My Maremma Puppy

[fishy fishy]

I have a 17 week old male maremma. He is the most well trained and beautiful pup. There is nothing wrong with him when he is around us inside or out walking but he has a thing.

He is a LGD and as such is funny in our yard when either myself or my son is not at home. He has started to guard a tree!!! He races and barks at birds that go near it and has ripped up all the shrubs around it.

I was thinking of getting him a rabbit friend for our yard so he can guard something that is alive when he is alone. I was actually thinking of 2 Flemish Giants. Would this fix the problem?

I have searched the internet and could find nothing on this.

[Paganman]

Send a PM to Steve on this forum Im pretty sure shes got Maremmas. Go to Members and type in Steve then go to Profile and then Send Message

[Nekhbet]

what made you choose a maremma? and do you want it primarily as a pet or as a guardian?

a few rabbits would be great for the dog. Lilli also has LGDs you can PM her as well.

If the dog is a strong guarder why not send him off to a farm if you are in suburbia

[fishy fishy]

what made you choose a maremma? and do you want it primarily as a pet or as a guardian?

a few rabbits would be great for the dog. Lilli also has LGDs you can PM her as well.

If the dog is a strong guarder why not send him off to a farm if you are in suburbia

The thing is he is not a strong guarder. He would be no good on a farm that is why we have him. He is on his own for maybe 20 minutes a day on average. He is just so funny about this one tree. It is sort of funny to watch but i know that it is a bad habit that needs to be broken. He just goes funny when my son and i arn't there. It used to be just crying all the time now it is a love fest with a tree.

[cassie]

Maremmas are primarily working dogs and the instinct to guard and protect their "flock" is STRONG. Sounds like pup needs a job to do No idea about rabbits though, hopefully someone can help you out with that.

[Steve]

The pup isnt guarding the tree - he's guarding you from whats in the tree. Giving him something to work at is good but that wont stop him barking because thats how they work- if anything it wil increase the barking in order to scare the birds off from his turf. How do you know he's not a strong guarder.They dont get to where they have to be as babies and his behaviour is pretty much as I would expect it from a pup that's learning his family is his flock.

Atths point you get either one of three things - He will become used to the birds and see them as no threat,and therefore stop barking at them , he will work out a way to kill the birds or the birds will get the message and get out of there or he will continue to bark at the birds.

We have one in the paddock which doesnt bark any more at the crows but the crows wont fly over his paddock because he killed a bunch of them.If galahs or magpies come close he jumps up to kill them.

You can buy one of those fake hawks and attach it to the tree to keep the birds away or you can train the dog not to bark at the birds. Itroducing some Rabbits is O.K. as long as you dont expect that it will stop the dog doing what its bred to do - guard the rabbits and your family.

They do this via three strategies. barking, marking and making friends with the animals they are looking after.

Also you cant just grab a couple of rabbits and expect the dog should know its something to look after and what its job should be. The rabbits certainly wont instantly accept the dog either so there's a process you have to go through in order to get the dog to work effectively. If this is what you intend to do its best if you do it now rather than when the dog is older.

[fishy fishy]

I am not fussed about the barking. It is the ripping up any plants that are near the tree. Grass is included. He smooches the tree like a cat and has a general love fest with it.

Also i didn't make it clear but my puppy is hopeless at guarding. He is scared of everything!!!!!!!! Loud noises, little dogs, cats. He finds me and runs and hides behind me when he is scared and shakes. Or he will try to hide under my sons bed. We go for a walk and he runs up to anyone and rolls on his back for tummy rubs. I think he loves the tree because it is non threatening.

[Clyde]

But he's a puppy. Puppies look to their owners for guidance and confidence. A 17 week old baby is not going to be a good guard dog. I think you're expecting too much from him and not realising how much he is actually going to become.

[Steve]

I am not fussed about the barking. It is the ripping up any plants that are near the tree. Grass is included. He smooches the tree like a cat and has a general love fest with it.

Also i didn't make it clear but my puppy is hopeless at guarding. He is scared of everything!!!!!!!! Loud noises, little dogs, cats. He finds me and runs and hides behind me when he is scared and shakes. Or he will try to hide under my sons bed. We go for a walk and he runs up to anyone and rolls on his back for tummy rubs. I think he loves the tree because it is non threatening.

Maremma puppies are supposed to act scared and you cant tell about how he's going to go with guarding for a very long time yet.

Its also normal for him to rip up the grass and plants - I promise you whatever is going on he doesnt love the tree. He may grow to see the things that come into the tree as something he needs to guard but I think you're off base with how you're reading this pup.

[Steve]

The barking may not bother you now but unless its checked it will drive you and your neighbours nuts.