Maremmas For Sheep Guarding?

[dogbesotted]

http://predator-friendly-ranching.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/relastionships.html?spref=fb

excellent thoughts on the workings of LGDs. a must read in my opinion

Helen

[dogbesotted]

http://www.maremma-sheepdogs.co.uk/dogs/articles/answers.html

ANSWERS ABOUT MAREMMAS

Everything you always wanted to know about Maremmas that isn't answered anywhere else quite as it is here.

How large does a Maremma actually get?

You know the height of a dinner table or a work surface in the kitchen? A normal Maremma bitch can run beneath your table as long as she tucks her head in. A Maremma dog has to bend down at the knees or he will lift the table up.

You should never, under any circumstances, leave any meat, including sausages, on a table or kitchen surface. A Maremma will collect such morsels with ease, no problem at all.

If the objective is to snug-fit onto the sofa, a Maremma will make itself rather small.

During thunderstorms, more apprehensive Maremmas will fit underneath smallish chairs.

Maremmas Weight

According to the book, anything between 35 to 48 kg's. Should you try to administer medicine, try to clean his ears or clip his nails, the weight goes up to Loch Ness Monster proportions, and he can make himself just as invisible. On the first day of obedience training he will weigh in at about that of a young elephant and when introducing him to the command 'sit', applying hand pressure, he will weigh as much as your average Sumo wrestler.

When making his way through a litter of kittens, chicks, lammies or young goats he will be weightless like a humming bird.

How much does a Maremma eat?

As much as he likes- irrespective what it says on the back of the can or what experts recommend. The Maremma is quite a frugal dog. Assuming normal levels of activity, and pound for pound, he will get away with less than a Pekinese for example.

But even the best food for these large guarding breeds is never sufficient. In no time at all, your Maremma will make this crystal clear to you.

He will assure you that he will starve to death if he does not receive chicken breast at regular intervals, cheese omelettes are a must twice a week, Norwegian salmon a stark necessity, steak rinds mandatory and a dollop of the cat food here and there essential.

Should he find out that your own weakness are sweeties, you will end up with a black and blue thigh - this stems from the repeated paw strokes he will administer constantly until he finally gets his share. Cream puffs and oriole cookies are far superior to Pedigree treats but possibly less healthy.

Do Maremmas shed?

During the course of the annual moult you can brush out as much coat from your dog as you need for spinning considerable lengths of yarn, or just about enough for a pair of mittens, a hat or a scarf, no problem.

Why some dog owners actually do this, is beyond me.

After all, everything in a Maremma household, including the furniture is constantly covered in a discrete hue of dog hair.

The shed's duration varies; usually it lasts 365 days.

Maremma fur is partial to dark garments. Professional people with a live - in Maremma can be recognised by their preference for a medium grey and light beige choice of attire.

Maremma owners are trained by their dogs to change in the garage into and out of dark clothes especially uniforms and suits.

Every Maremma owner has a hermetically closed 'dog free' zone at home or possesses a second clothes cupboard at work.

What about barking?

So what about it? You can train yourself early on to get used to it. Go out and have a look whenever your Maremma barks. Pay him some attention every time he barks and praise him, soon your neighbours will do the same. Mutual support will yield excellent results!

Not necessarily towards your Maremma's education but most certainly towards human relations. You will be amazed what your neighbours will come up with - usually anonymously and directly via the police and the County Court. Do take these reactions as proof of an increased interest in your person combined with a certain respect for you.

Only indiscriminate people would confront you directly.

Alternatively, you may opt to ignore the barking right from the word go. But what are Maremmas barking at? That's simple enough, only at what they can see and hear! This ranges from bright butterflies to low flying satellites.

Maremmas have an acute sense of hearing. They will detect their family's voices halfway down the road. This is especially true should the conversation turn to them.

On the other hand, Maremmas suffer from selective dumbness. This is particularly manifest when it comes to words such as 'Stay', 'No', 'Thank you', 'I'll have that', 'Quiet' and especially 'Come'.

When a Maremma is allowed to sleep close to his humans during the night, he may snooze so deeply that the trumpets of Jericho would not bring him to his paws.

Maremma owners trade methods of how to keep their dogs quiet like they used to trade their grandmother's secret pea soup recipes. Everyone has a different one.

Is it true that Maremmas like to dig?

Maremmas and almost all other large guarding breeds originate from the central European mountain ranges.

How do you think these mountains came into existence and why are the Abruzzi so high? A Maremma, believing himself unobserved, turns the mouse hole in the lawn into an impact crater in no time at all.

Landscape gardeners confess to a disproportionately large number of commissions from large guarding breed owners. Maremma owners should abandon all dreams about possessing lawns of Wimbledon Centre Court quality, and better get used to the fact that in future they will have to live on an artillery training range.

How do Maremmas get on with children?

If you have taught your children early on that one does not annoy dogs; does not tweak it's tail; does not jump on top of it when it is asleep; does not kick it; does not pull it's coat; does not yell at it; does not prick it's ears with a needle and does not pinch it's food; then your Maremma will be safe from your children. Children are not as easy to train as a Maremma, mainly because one is not allowed to put children on a lead, but also because children are not as easily offended as Maremmas are.