[SallyintNorth]

Blonde has been saying, on the Pig forum, that she has a Maremma who guards her pigs.  I have heard about these dogs living with and befriending their sheep flocks and guarding them against foxes. I am very interested in knowing more about them and have long wondered whether it would be practical for them to work in the UK - or maybe even someone on here has one or knows of one working in the UK?

How do they work?  Do they need a lot of training?  Will they befriend and guard any livestock or only sheep?  What else can anyone tell me about them?  

[doganjo]

There are a small number of Maremmas in the UK - http://www.maremma-sheepdogs.co.uk/  They are white, large, and heavy coated.  You need to find a breeder in order to have those questions answered - try here http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/acbr/Default.aspx?breed=Maremma+Sheepdog
Information on the breed here:
http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/breeds/display.aspx?id=5128
They are susceptible to liver cancer and heart failure, but that may be related to their size.
They are fairly rare and you may have difficulty finding one.  The KC has withdrawn Championship status fro this year and the foreseeable future.
http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=1816

[SallyintNorth]

Thanks Annie, that was all very informative.  The Maremma Sheepdog site in particular gives a lot of information about them, including all the answers to all my questions!

It would seem that whilst a Maremma probably would protect any new Muscovy ducks from the dratted mink that took the last three, it is probably not the best situation for us to have a working one here. Too many roads, other houses and farms, and far far too many tourists about.  Shame, they sound fantastic.

[Blonde]

When you buy a Maremma you must not keep it with you all the time otherwise it will bond with you and not the animals.   A puppy can be kept with lambs in a shed and as they all grow put them out in to the paddock. I fyou want them to look after other animals then you need to start them off as a puppy.  the do bond, they dont smell like an ordinary dog.  The walk the paddock with the mob of what ever you have in your paddock, they drink from the same container, or dam or soak, they live on dried  pellets that are kept at a pellet station that you can build that has a roof on it to kekep the elements  out.  When animals  have their babies  generally they will cleanup after them if the animal does not do it.  They dont let the  birds land in the paddock.  They dont let any of the menacing crows etc come with a yard of the animal that is having its babies and take its eye because the dog is doing its job and protecting all that is necessry to get that baby/s up and running.

They have an inner and and outer coat so dont need a shelter when it is wet, they lived in the alps in snow and sleet and watched over sheep in the Italian Alps as far as I know.

They are white in colour with a black nose and dark eyes,  their ears droop and are further back on their head than normal.  They have excellent vision and generally work at night and just nap during the day.  they are a light boned dog and can run with  the wind,  they are not very fat dogs, due to their agility.   They eat small meals and that does not seem to change as they get older. 

They enjoy a swim in the dam but not for long if it  is hot. 

They have a deep bark which can be heard some distance.

some of them like a brush and others dont.  I have had 4 so far and each of them has been different.  The males are certianly a  much larger dog than th females.   They can have 8 puppies, but that is  not something that I ahve done.   They dont all make good guard dogs and some can be over done.   Their instinct is  borne in to them.   The only training they need is to come to you for a feed and be able to be put on a leed  if you need to go to the vet.   If they are in the paddock sometimes you might call out of dinner time and they just  dont come  they have minds of their own........but a truly  magnificent dog.

[Sylvia]

I think a llama might be easier. In our society it would be very difficult to keep an emotional distance from a dog which is what would be needed.

[doganjo]

Blonde, can I ask what sort of area your Maremma is working?  As you are in Australia the terrain is vastly different from the UK.  Is your dog working in large areas of fairly flat ground where you can see him/her fairly easily, or is hilly or heavy vegetation?

[Blonde]

Blonde, can I ask what sort of area your Maremma is working?  As you are in Australia the terrain is vastly different from the UK.  Is your dog working in large areas of fairly flat ground where you can see him/her fairly easily, or is hilly or heavy vegetation?

  No I cannot see him, the farm is undulating and he wanders around 15 acres of piggery.  We  sit on 600 acres.   We lease the rest of the farm out the cows, or sheep or cropping for now, but want to expand the pigs to a greater area.  The dogs are not  meant to be cuddled and they dont have it in them.  theya re not the type of pent like  your labrador that come and want to be petted, they are on their own and that is why they  are used in  the farming circles.  They bond with other lives stock.......goats, pigs, sheep, cows, chickens, ducks, turkeys, fish farms use them to keep the birds out of the ponds.   I have had 4 dogs in 17 years.

Yes here in WA we are much drier and have  long hot dry summers.  But we also go down to freeaing in the winter with severe frosts as well.  some of the country sees snow, floods, cyclones, etc.

 Alpacas will also do the same job, and they just eat grass and hay.   They need to be shorn and can spit at you as well.  They come in various colours.  They are more difficult to look after than the good old  dog.