Maremma Sheepdog (cane da pastore maremmano abruzzese)

ABOUT THE BREED

Maremma Sheepdog is an Italian working breed, the history of which has been known for more than 2000 years. Two regions in Italy were considered as this breed’s owners: the Abruzzese and the Maremmano. That is why the name of the breed is Maremmano-Abruzzese.

The main mission of these dogs was originally guarding flocks and owner’s property against wolves and bears, but now against thieves and packs of wild dogs. Maremma is quite an independent and responsible guard. It will never leave what is in its care, it has strong guarding instincts and the ability to make its own decisions. These characteristics of the breed have remained unchanged at present.

The Maremma Sheepdog remains the same as it was 2000 years ago: it is a big white dog (reminds a white bear in appearance) with a dense, harsh and quite long coat, soft and warm undercoat. The coloring is white, although lemon, yellowy-brown or sandy shades can be seen, especially on the ears and at the base of the tail. The place around the eyes, lips, nose and pads are black. Despite its size, Maremma is agile and lightweight in motion, moderate in food, distrustful of strangers. Also, this dog has an inherent ability to guard.

The male dog’s height at the withers is 65-73 cm, the female dog’s height at the withers is 60-68 cm. Despite its size, the dog is amazingly active and spry. The Maremma Sheepdog considers its significance and uses the coat standing on end (it makes the impression of a huge dog) as a mean of deterrence assailants in suspicious situations and during guarding. And on the contrary, Maremma can curl up in a ball and shrink to the size of the half of its whole height while it is depressed.

The average dog’s weight fluctuates from 36 to 45 kg. Male dogs are bigger, hardier, more stubborn and have more marked withers. Female dogs are more graceful, feminine in movements, gentle and shy.
In the USA Maremma is successfully used as a flock-guarding dog against wolves, coyotes and even grizzly bears. Should be noted, in 1980 there was a test of several guarding dog’s breeds and the Maremma Sheepdog was recognized as the best one.

TEMPERAMENT

The character of this breed has some distinguishing features and differs from other dogs’ breeds. Over the past centuries, these dogs have got used to a rough life and taking responsibility. That has made Maremma Sheepdogs a perfect guardian. Maremma gets along with its family and children, it is safe for domestic poultry and farm animals, which it guards, as well as other property.

Maremma tolerates other dogs’ breeds and lives peacefully with them. This dog rarely gets involved in a quarrel. It is difficult to make the Maremma Sheepdog angry, although it can be fearsome in anger, especially while fighting for something meaningful to it. Only another dog’s intervention in its meal can become the cause of concern for Maremma. For this reason, to several dogs’ owners it is recommended to feed Maremma Sheepdogs separately.

LIVING CONDITIONS AND CARE

Maremma is a harsh and hardy dog, which will be happy being outside in all weathers. It well dressed in double coat, that is why even in rainy days a coarse cover coat does not let mud get into a soft bottom hair and remain it dry while legs and an abdomen are wet.

Although Maremma is clean in habits in nature, the grooming should be regular. Usually it is enough to clean the coat with a brush and comb it once a week. It is important to accustom a dog to grooming from an early age.
Frequent bathing is not advisable, it should be done only if Maremma is very dirty or if it is necessary for an exhibition. Ears, eyes and communal pads require thorough care. Also claws need to be regularly trimmed.
It is worth noticing that Maremma Sheepdog’s coat does not smell like a dog but rather like a sheep.
Male dog usually sheds once a year whereas female dog usually sheds twice a year. The process of shedding can be sped up with bathing the dog at the beginning of the shedding. Maremma does not usually lose coat between shedding periods.
The Maremma Sheepdog is a healthy breed, which is not prone to illnesses. Also Maremma is relatively free from hereditary diseases.
Puppies are quite big and active and grow fast. Therefore, it is better to avoid long walks and exercises before the age of 6 month. It is preferable to let a puppy moving freely without restrictions on land. It is recommended to specialize a puppy before the age of 6 month. Hence, it is important to show a puppy the city. For example, a puppy can be brought to pick children up from school. Additionally, it is necessary to accustom a puppy to rides in a car.
Maremma is a very smart and independent dog, it quickly understands main commands such as «Sit», «Heel», «Come». But it is not worth waiting the blind obedience from the Maremma Sheepdog. Comparing to German Shepherd and Border Collie, it is not in Maremma’s nature to be obsequious and servile.
Nevertheless, the Maremma Sheepdog does not need human guide and control to serve as a guard because the ability to guard property is in its blood. Maremma starts guarding the territory from an early age, constantly controlling the perimeter and barking at unwanted visitors.

Sometimes the Maremma Sheepdog can be confused with Slovenian Chuvash because of similarity in appearance but Maremma differs from Chuvash in character and behavior, it is less aggressive to people, more intelligent and sociable. Talking about guarding property, for Maremma it is preferable to frighten and chase away the enemy rather than catch, bite or kill it.

Don Tomaso Corsini, one of the first breeders of the Maremma Sheepdog, wrote about this dog the following: «The beauty is in peace and action. Intelligence, dignity, inherent guarding instincts are very positive traits. But there is more in our white companions than ordinary features because a human is a friend for them not the God and owner. If you are looking for the obedience, stay away from this breed. But if you value the friendship (to give and take), a little bit of humor and a lot of studying, the Maremma Sheepdog is the best you can ever have».