Maremma Sheepdog Club of America
The Maremma is a large white or cream colored dog, usually weighing between 70 and 100 pounds and standing 25 to 30 inches tall. It is described in the Breed Standard as being majestic, lively, sturdy, distinguished, intelligent, and courageous without being aggressive. Properly trained, it has the ability to bond closely with hoofed livestock, with which it assumes a protective parental attitude, it demonstrate and an aloof awareness as leader of its adopted family, while at the same time readily accepting a secondary role to its bonded humans.
A Maremma accepts the leadership of humans, but not their mastery. While being a good friend to man, the Maremma will not willingly be his slave. Born with exactly the right qualities for livestock guarding, the Maremma is not recommended for use as a pet.
A successful Maremma guardian dog will be good tempered, ATTENTIVE to the stock, PROTECTIVE of the stock, and TRUSTWORTHY with the stock. The ideal time for an inexperienced guardian owner to purchase a Maremma is as a recently weaned puppy so that it will bond strongly with its adopted family, its humans, and its territory as it grows. However, this also involved all the antics of puppy-hood; adolescence, and training in the “don’ts” of guardianship – it already knows all of the “do’s” and will develop them on its own if exposed at the right time to appropriate guarding situations. Maremmas become mature, fully developed guardians at about age two.
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