The Maremma has a temperament that is quite unique, and it is necessary to understand this well, in order to correctly evaluate your dogs behaviour, and know if he is showing correct or incorrect behaviours. Sometimes I receive enquiries about patterns of behaviour, that are worrying owners, but that prove to be quite typical, even desirable behaviours.

They relate to livestock as though they are littermates, and will lick livestock about the mouth as they once did mum.
They have a love for their master, but never a submission or dependence and never subservience.

Maremmas have short thick muzzles, broad head and floppy ears giving a large puppy-like appearance that many people find quite endearing. The maremma will regard anything they guard as their 'livestock', be it animals, people or even crops!

In studies at the School of Natural Science in Massachusetts, Maremma pups were raised with Border Collie pups as though they were littermates. Time and again, as the pups grew and matured, the Maremma pups became aloof, solitary and clung to the livestock, whilst the Border Collie pups ran around together 'eyeing' the livestock and attempting to herd them. Maremma pups never develop 'the eye'.
These dogs are surely different from any other dogs, particularly different from all the sheepdogs that have been created by man, created to be a robot and receive instruction and training. The way in which these 'white sheepdogs' were and are used have taught him to look after himself, to use his initiative and his brain without waiting for the help of man.

Now why white in colour ?

Recordings in the first century says that the sheep dog must be white, the reason being that at dawn the wolf will come to the herd and the dog will fight the wolf in defense of the herd. The shepherd will then wish to help the dog but he must not be misled into harming the dog instead of the wolf.

The hard life, the harsh and solitary life to which these dogs have been accustomed to for centuries has given them a temperament that is very special to THEM.

They will always be diffident to strangers and will maintain a spirit of initiative. Maremmas have too much dignity and pride, together with an inborn sense of responsibility for what they have to do, which is the guarding and defense of their property, be this a herd, territory or home, virtually anything that needs protection.

There are three ingredients that go together to make a successful livestock guardian.

These ingredients have been carefully bred into the Maremma and individual dogs are selected or culled out according to the presence of these ingredients.
Let us now take a look at these ingredients, and the importance they bring to bear on the performance of a guardian. They can be regarded as the "A B C" of Successful Guarding.

TRUSTWORTHINESS

The basis for trustworthiness is the absolute total absence of predator behaviour.

When approaching livestock, the trustworthy Maremma will behave submissively. This will be seen as approaching livestock with squinted eyes, ears back, avoiding direct eye contact and lying on the back. They will often be interested in 'investigating' the livestock also, which is seen by the dog licking the livestock around the mouth, anal area and udder. This is very different to the way a predator would approach livestock, and has the effect of putting the livestock at ease, showing them that the maremma is no threat. It often confuses people not used to maremma behaviour to see the way the maremma interacts with his flock, but the body language is complex and gives many important messages to the livestock.

Pups socializing with livestock from a young age.

These behaviours are very desirable traits.

ATTENTIVENESS

Maremmas are selected for their unique ability to follow other animals.
These dogs not only follow a flock or herd for a while, but will follow them 24 hours a day. They will be seen loafing amongst the livestock during the day, and may seem lazy and inattentive, but they know when the danger is greatest, and are alert instantly. By night, they are much more active patrolling the boundaries, urine marking and sounding out their warnings. During daylight hours, the approach of a stranger will often see the dog retreat into the herd.

	"They will be seen loafing amongst the livestock during the day, and may seem lazy and inattentive"
Just as a livestock guardian will be attentive to his flock, and be seen loafing amongst the flock during the day, the companion maremma can be seen loafing with his human flock...		Oscar, owned by Sergio Pazienza and Maryel Bousquet. Seen here with Alex after a long day at a show in Italy.

This is based in the Maremmas ability to react to any deviation from their normal routine. The Maremma will bark at anything he senses to be out of the ordinary or in any way threatening. The Maremma uses tactics on predators that are designed to confuse rather than threaten back, and have been proven to be very effective. Typically, the Maremma will rush out, tail raised barking, then suddenly turn, tail between legs and run into the herd. This may be repeated several times and can very suddenly end in attack.

The important point here is 'their normal routine'. Socializing a maremma and introducing him to many different situations allows them to become 'normal' to him.

To illustrate -

Dione has lived most of her life in the back hills of my farm, interacting only with her goats, chickens, pony and our family. To her, anything outside of this is 'not normal'.

Briana was obedience trained by her first owners and well socialized. She has lived in three homes before coming to me, all in very different circumstances. She lives in the house area, interacts with visitors, and even comes out with us to different places.

What is 'normal' to Briana would not be normal at all to Dione! But this is fine as Dione and Briana have different functions on the farm, and the two bitches make a good 'blend' covering the whole property.

However, they both show the same degree of Protectiveness. It is not something that is taught or trained into a maremma, but something bred into them, and you have to understand their desire to guard. If the maremma is to interact with people, then they need to learn social skills.

The Maremma is an extremely efficient killer, however they very rarely use these skills as they have an even more efficient deterring effect.

True protective behaviour develops with maturity, and is directly related to the degree of trustworthiness and attentiveness the dog has shown as a pup.

	Typical pup play behaviour. They are learning to topple each other, and the aim of the game is to be the one who is on top! Maremmas can 'play' in a very rough way.....And some puppies just never seem to grow up.....
			Wrestle play stays a part of the maremma behaviour throughout life. It is actually a complex behaviour for establishing order and learning skills. This is fine with another maremma but is FORBIDDEN between maremma and the livestock.

What constitutes successful guarding of livestock is the absence of losses to predators - not the body count of dead predators.

Guarding by a Maremma is carried out on three levels.

1. Barking. If something is sensed to be out of place (often beyond man's senses) the maremma will bark.

Maremmas are selected for their ability to bark at anything they sense is out of the normal.

(Left) Dione showing guarding behaviour (Right) Narky giving barking warnings

If the predator moves closer, the barking will become more agitated, giving way to snarls and growls that warn of imminent physical attack when very close.

2. Scent Marking. The maremma will mark out its territory with urine that advertises to predators that they are intruding. This is a very powerful communications tool between canines and should never be underestimated for it's effectiveness. The maremma will inspect territory boundaries daily, marking the boundaries to alert other canines that the boundaries are regularly visited. It is interesting to note that it is done by both male and female maremmas - even bitches will cock their legs and mark like a dog.

3. Patrolling. Maremmas are sleepy and lazy during daylight hours, saving their energies for after dark patrolling of their territory during the time of greatest threat. They will inspect boundaries regularly, and will often be seen going ahead of their livestock to new areas of grazing for the day, inspecting it for safety first. It is amazing how people report that the livestock learn to follow subtle communications with their maremmas and will wait until the maremma has inspected and given the all clear, before moving to a new grazing area of a paddock. The livestock develop a very special bond with the maremmas just as the maremma bonds to his livestock. They learn to depend on the maremma for safety, and appreciate the patrolling and warnings their maremma gives them. It is very common to see that when livestock hear their maremma give a sudden warning bark, they run to the maremma for safety. Maremmas are fast and as agile as any cat, and even as a pup learn to distinguish between familiar and suspect noises. However they are strong dogs and strongly built, but they must maintain agility to be typical of the breed. They must never become heavy overweight dogs. They must always be able to fulfill their duties, cover their territory and face any threat. This is where the importance of breeding maremmas according to the breed standard is of great importance to the breeder of working dogs. The standard describes a strong large dog, able to match large predators. It describes a body structure that is capable of enduring harsh conditions, rough territory, and rigorous work. A maremma that has poor topline, leg and hip angles, feet placement and depth of chest is not fit for the work!

Remember if you invest in a maremma, you are investing in 10 - 14 years of robust guarding.

FOOD AGGRESSION

Many thoughts are held on maremmas and food aggression. From my observations, some maremmas are more food aggressive than others. It has been suggested that food aggression is linked to protectiveness, however I am not sure of the truth of this statement.

I have seen maremmas who have to be fed in separate areas, either from each other, or separate from their livestock. Many farmers on large properties set up hoppers for dry food near a watering hole for their dogs. I have found that with maturity, my maremmas have not been very aggressive with food. Some of them will try to steal food from another, but they have the situation well worked out. Briana always has a ring of cats and chickens around her if she is fed outside, and she just warns them while she eats, but they often manage to share some of it with her. (they have learned team work to achieve this - one gets her attention and the others grab a bit while she swipes at one, and the take turns!)

You need to work out your own situation. Some livestock develop quite a taste for dry dog food, and it is only reasonable to expect a hungry maremma to want his dinner!

Sometimes food aggression between maremmas is linked to establishing pack hierarchy also. A younger dog will try to steal food or be aggressive in order to test his position within the pack, however if this is the case, the behaviour will settle with maturity and establishment of pack order.

It is interesting to note that many maremmas like to lie down with their food in between their front legs to eat.

		Maremmas at Amarcord eating together.
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