Steve

No I wouldnt say they dont like men. In fact my house dogs appear to "love" my husband more than me and Ive often had a sook about their disloyalty when Im the one with them all day and feeding them etc. though I know thats because he is more affectionate to them than I am and because they see him as boss cocky of the mob. If you watch your own body language and your own tone of voice and tell the dog quietly and calmly its O.K. it will turn her off quicker but the reality is anyone that comes in too quickly rather than back off a minute and let the dog know they arent going to hurt you and allow them to judge what your reactions are is pretty brave .When they are yelling with their hackles up and acting like they mean it - it really is someone more fearless than me who would keep coming.

In general: The Anatolian is in the middle between Maremma and Central Asian, wrt using physical confrontation as their defence response. By that I mean maremma innate response is to bark and warn from a distance, Central Asian innate response is active physical confrontation; Anatolian is generally warn first followed by physical confrontation. That said, It depends on the lineage of the dog, some Anatolians you can leave out the front to bark at unknown arrivals and some you cannot, because they will attack unknown arrivals. How they work is not the only difference, but it represents a lot about the dogs' general temperament and character traits. Probably Anatolians are more likely to exhibit aggression towards people than the maremma, but you will have to check with steve. Anatolians are expected to take the lead if there is leadership lacking and it is not unusual for this to manifest into human aggression if raised the wrong way. Generally if an Anatolian is 'not working out', it is because the dog is exhibitng aggresion towards the owner / family. Nothing wrog with the dog. Just the wrong temperament type for the home. My ideal Anatolian has a strong pscychological ascendancy and I will use an alpha assertive temperament type in at least either the sire or dam when breeding. Not all Anatolian breeders share this ideal, nor will a whole litter be this way. Yep maremmas are never aggressive and do all they can to avoid attacking.

When I first got them I heard many conflicting stories and wouldnt breed them until I really pushed them and put them to the test - put them with children, old people, chooks, sheep, cattle, horses and ragdoll kittens. I was concerned that if I had one in the house and one of the kids friends came over that the dog may want to protect my kids too much.I wanted to see how they reacted to humans coming near their animals and how they coped with working dogs, shearing time ,strangers , and everything I could think of in a pet and working situation. The fact is they arent up for making friends with stangers, though strangers are O.K. if I let them in and I say so they dont want to be patted or fussed over by anyone but their own animals or their own people. As pets With their own family they are affectionate and cant get enough cuddles and love but if you want them to be like that with other people you have to make an effort for them to see that as normal. At the end of the day its all about what is normal for where they live and work. If you have a 100 people coming and going via the front gate they accept that but get a bit noisy if someone comes in the back gate and thats not normal. No point in having a situation where you keep them apart from strangers and then expect them to be O.K. about strangers in 6 months time. Here if you drive up to the door they give a yell to let me know you are here but if you park the car and try to come through the gate and walk in they are more likely to scare you because that isnt something they see as being the norm. Ive got 14 grandkids and the dogs love em to bits .I love watching them making sure the little ones dont go off the front porch without the kids even knowing thats what they are doing - part of that is that they make the kids love em so they choose to stay with them rather than go exploring. I had one that had me baffled for a while. She would pre-empt my husbands movements .She knew before he went to bed that he was going ,knew when he was going to the toot and knew when he was going to get a beer. She would wait at the hallway door and watch him go into the toot , beat him to the beer fridge and be in the bedroom waiting for him before he got there. Turned out it was about his beer mug. When he was going to get a beer he stood up with his empty stubby in his hand and left his mug on the coffee table , if he was going to the toot he left the stubbie and the mug on the coffee table, if he was going to bed he would take his bewer mug with him to rinse and fill with water to take to the bedroom . Took me ages to work that out.

I have - Ive got stud dorper sheep - worth up to $10,000 each and the year before I got the dogs I lost 500 lambs. Ive have never lost a lamb since I got the dogs . Thats a good enough cost benefit analysis for me. Beats the hell out of baiting and shooting and spotting for dead lamb bodies and ewes withtheir entraills yanked out. the crows around here also feast on ewes eyes when they are down and lambing too - the Maremmas sort that oput quick smart. The first year I put the first boy into the paddock he looked after mob of 250 merino crosses and he thought that wasnt enough so he moved between two paddocks and looked after 500. Not one lamb was taken by foxes. For me they are priceless and around this time of year when Im getting farmers calling me begging to borrow my dogs to work their properties through fox season until they can train their own makes me realise no matter what price I was offered for them I cant afford to be without them.

Read Lillis post above.

the dog works the paddock so where the cattle or sheep are isnt an issue until they percieve a threat. They have already barked and told predators they are there, they have marked the place so the predAtor can smell them and they watch the body language and anything even remotely different is dealt with. The only time they will interupt the normal grazing pattern of the mob is if something actually comes into the paddock and then they will bring them into one place and put themselves between the mob and the predator. Now how they do that is open to debate but it appears that the animals they are working with simply trust their judgement. and watch the dogs body language as well as the dog watch ing theirs. Its not like move or I will bite you like a cattle dog its sort of like come on guys lets move over here. After dark they usually have them clumped together but that also depends on how big your paddock is , how much tree coverage etc and how many dogs you have with the mob. The dogs just sort it out . As is explained in that link allowing the dog to work out best work practices just works. If you have mobs in neighbouring paddocks the dog may want to guard them too.tThere are various ways you can prevent that if thats what you want but if you have a couple of dogs in each paddock if its a major threat they will move into each others paddocks to give each other a hand. We have a couple at the moment we sent home to a sheep property who are 9 months old and working really well with sheep. Too well it appears as the neighbour has a flock of about 500 and they are lambing so the dogs are going onto the neighbours property to guard them as well as their own. The neighbour admits he hasnt lost any lambs this year when he usually looses up to 50% but he doesnt like the owners of the dogs and has threatened if they come onto his property he will shoot them .The ranger has been out and so have the cops. The dogs owners have been advised by me to put yolks on them to keep them in their own property which in my experience works every time but it appears they are too concerned the dogs will be shot anyway so have asked me to help find a new sheep property for them to work on. Humans wanting to come into a paddock are advised by the dog not to come in. The dog will let them in the paddock as long as they dont go near the animals they are working with but under constant threat .Again the dog guages the threat level based onthe body language and movements of the predator whether that be a human or not. Last resort is to attack and they give stacks of waring when they can that this will be nasty if you keep coming.

No issues ever,my Maremmas take their que from me and my body language and my behaviour as they do with the sheep. They bark as you drive through the gate ,stand between you and me as you get out of the car and move off as I welcome you. Ive had an incident where some creepy old man arrived looking for free twine off the hay bales.I thought that was very strange as he was spending petrol money to get free twine but he stay out side the gate as I didnt invite him in. The front fence was about a metre tall and as he was speaking with me he leaned the top part of his body over my side of the fence. The bitch hated him stood in front of me and barked her head off then moved closer to him telling him to back off. He didnt.I asked him to lean back off the fence - he laughed and said the dog didnt bother him.I said it was bothering the dog so please just lean back - he didnt so the bitch wouldnt shut up - nothing I did or said made her settle.She wouldnt come and all her beautiful training for recall etc was evaporated. Each pass she made at that man she came closer until he felt her breath on his knuckles. He stood back and she walked over and sat at my feet between him and me. That was because it was different to what was normally expected of people coming to the house. Another time I had a bitch inthe lounge room and vistors in the dining room who didnt even know the dog was there. The visitor was telling my husband a story and stood up raised his arm and his voice and the dog was 6 inches from him in a heart beat. Hackles up teeth bared ears back . The visitor sat down Hubby told her it was O.K. and she sat down between my husband and the vistor .For the rest of the visit you would have thought she had gone to sleep and forgotten all about it .Until the visitor stood up or moved too quickly and then she sat up too and just stared at him. There was no doubt that if he came close to my husband she had him .When it was time for him to leave she was O.K. with letting him go out but at all times she was between him and my husband. Another time was when my eldest son was home visiting and the dog didnt know him - the dog had been born the same day as my youngest son who was now toddling but eldest son had only been home for a visit spasmodically - Anyway like an idiot eldest son came running up behind me and the toddler while we were walking and picked the baby up and had a wooooo. Before he could put the kid down the dog had him by the leg - not enough to leave a mark but enough to scare the hell out of him. My eldest son was able to do anything and move anywhere for the rest of the visit until he tried to go into the baby's bedroom un escorted where the dog had decided was a good doorway to sleep in and as he came close you could hear a dull growl. So as long as he didnt go in the baby's bedroom nothing to worry about but Im not sure I could have stopped her giving him another nip if he had tried to get past her. Just recently this summer my 17 year old son was baled up by a brown snake and climbed up onto a crate and phoned his dad to come and save him. Dad arrived in his mates car with his mate .Mate jumps out of the car and opens the gate the dog is barking at the mate but no big deal. Dad drives through and leaves the mate at the gate while he speeds off to save the kid .The mate comes through the gate running toward my Son and the dog grabbed him by the back of the leg - enough to hurt but not cause any huge problem. The mate stopped moving toward my son so the dog stopped and moved closer to my son. Mate went back out through the gate. Dad goes looking for the snake - snake is gone by now anyway. The mate has been back but the dog and the mate dont trust each other much anymore - neither seem to be very comfortable with the other's company and the mate wouldnt come in without an escort.

Sometimes we can start them off with other animals depending on whats here but this time its only sheep. The best time to start bonding them is about age 6 weeks to 12 weeks. They do O.K. after that but in my experience it takes a lot longer to get the bonding bit down if you leave it much later.

Ive got genuine working Maremmas.

Usually the bonding process entails. Putting the pup in with the animal species it will be working with in a small area - giving it a retreat to save its self when the animals kick hell out of it . It comes in as if it is afraid - many new owners wonder that they got a dud but thats part of making the animal they will be working with not see them as any threat and accepting direction from them. They stay in that enclosure with those animals for up to 12 weeks and when it is let out its a fair size and is very much devoted to wanting to be with those animals and the animals are wanting to follow it. When they are working you dont look for dead fox or dog bodies you look for no sign of them - the dogs bark, mark and threaten and move the animals they are guarding to safety if they see or hear a threat coming so most times it's not a showdown. Id never expect the dog to have a problem being attacked by a fox but a pack of dogs - maybe - but Ive never heard of it. Thes guys here are 6 weeks old and the ones which are going to sheep properties are out working for a few hours today.

They are O.K. in town if they are living as if they are humans.If they are with the family [ herd] all the time its no big deal and they dont bark if they sleep inside .We have lots of them in pet homes in suburbia but if you leave them outside spearate to the family they bark.Thats how they work. My house Maremmas are with me all day and when I open the door to go to the clothes line they run ahead of me and Yell "everything back off - here comes Mum" only for a second till I get there then they watch me hang the washing out. Meeting their needs is giving them something to look after .We have one placed with an autistic boy who rarely leaves the house.When the dog first went in the kid was horrible to it .the dog did its stuff and now the dog is the only thing the kids communicates with.The dog is by his side 24 hours a day and goes outside to play only when the boy does .Same thing the dog runs ahead as he is coming out the door goes bark bark get off the property here comes the kid and then stays close sniffing and weeing etc but within a few minutes back with the kid getting a hug. While the kid is on the trampoline or the swings the dog sun bakes. Where you get a problem in suburbia is when you leave them in a back yard with no work. If you have a family - like mine where someone is always with the dog and the dog can live truly as a human rather than a dog there isnt a problem. But when you throw it outside of an evening it will need to shout at anything or any sound that may mean the family would be threatened. One big difference for me was when I had the dog inside and I heard a noise outside - got a bit worried about it so thought I'd let the dog out to scare what ever it was off as she had obviously heard the sound too. I opened the door " Go on then go out and see what the noise is " Nup " Go on go out and check it out for me . 'Nup and she moved to the bedroom - you go out if you want Mum and if anything gets past you Ive got the kids covered" She sat down just inside the boys doorway. Same as she would if it were sheep. Dont leave the animals you are guarding when there is a threat in case the predator gets them while you are not watching. Now I have 2 inside one stays with the kids and the other goes out. 2 Maremmas in a paddock one stays with the sheep and the other chases em off .One Maremma in a paddock moves the sheep to a coner for safety and puts themselves between the threat and the animal. They yell and do scary things to try to talk the predator out of coming too close because taking time out to kill it means the predators mate might slip in the back door. If you understand the breed and forget all the nornal stuff about exercise, training and behaviour and do it all with knowledge of the breed as a difference to dog - its great . If I yell shuddup they think Im barking and upset so they bark more, If I say calmly "its O.K. mate' they shuddup! Within an enclosed area - my home they have perfect manners and do all I ask of them - trained , come, sit etc but when they are turned on and percieve a threat that goes right out the window. Over the last 19 or 20 years Ive owned them Ive learned to trust them and if I respect the breed and what they were bred to do its easy. They make you think they are so in love with you and are so dependent on you but its an illusion I think. For them we are just a job just as the sheep are and its me who has come to trust them and love them to bits just as the sheep do.

That bit gets me - the KC will still register the litter and there is nothing on the registration papers to say if the breeder runs a backyard business or is accredited, so it is meaningless to say whether a litter is registered as AB puppies or not. The whole AB idea is a bit of a wonder. I just do not see how we can have 2 classes of breeders, breeders who take the proper actions and breeders who do not. But since this AB idea is being brought in down here too, then it must be part of the master plan and will be tied into the EBV schemes. BTW I really do not like the way some breeders (like you have above) are already implying that any breeders that do not buy into the AB program are therefor BYB. Here we go again, attacking each other. I for one have not gone for the AB (and I already did everything they require and more). I am opposed to 2 classes of breeders scheme, think we already have a culture of attacking each other and need to be finding ways to end this and certainly not be promoting it, and I totally do not support the whole AB scheme, that does not make me a BYB. Don't we have enough people taking shots at us without taking shots at each other? Haven't we run off enough ANKC breeders, do we really need our numbers of breeders to be cut down even more? You have totally misread what I said or chosen to twist my words to see insult where one wasn't there ie. An ABS breeder can do a breeding that doesn't follow the guidlines/rules of being an ABS breeder and the kennel club will still register that litter - the breeder is just not supposed to say they were ABS breeder at the time the pups were bred. They can be ABS before and after. When I registered my current litter, they emailed me to say the litter can't be registered under the ABS scheme as they had no record of the sires microchip - either send the number or instructions to register litter without ABS recognition!! The other point being, that there is nothing on the registration form for the puppy that states the breeder is ABS - this is a scheme being touted to puppy buyers as a way of stearing them towards breeders who are supposed to be doing their best for the breed/pups but at the end of the day, the puppy buyer has very little proof (and none of it in paperwork with the pup unless the breeder has spent out to get the official puppy wallets which don't fit all the info we have to supply with the pups!). The only way buyers know that my current litter is ABS is because it is currently advertised on the KC website in the ABS section for the breed. Yes, a puppy buyer could check by phoning the kennel club, but buyers don't even ask to see the paperwork for the health tests, just accept they have been done (I include copies in the puppy pack and explain what they mean). I do not know all the ins and outs of the Uk KC, but what I said about having 2 classes of breeders, those who 'do' what is right and those who 'do not have to' do what is right is really stupid. Kennel clubs should have a standard of care and everyone is held to. Steve discussed it very well. I do take insult, as you said it again 'registration papers to say if the breeder runs a backyard business or is accredited' as if you are either one or the other. So does a AB never make any money and give their pups away? Are AB pups only born in a home? Are all breeders that are not AB running a buisness? Are all breeders who are not AB birthing their puppies in their back yards? The aussuptions are wild and unfounded and do nothing but cause bad feeling between breeders. So yes I take offence. Stop saying I am a BYB or a backyard buiness because I am not an AB. Short step before any debate continues the differences need to be clarified and discussed. Just because Bateson and the rest said they needed an accredited breeder scheme over there doesnt mean he would have thought we needed one here .

I think there may be a an argument for an accredited breeder scheme in the UK. But their system is different to ours and that fact seems to have been lost on our own CCs in their endeavour to appease animal rights nuts. Here in Australia in order to breed a registered puppy you have to be a registered breeder and agree to the breeders codes of conduct and operate under their regs - so if we assume that everyone who is a breeder is doing what is required of them - or surely they would chuck them out - why do we need to create another group which is supposedly doing more and doing it better than the others? The acccredited breeder program in Queensland is basically telling them things they have to do which everyone already has to do becuase its part of the mandatory laws for breeding dogs! Why didnt they say - everyone of our breeders are doing the right thing and if you find one that isnt tell us and we will check it out - no need to be accredited as being a member is evidence already of doing it right - and if it isnt then make EVERYONE work under the same framework tighten up the rules and regs for every breeder not just those who pay the extra money. How do you justify having members who are not doing it right and you allowing them to remain members - what? You just say dont go to them because we all know they suck even though they are registered breeders? " The Australian Ccs should be saying bugger off = all of our members are doing it right - not "oh yes we know some are getting it wrong" And who is deciding what is right and wrong and how are they deciing it? God help us.

If the puppy is 6 weeks old its weaned enough to leave Mum and the product is used and recommended to suppliment the puppies.Lots of breeders recommend this to be given when the puppies go home if thats what they have been weaned on. Many registered breeders wean their puppies way earlier than 6 weeks to "save the bitch" I bought a puppy once off a registered breeder who had been breeding purebred puppies for 30 years . It arrived at my house at 8 weeks and when I said what have you been feeding it the answer was - nothing other than goats milk and weetbix In fact when we started the courses with the MDBA we were a bit embarrassed asking experienced registered breeders to do the introductory course but we soon found out that no group has a monopoly on not knowing it all. Take a good look at the nutritional content of this product and throw in an egg or two and some oats or weet bix - are you sure your high priced commercial puppy food is any better for a young pup? Dont we advise the owner to follow the breeders advice based on what the pup has been weaned on when it first goes home? Im having a hard time seeing the problem.

They work in completely opposite ways and would be 100 percent unpredictible and potentially dangerous. Problem is idiots breed them like this and when the poo hits the fan its either tagged a border collie cross or a Maremma cross and whatever breed it is that gets the tag gets the bad rep as if its a normal part of the breed.

You put them in with the species of animals you are bonding them with ideally between 6 and 12 weeks . When they are horny or on heat they are still dogs and the males will seek out a female and a female will allow any old boy to mate with her. Its why most times they are desexed and then there isnt a problem. If they remain entire the farmer has to be aware of that risk and manage it. I bring mine in out of the paddock to whelp in the house but most working dog breeders allow them to whelp in a shed with a swing door where they can get into their puppies but also work and of course they start to train their own pups at about 5 weeks to work too. Some breeders feel they shouldnt be handled as this supposedly interupts their natural instict to bond but that isnt my experience and I want a dog I can handle and not one which hasnt be socialised with humans as well as the animals they live with. Its why my puppies are able to go into a working home or pet home with ease and thats the way I like it. I have a girl here who has been out with the sheep since she was 6 weeks old and when she is in whelp I bring her inside to my lounge room about a week before she is due.She sits with her back to me for 2 days and tells me she wants to go back to her lambs but then settles down where there is no difference between her and the bitch which has been inside all of her life.She would blow up before she went to the toot in the house and Ive never even had an accident. though she is only inside when she is in whelp and has never been house trained. She lets the kids [ human] in and out of the whelping box and is a perfect house guest . At 3 weeks she starts to go back to work for several hours a day and only comes in now and then to check on her pups and feed them .The biggest problem I have is that she allows the lambs to drink from her so I have to manage that. At 6 weeks I allow her to work again with any puppies which are going to sheep work and that gives the pups 2 weeks head start for when they go home and start working. She comes in to play with and tell the rest of the litter she still loves them and encourages them to like humans and not be frightened etc but its her choice as to how much time she spends working or being with the puppies destined for chicken farms, etc or pets. The ones sold as pets I get to love and cuddle more but I tell them all I love them and they reciprocate in kind. There is nothing in the whole world more loveable and more beautiful than a baby Maremma - every bit of the way they act and look is designed to make you love them and it works. Ive got a litter here at the moment which is just turning 6 weeks - its heaven. Its not kind to the ones going to working homes to allow them to live in airconditioned comfort on satin pillows because when they go home its minus freezing and out in the paddock - better if they are ready for that and that is what the breed is designed for.

Its difficult for me to compare as Im not that up with the Central Asian but my understanding is that Maremmas are more user friendly for humans. That may be because I know my own breed and Im more comfortable with it but Im sure Lilli would be able to fill in the gaps with the CA.

Yes mine guard the beagles and the cats.

Certain times of the year mine get dreadlocks but they deal with that themselves. Usually with mine its because they lie in the water troughs or swim in the dam and then make mud bricks by rolling in the red dirt. They dig holes to keep cool and use as wind breaks and most often choose the highest ground to sit on to watch the animals they are looking after. Through the day you think they are mooching, sunbaking and not doing their job but they are always on.

As pets you can knock yourself out and think you have them trained - until they perceive a threat then any training is out the wndow. Ive been very lucky because I have them working in the paddocks and in the house. Ive placed them on big properties and small. Ive placed them as guardians to autistic kids and elderly old ladies. Ive watched them with Ragdoll kittens and children. In some of these situations they work and exaggerate their body language to make the animal or human know they are no threat until they become dependent on them. The one we placed with an 82 year old lady goes with her when she opens the door and sits beside her quietly until the person outside the door puts their hand on the handle .Then its full on barking, hackles up and scary stuff - dont you dare come in that door or you are dead. If the owner puts her hand on the handle to let them in the dog turns and waits for the visitor to enter without a word .He then sits in the corner like an ornament until the visitor stands up - then the dog sits up and watches that they arent going to threaten his human. My point is no matter how much you think the dog is trained if its turned on because it is concerned about a threat its instinct all the way. No training makes the dog bark if you try to come in that old lady's door - it worked that out for itself. She loves him to bits and says he changed her life as she sleeps soundly knowing he will look after her. If they take away my Maremma when Im an old lady Ill come back and haunt them.

For years I tried to get 'all ' dog breeders to defend each other rights even if what those breeders are doing is not what you do, but that has never happened. Now we reap the results of that short sightedness. For years I have watched as many people have wanted my breeds stud book open to the purebred working dogs of the same breed. But that has never been considered. Now at least in the UK (and likely the rest of the world will soon follow) that decisions has been made for them by others. Would have been much better to have directed the process themsleves and controlled the in take of new dogs to only purebred working dogs with pedigrees, but now if they look like a duck they are duck with no pedigree at all. But if this is what it takes then this is what it takes I guess. Nothing to wonder about really from what I have seen happening over the past 15 years. Yep to a point where we have all been educated - not by people who even have ever ever owned a purebred breeding dog but by animal rights loonies to a point where we dont even know the what is best for the species and if we do - we mustnt do it or we face conviction and if we speak of it we are castigated.

No definitely not - I brush my house Maremma but the ones in the paddock never ever get any grooming . The dogs in the paddock still come up to say hello when their humans come and they are handled and cope with it all really well.Its a good idea in the early days to train them to walk on a lead in case you need that but Ive never groomed a working Maremma and even in spring time when they shed they simply run along the fences and the fur falls out in clumps. Yes bruno they are just like the sheep and because of that everything you know about training dogs goes right out the window .They are bred to be independent and make decisions on their own about what to do without humans around so what you get with them is born in and not able to be trained in.

Exerpt fromthe above link. Part of a case study. The property Dunluce is a 46,500 ha sheep and cattle property situated 36 km west of Hughenden in the Flinders Shire, in north-west Queensland. Wild dog predation has steadily increased in the area, causing extensive damage to livestock, especially sheep. As a result, the number of sheep producers in the area has steadily declined, with many being forced out of business or switching to cattle. Before the introduction of livestock guardian dogs, wild dog predation at Dunluce had been increasing. Sheep numbers had varied over the years, ranging from as high as 40,000 down to only 7000 in the nineties. Dunluce was running 20,000 sheep in 2002 when sheep losses peaked at 15%. This represented a total loss of AU$30,000 in wild dog-incurred damage to sheep, including killed and maimed sheep, lost lambs, and reduced wool production due to stress. The value of lost and maimed calves that year is hard to estimate but was probably substantial. They introduced 24 Maremmas on Dunluce to work with sheep. From that time onwards, the losses to wild dog predation gradually decreased. Three years after the introduction of Maremmas the total loss of sheep per year has dropped to 4% and has remained around this level ever since. The majority of these losses are not predation-related and Ninian and Ann believe that the total loss of sheep to wild dog predation averages about ten individuals per year. Wild dog pressure on neighbouring properties has not decreased. All the Maremmas were trained to use a self-feeder, to walk on a lead and to be tied up, and to accept Ninian and Ann handling them. However, care was taken to make sure they did not become overly people-friendly. Current setup The paddocks on Dunluce range in size from 400 – 1600 ha. Rotational grazing is used, with the aim being that 25% of the property is grazed at one time and 75% is resting. The Maremmas are accustomed to being moved with the sheep when they are rotated to a new paddock. Depending on the type of sheep in a paddock, the Maremmas are working with flocks of 1000 – 1500 ewes, or with flocks of 3000 – 3500 wethers. Flocks can vary greatly in size depending on the season, numbering between 300 and 3500 sheep. The Maremmas adapt to the varying numbers and individuals without difficulty. The Maremmas are still working in groups of one to four and are free to distribute themselves over the property as they like. Some Maremmas roam between different paddocks and dogs occasionally leave their flock to provide backup for another group of dogs that has detected trouble. In general, all the sheep on the property have one or more Maremmas with them most of the time. Ninian and Ann are now familiar with the personality of each dog and its Recently, three Maremmas have been bonded to a group of cattle as well and are currently working with 350 maiden heifers. The aim is to get Maremmas set up to work with all the breeding cows on the property, as well as with the sheep, to provide protection for calves. Ongoing husbandry The Maremmas have self-feeders with ad lib dry dog food available to them in their paddocks. These selffeeders keep the dog food dry and prevent livestock from getting to it. The feeders are checked and refilled twice a week when the water run is carried out and fresh meat is also supplied at this time.

No our Maremmas live in minus 7 up to 45 and cope very well. Any where a sheep can live a Maremma can live.

I think perhaps you havent understood. The dogs never hang around the house paddocks they stay with the sheep every single minute of every single day whether they are lambing or not and you set up a feeding station . They live like sheep and In many situations humans dont sight the sheep or the dogs for days or on really big spreads 100,000 of thousands of acres for weeks. they are definitely not more suited to smaller spreads.