas Re’al
I just love getting these emails. Makes me feel like my dogs are doing their jobs and being loved right back. This was a great email and a great start to my day! Hap is approximately 10 months old in this picture.
We have more pups for sale out of Gianna and Santino. They will be ready by the beginning of November 2010.
Gianna has just hit her 8th week. Her litter is due literally anytime now. I know you probably can’t tell much from the photos but she is really quite wide. At this time I have no problem feeling a pup kick everytime I lay my hands on her.
We finished Gianna’s whelping area. I used to use a whelping box but Gianna is just too big to fit in it. Instead I took my friend’s, Deb Dallara of Brookfarm Alpacas, idea and ran with it. The room is actually the horse wash room in the barn. Since I don’t have horses it was easy to transform it. We lined the walls with hay bales and out in front we are using one side of a chain link dog run with a door. The table inside is where I weigh the alpaca feed and underneath has a fan to keep Gianna cool. The entire cement floor was topped off with coastal bermuda to keep Gianna and the pups comfy. Once the time is here for Gianna to whelp I will keep towels and blankets on top of the hay floor as I don’t want any puppies getting it caught in their eyes.
Gianna is a very good eater. She’s never one to pass up on food. At this time I am feeding her one cup of adult and 3 cups puppy dry food all topped off with 1/2 can of puppy wet food. She gets this twice a day and sometimes she even gets an additional cup at noon. This morning was the first time in a long time, I’m not counting when her face got stung by a wasp, that she didn’t finish her meal. All signs that I am observing.
I am starting to take her temp twice per day. This morning it was still over a 100. Once it drops to 98/99 I will be on full alert as she will start to whelp 24/48 hrs afterwards. At least this time the whelping area is large enough for me to lay down with her comfortably. Also, what a nice change to have puppies in the summertime vs. the winter. I guess I won’t be freezing my butt off this time around!
Santino, the dad to be, is taken things in stride. He loves Gianna and protects her but isn’t stopped from doing his other guarding duties on the ranch. Once Gianna gives birth she won’t have any love left for Santino until the pups are old enough to be introduced to the others. Santino knows the deal as this will be his third litter.
Puppies will all be for sale. Females go for $850 and males at $750. All go with first shot, first deworming, microchip, and registration paperwork.
Tom and I are registered with the Maremma Sheepdog Club of America. We have been breeding these dogs for 4 years. We truly believe in them and would not sell them if we didn’t. We are ethical breeders and only breed each female once per year. We do not care to be a puppy mill but do believe in providing these working dogs to the farms/ranches needing them.
You can read more about my dogs by Clicking Here. You can view pictures of past puppies on the site or you can also click on the maremma tab off the blog menu.
I have to sometimes wonder if he is as we can’t keep this dog confined. Vincenzo easily weighs 90 to 100 lbs; however, he is very sleek and slender. If he can get his shoulders through the obstacle then it is no problem for him to get the rest of his body through. Vincenzo is a master contorsionist at 3 yrs of age. Vincenzo is my Maremma lgd.
We have placed Vincenzo behind 8 bar goat panels only to watch him find an opening just large enough for him to put his head through. After that he gets in one leg and begins to wiggle one of his shoulder through. Once the first shoulder is through he then starts with the second shoulder. After both shoulders are through he has no issue in getting his small waist and legs through the fence. This takes him less than 20 minutes to figure out and be free.
We then went out and purchased a four sided wire dog kennel sized 10 X 10. This should have kept Vincenzo at bay for a while but to our surprise it did not. Vincenzo started to bite the wire at the bottom of the kennel door. As soon as he managed to tear open a little hole it wan’t too much longer before he made that small hole into a hole large enough for him to wiggle his body through. His girlfriend, Donatella, who is much smaller in size than he didn’t even attempt to go through the hole that Vincenzo made. It certainly didn’t look large enough for Donatella to go through much less Vincenzo but he did.
In our latest attempts to keep Vincenzo from roaming into the neighbor’s yard until we get up proper fencing we placed him in one of the stalls in the barn. We then strapped the door closed. In the morning when I went to the barn I found Vincenzo in the aisle. What he did was bite at the wood around the frame of the door and then on the door itself. When it gave some way he continued to push on the door until the bolt came out of the hinge. At that point he was able to squeeze through and push the door open.
I have given up on trying to keep Vincenzo confined. At least his interest in going to the neighbor’s yard has lessened. He’s much more content laying behind the bushes trying to stay cool from the heat and humidity.
I am not upset with Vincenzo. Just the opposite as I am very impressed by him. I do believe he will protect the alpacas by doing anything possible to get to the intruder and making sure it knows that this is his domain.
Vincenzo had his first litter last year and will be siring another litter in the spring of 2011. I wonder if he passes this trait onto his offspring.
