Maremma Livestock Guardian Dogs

A Maremma is a livestock guarding dog, bred in Italy for centuries to guard flocks of sheep on the plains and in the mountains. The Maremma originally lived day and night with its flock and its white coat mimics the coat of the sheep in its flock. It was bred to take responsibility for keeping the flock safe from four legged predators, primarily the wolf, and from two legged thieves, and kept proficient at its job by frequent life-and-death battles with the wolves. Maremmas, and other livestock guarding breeds have been selected to take responsibility and to make their own decisions in the absence of a master. This means that they want to make up their own minds and decide for themselves how best to deal with a potentially dangerous situation. The Maremma is not suitable for attack training. Maremmas are very affectionate and physical about it. They want to know where all their family members are and to be close to them. They demonstrate constantly their deep devotion to their bonded intimates. A Maremma never considers itself a pet. It is a working dog and needs a job to keep it occupied. Maremmas guarding is instinctive and needs no training and will intensify with age. The Maremma lives happily with other dogs and animals, this is what it was bred to do, provided that it is the boss. They have almost no hunt and chase instincts. A playful Maremma pup can seriously hurt a baby lamb without meaning to, puppy play with its livestock should be avoided.