Taking Care of a Maremma LGD Puppy is not much different than taking care of any other puppy. They are mischievious and curious, therefore, they need to be watched and the area needs to be puppy proofed. This means making sure that any openings are closed off, so the pup cannot escape or get into areas or pastures they shouldn’t be in.
Supervising your Maremma lgd puppy is absolutely necessary while introducing the pup to its livestock. The fear in the beginning is not that the Maremma pup will hurt the livestock, but that the livestock may hurt the puppy. While still young a swift kick could end the puppy’s life. It is best to not leave your puppy with the herd unsupervised until they are able to run away from the livestock. This usually occurs at 3 to 4 mths of age.
Large breed puppy food should be fed to the Maremma lgd for at least for the first 6 mths. After that you should slowly switch to a large breed adult diet. Large breed adult food has less protein in it than puppy food and will help the Maremma pup to not grow too quickly and lessening any growth issues. Always provide fresh clean water.
Maremma lgd’s are found nationwide. My Maremmas live with the livestock 24/7. Our temps go as low as the teens in the winter and as high as 105 in the summer. As long as the Maremma has shade in the summer and shelter to get out of the wind the lgd will be fine.
All Maremma puppies need to be vaccinated at 8, 12, and 16 wks. Your vet will probably have a puppy package you can purchase or you can ask your vet what type of vaccine you should purchase for your area. At 16 wks you will also want to vaccinate for rabies. This is really important as your dog may come across a rabid animal while protecting his/her herd.
Maremmas are loyal to their family and weary of strangers. They are wonderful with children and the household pets.
Maremmas will bond with the livestock and consider them their own. The livestock too will learn to respect the Maremmas. They will be able to decipher between barks, which are to be ignored and which mean to get up and flee.
Maremma lgd pups do not need to be trained on how to guard. This is instinct for them and the breed has been doing so for centuries. However, the puppy will need to be taught to be obedient. Commands such as sit, stay, and drop need to be reinforced to have well behaved dogs.
The biggest fear most ranchers have is that the Maremma will hurt their livestock. This is a reasonable fear, but usually only occurs to the ranch in which the puppy was not supervised and reprimanded on unacceptable behavior.
Overall Maremma lgd puppies will grow into wonderful guard dogs. They will give their owners unconditional love and will guard their herd to the death. I simply love this breed!
Maremmas of Desert Mountain Alpaca Ranch:
Santino (laying down) and Biancaneve.
Vincenzo (standing) and Donatella
Gianna – 11 mths old.
