Video - maremma puppy behaviour as they grow

Socialising - play wrestle behaviour

Maremma pups will engage in a lot of play wrestling behaviour, typically from 3 - 4 week of age. The energy and concentration they devote to this enlarges as they mature.

The behaviour is an important one in their development, allowing them to learn skills needed for defending the livestock against predators and should not be deterred unless they attempt to engage in this behaviour with the livestock

These are very short clips unfortunately, however they clearly display the typical behaviour

Pup early exposure and socialising to young livestock

It is important for pups to have as many socialising experiences as possible in the early months of their lives. It is equally as important for the young livestock to experience socialising with livestock guardian dogs.

These 4 week old pups are learning important skills here - how to approach both the young goat kids appropriately, and what will be considered appropriate by the mother goats and how to behave when she repromands them.

another short clip on the same day

Basics of training	Introduction to the basics of livestock guardian training
Livestock guarding situations	Differences in situations for guarding livestock and how this affects the training
Basics of bonding to livestock	What does it mean to bond to livestock?
Role of a pack	The role adults in a pack play when bonding a new pup to livestock
Puppies together	Starting with 2 pups to bond together
Obedience training	The role of obedience training for a livestock guardian