sopheven

To me it sounds like you're going about it the right way. For all their strengths as a breed the mental side can be an issue. They like a set routine, the same area to patrol, the same people and animals to see - anything else sets off the guard instinct. Your boy is obviously adjusting to his new surroundings. From my experience they're not an overly aggressive dog, he wont suddenly attack you but if you back him into a corner and he feels like he's no other option he will bite. So he needs time, just keep going with the socialising and it will be worth it. As for food, whilst they appear a large dog take away the fur and they're surprisingly slim. As such you don't need to go overboard. I would think 2 cups of dried food combined with meat/veg would be fine. My boy would get the dinner left overs from my 3 kids with some dried food.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. He was only 10 and we hoped he'd be around for another 5 years or so, still they were 10 great years and we're thankful for that. We're going to take our time in getting his replacement, we still have the Labrador that appears in the photo and we don't want to make the wrong decision because we're upset at losing Steve. We'll definitely get another Maremma, it will just take some time. Once again, thanks for your thoughts and kind words. It helps.

The Vet said Steve had arthritis in his hips Dec 06, a month later that diagnosis was changed to terminal cancer. He was such a proud dog, he thought the world belonged to him. Our local off leash park was his, and he let every dog know it - even the Newfoundland that outweighed him by 30 kilos. He spent his last month inside doing what he wanted, even towards the end he would lie down in the room of our 2 year old daughter keeping guard while she slept. I guess the biggest compliment we could pay Steve is that we're scanning through breeder and rescue sites looking for a replacement, and in reality nothing will. We miss you boy.