Sunday, March 15, 2015

Cuteness Overload

Farm Buddy and I went to see some Maremma puppies yesterday.  These are livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) and she thinks that she wants one.  People have very different ideas about how LGDs should be raised and utilized and, like most everything, each person thinks their way is the best. Depending on the individual needs of each farm, they may all be right.

These pups come from parents who have had a lot of human contact and are VERY friendly towards people.  They stay outside and guard the whole farm rather than just living with the sheep and this is what FB needs.  For farms with large flocks of sheep, it makes more sense for the dog to bond with and live with the sheep.  For a small, very diverse farm like FB's, it makes more sense to have a dog who will look after the whole place rather than just one aspect of it. 

After the experience we had with Buster, which did not go so well (click here and here for that story), I was very turned off by the LGD concept.  I am still very turned off by the idea of puppies who are never handled and are a danger to people.  I have to admit that after meeting these dogs yesterday, I can see how it could work out.  I am still rather skeptical, but these dogs went a long way to winning me over.  Not that it's my decision to make.

The dogs on this farm were certainly very effective watch dogs and have proven themselves to be good predator dogs, but around people, they were as sweet as could be - much sweeter than my own little shark!

This is the mother of the puppies...

She certainly won us over with those big brown eyes...

and calm sweetness.  Not too many moms with two weeks old pups would be this relaxed and cuddly with total strangers.

And then there are the puppies....





Their eyes are just starting to open.



Six girls and five boys, that's a LOT of cuteness!





Farm Buddy put a deposit down on one. 

There are plenty more available if anyone is interested in a really nice purebred Maremma LGD.  They come from imported stock and seem very sound and healthy to me.  The owner has a 12 year dog who is still in great shape and doing her job.  He has these puppies and one six month old male who is already an experienced guardian who is also available.  He has been around goats, sheep, poultry, donkeys, etc and gets along well with all of them....



Just remember, these are Livestock Guardian Dogs, NOT house dogs.  Don't be fooled by their sheer adorableness, these dogs will not be happy as house pets.

If anyone is interested, get in touch with me and and I will get you the contact info for the owner.  My email address is aerissana at gmail dot com. 

10 comments:

  1. What a delightful post -- puddles of puppies. I do hope Farm Buddy gets just the right little darling for her farm.

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  2. i'd have to get two. i couldn't imagine one alone on the property. they're beauties.

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  3. So many puppies! And a beautiful mom.

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  4. I love that you just kept uploading photos of these little angels - because we can't really get enough puppy pics! Farm Buddy needs to start a blog too. Between the two of you we might be puppy full… might be.

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  5. AAAAAAAAAA puppies!
    They are adorable & thank you for all those pictures :-)
    I like your caveat at the end. There are many patou dogs around here (I don't know what the english name for them is, I think they are a local breed derived from Great Pyreneans) and they are designed to live outdoor all year round. These guys would not make good house pets either, for starters they just would not cope with central heating.

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  6. Wow. 11 puppies. If I ever get a bigger place, I'll do this.

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  7. Rolling Dog Farm (a home for disabled dogs and blind horses) in New Hampshire (also have a facebook site) have Maremma as their guard dogs for their goats and speak very highly of them.

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  8. I think FB will be very pleased. I love that these pups are socialized with people - I'm just not one of those "let them only live with the livestock" for most small farms especially! Wheee!!! How exciting.

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  9. Oh momma is just beautiful! Such kindness and wisdom in her eyes...I believe that no matter what kind of dog, or what their lot in life will be, they are much better off if they're very socialized with people. Those dogs look a lot like our neighbor's Great Pyrenees, who are also LGD's. They used to come visit us a lot, so are very friendly with us. Beautiful and big, and busy, busy, busy! The puppies are just adorable!!

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  10. Oh yes, cuteness overload is such an accurate title! I'm so glad you shared these pictures; thank you very much. I'm looking forward to puppy progress reports, sex of puppy, etc. Lots more cuteness to come!

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