Maremma dogs guard goats near Terrebonne

Video by Leilani Rapaport
The Bulletin
© 2014

[tuppy]

I'm new to owning maremmas and they're brilliant. We farm free range birds. Intelligent and natural watch/guard dogs. I picked up our female maremma from the pound, she was 22 kgs (46 pounds) 12 months old, so thin. She came to me straight away and was leaning on me. We are closely bonded. I adore her, she's happy now.

[Rockit-]

My wife and I saved our Marrema from the pound, he was just on a year old and they were going to put him down, he was severely and badly treated by the previous owners - BADLY and he wouldnt be around any other dog - kept on fighting and hated cats. We had a look at him and didnt know what a Marrema was so I went home and did a little research and the next day we got him, , , that was 14 years ago - we still have him, his voice went first about 18 months ago - we are now his voice, his back legs havnt worked for a year now - I carry him, I hold him and move him, clean him and more. He will live out his life as natural as possible with us - his mom and dad (as long as he has no pain - and he doesnt) he has a heart tab and a tab for pain for his arthritis. we love him dearly, he has been the BEST and most loving, loyal sweet, soft precious boy he has been a feirce guard dog and has protected my wife a few times and I will never forget that, his name is BO but now with his age, I call him papa and he knows (as I write this) he is on my back yard, on the grass, , , having a nap.
I even get emotional just talking about him.

[JamisonRicardo]

I've had 5 of these dogs, and I would never even consider getting another breed of dog to guard my goats. They are the most fierce dog I've ever encountered, yet watch over their flock to the point they aid in childbirth.

[NKp]

I agree— great breed. My boy isn’t even 2 and around 150 lbs. He is very powerful and absolutely faster than any coyote. His speed amazes me given his size and shape. I will never use another breed again for my livestock.

[dawnrose]

We just got a Maremma sheepdog from a rescue near us, and no one had any idea what breed she was. We did the DNA testing and found out she was 78% Maremma, 5% Great Pyr, and the rest Standard Poodle! But she is tiny...only 50 pounds, but she has the Maremma guarding instincts down perfectly. Really thrilled we were able to find such a wonderful dog at a shelter. She is so, so

[kathyclemons]

Love these LGD. We had 100+ Boer Goats & chose the Maremma breed to protect them. They were fantastic with my goats, protective of me & a big help during kidding. And Beautiful to see.

[sheebathefunnyrescuedog]

These dog and Anatolian Shepherds are really impressive

[bruno-orante]

They fight fiercely against wolves.. In Italy they have been used for centuries for ovine protection against wolves and bears, still present in the Appennine mountains of Abbruzzi.
They just have no fear of anything.
Usually a sharp spike collar is used when wolves are detected.

[eipi]

i host dogs and got one of these, no experience with this breed at all. (Ive had retrievers almost exclusivity) We couldnt find a home so i kept him and am sure glad i did. After a small amt of training he became my best friend. Awesome pet and an ultra guard dog..

[barbarawillis]

Beautiful dogs in this video. They seem very attached to their owners. 🙂

[madilainecooper]

My maremma is a proper protection dog I also have a protection German Shepard cost so much to train but about a week ago together they took down a wild dog so worth it, love my boys

[kampanomad]

I just rescued one of these from the city water plant very big and not even had her first heat yet...Vet says she is very healthy despite being extremely skinny and I got her shots. Not spading her though. Was very hard to keep her on the property took 6 months but she finally knows her territory and defends it like a Roman a baby possum and she immediately went into guard mode...and seemed to comfort the small creature....tried to release it but it wouldnt leave the cage. Stared down the towtruck driver but never approached him. came by to pickup my car for a computer repair...he wouldnt come out from behind his truck door but she listened to me and stayed on the porch after I greeted him. Definately going to invest in some Ewe's turkeys chickens guinnea foul and ducks and see how she does on the 54 acres I own which is infested with coyotes...gonna try and see if I can rescue a couple more of them so shes not alone first. There seems to be a breeder who is dumping the bitches there at the water plant. Any advice is welcome. :Edit I have her on a giant breed diet now and she is not skinny anymore but over 100 lbs when I brought her home (I picked her up and stood on a scale cant pick her up anymore shes too heavy and wiggly but still very lean)

[jonstrickland]

Your coyotes are small. Here in South Carolina we’ve had some around 60lbs and several black ones, which I thought were wolves at first.

[Royalpugcarlinomops]

Great choice the Maremmano for a Livestock Guardian Breed!

[Kayaz]

Great video, just what I wanted to learn. Concise and to the point.

[paolobreber]

Maremmas are not supposed to chase coyotes or other predators; they simply have to keep them away.If they are well conditioned as puppies they should feel more attachment to their sheep than to humans. On a sheep farm they are not pets.

[kimphilby]

If you want a dog guard your animals, choose a dog from a rough country, Balcans, Caucasus, Spain, Italy.Regions where wolves were never exterminated-they were always feeding on herds.

[pauline]

What has happened to their fur??? Might wanna brush them, looks like it's falling off

[timknowles]

hi from the gorge! Nice video. how do they do in summer heat?

[dr.martiwolfe]

How do Pyrenean Pyrenean Mountain dogs, Meremmas and Great Pyrenees differ? Are their names just regional variations on the same breed or are there actual genetic distinctions? i think they are fascinating dogs, but I question the wisdom of people who live in hot climates owning them. One of these lovely dogs appeared in our neighborhood in the northern Sierra foothills a year or so ago- the whole neighborhood fell in love with him. We reluctantly sent him to the shelter because we thought that would be the best chance of his being reunited with his own humans & that's what happened.