CHD

 

Thank you for searching the Internet for information on the Maremma Sheepdog. I hope that this Web Site will be a valuable source of information for you. These pages will be updated from time to time. This may include more items and articles of interest, and certainly more photos in the gallery. Bookmark this site, and do come back at times to keep yourself updated also (don't forget to 'refresh' to be sure you are seeing the most recent version of the site).

General Information.

Originating in Italy, these majestic dogs have been used as livestock guardians, primarily of goat and sheep herds for over two thousand years, a history that on its own commands a certain amount of attention.

The correct Italian name is: Cane Da Pastore Maremmano Abruzzese. This is literally translated as "the dog of the shepherd of the Maremmano and Abruzzese regions". In most english speaking countries the dog is known as the Maremma Sheepdog. However this name can be misleading as 'sheepdog' brings the connotation of a dog that herds sheep. The maremma will NOT herd your flock, though they may be seen leading a flock to feeding areas, or the flock may run to the dog if they sense danger and then even follow the dog to a safe place. This behaviour is amazing to watch - seeing a herd of animals, naturally fearing dogs, run to their dog and follow his lead!

Throughout this web site you find the dog referred to as either the Maremma, or the Maremmano Abruzzese.

These dogs are quite unique, but do share some characteristics with the other breeds that are classed

" Old World Breeds "

Italian shepherds have laid their very lives in these dogs hands, by having to sleep out in the wild, when needing to take their herds out for feeding. The lifestyle was wild and rugged, and the dogs have a disposition allowing them to seem quite oblivious to the harshest of weather conditions, whether the summer heat or the winter snow, and even today they retain their rustic character, requiring little food for their size and little training and supervision.

The predators were ominous and life-threatening to both shepherd and sheep alike, consisting mostly of wolves and European brown bears.

Now many people raise a viable question immediately upon being presented with the duties of the Maremma - "Since dogs themselves are predators, how can they be trusted to guard ? "
Perhaps the studies carried out at the School of Natural Science in Massachusetts have come up with the best explanation. The behaviour of animals is directly related to the way they are built. The most obvious example is that wings are for flying and feet for walking. Animal breeders select two animals with the characteristics they desire, breed them together and so strengthen these desirables. Now in the case of breeding Maremmani, the desirable is a dog with a strong instinct to guard, no instinct for herding, coupled with a physical size comparable to the predator at large. This breeding selection of course is not achieved within one or even two generations, but over more than two thousand years of such breeding selection the characteristics are well defined within the Maremmano Abruzzese.

You will find information here describing what the Maremmano is to look like and how the Maremmano is bred to behave. The combination of these two factors are what makes up 'BREED TYPE'

Type is not just physical conformation, nor is it just temperament conformation.

As you move through these pages, you will find answers to many questions that you may have come searching for. If you need a more active approach to learning about the Maremma, you may find it very helpful to subscribe to the Maremma Mailing List (free) where you can talk to other Maremma owners around the world, ask questions and have them answered by people of varied experience and situations.

These pages are arranged according to topic as much as possible, since many of the topics are intertwined you will find links within the site to allow you to move around the site following threads, or you can read through one page at a time and use the Table of Contents at the top of the site, always visible, to move from topic to topic as you wish.

Please feel free to use the feedback form provided to ask me any questions that you may have still unanswered, and I will be happy to try to assist you.

I do not hold lists of people around the world who have puppies available, but through the Mailing List it is often possible to locate breeders in many areas.