Puppy Sales Policies
Here at Prancing Pony Farm we breed registered working Maremma Sheepdog LGD’s Our puppies are sold with limited registration (no breeding rights) with the Maremma Sheepdog Club of America. (Breeding quality puppies are available to select homes upon approval.)
Reserving a puppy:
Our puppies tend to sell out very fast, sometimes months before a litter is even born or bred. Our Reservation List is by reservation fee only. The first step to reserving a puppy is to fill out the puppy questionnaire. Once we receive your submitted questionnaire we'll contact you to discuss your needs and goals for a Maremma Livestock Guardian. If you decide you would like to reserve a puppy or puppies (LGD's are always better with another LGD partner and we highly suggest you have at least two) there are a few options. If we have puppies currently available you can reserve one from a specific litter with a $500 non-refundable Litter Reservation Fee.
If all the puppies are sold in the current or upcoming litter you can either pay the $500 fee to get on our Master Reservation List or you can continue to check our website for updates about litters.
Because we sell working Livestock Guardian Dogs and not companions we do not take reservations for puppies of a specific gender for working dog only placements. If you prefer a puppy of a specific gender we will do our best to accommodate your wishes but cannot guarantee you will get your choice. Our puppies are sold as working livestock guardians, first and foremost, therefore we will pick the best puppy for each buyer, taking into consideration temperament, personality, the type of livestock to be guarded, the farm/ranch setting the dog will work in and the preferred gender. Working puppies are sold on a spay/neuter contract with no breeding rights.
Reserving a puppy:
Our puppies tend to sell out very fast, sometimes months before a litter is even born or bred. Our Reservation List is by reservation fee only. The first step to reserving a puppy is to fill out the puppy questionnaire. Once we receive your submitted questionnaire we'll contact you to discuss your needs and goals for a Maremma Livestock Guardian. If you decide you would like to reserve a puppy or puppies (LGD's are always better with another LGD partner and we highly suggest you have at least two) there are a few options. If we have puppies currently available you can reserve one from a specific litter with a $500 non-refundable Litter Reservation Fee.
If all the puppies are sold in the current or upcoming litter you can either pay the $500 fee to get on our Master Reservation List or you can continue to check our website for updates about litters.
Because we sell working Livestock Guardian Dogs and not companions we do not take reservations for puppies of a specific gender for working dog only placements. If you prefer a puppy of a specific gender we will do our best to accommodate your wishes but cannot guarantee you will get your choice. Our puppies are sold as working livestock guardians, first and foremost, therefore we will pick the best puppy for each buyer, taking into consideration temperament, personality, the type of livestock to be guarded, the farm/ranch setting the dog will work in and the preferred gender. Working puppies are sold on a spay/neuter contract with no breeding rights.
We do not allow buyers to choose their puppies. Instead we choose puppies for each buyer according to their specific needs and the same observations we make of the individual puppies as they grow and mature. For more information about our placement policy see the link below:
Our pups are raised in our goat barn and well socialized with goats, horses, poultry, cats, other dogs and people (including small children) from birth. We utilize the Puppy Culture Early Socialization Program, Karen Pryor Clicker Training and other positive reinforcement training methods in getting our pups off to a great start. All our puppies are weaned onto Diamond Naturals All Life Stages (puppy) food and raw goat milk. They are on a deworming and vaccination program and come microchipped with lifetime enrollment in the Petlink Pet Recovery System. Please see our Sales Policy page for info on
a puppy from us.
Puppies are ready to go around 4 months old. Leaving too soon can affect the puppies’ health and socialization and deprive them of valuable training from their mother and our other experienced puppy trainers. (Both parents as well as other mentor dogs and our goats and other livestock participate in training the puppies, not just the dam.)
Our number one priority is the health and well being of our puppies and their future success in their new families and jobs!
We will set the pick up date for each litter soon after birth. Puppies must be picked up within this date range or there will be a daily board fee of $25 a day or $500 per month. We can hold a puppy longer for additional training or until you can secure a properly fenced area but this will include an additional board and training fee and needs to be arranged and paid for in advance. Puppies must also be paid for in full by the scheduled pick up date, even if you are leaving them longer for board and training.
If you do not pick up your puppy on time or arrange in advance to have us board them longer and pay for both the puppy and the board by the ready date then your puppy reservation will be cancelled. Your reservation and/or wait list fees will be forfeited and your puppy will be put back up for sale.
All Maremma puppies must go to a working home with livestock to guard and must have proper fencing. While Maremmas do love people they are working Livestock Guardian Dogs, not pets or property guard dogs. They are very different in temperament than most dogs and it’s the buyer’s responsibility to research LGD behavior and training in order to help them be successful in their new jobs.
Proper fencing is a must!
Maremmas are usually respectful of fencing but any LGD will wander if unfenced and this could be hazardous to the dog.
We highly encourage you to have two Livestock Guardian Dogs working together. This can be an older and younger dog or you can purchase two puppies and raise them together. Two dogs will be better protection against predators, who sometimes work in packs to lure the dog away from stock so that other pack members can attack stock while the dog is occupied. Also, having two dogs helps lessen the chances of a dog chasing or harrassing stock out of boredom. We have found this to be really important with our dogs. They are much happier when they have another LGD buddy and have an appropriate outlet for all that energy! Having two LGD’s together in no way keeps them from bonding with the stock. In fact it makes them better LGD’s, therefore we always have at least two dogs per pen on our farm. If you are unable or unwilling to have two LGD’s you will have to devote extra time to your dog to keep it happy and well adjusted and to make up for the socialization and interaction that a partner LGD would provide.
a puppy from us.
Puppies are ready to go around 4 months old. Leaving too soon can affect the puppies’ health and socialization and deprive them of valuable training from their mother and our other experienced puppy trainers. (Both parents as well as other mentor dogs and our goats and other livestock participate in training the puppies, not just the dam.)
Our number one priority is the health and well being of our puppies and their future success in their new families and jobs!
We will set the pick up date for each litter soon after birth. Puppies must be picked up within this date range or there will be a daily board fee of $25 a day or $500 per month. We can hold a puppy longer for additional training or until you can secure a properly fenced area but this will include an additional board and training fee and needs to be arranged and paid for in advance. Puppies must also be paid for in full by the scheduled pick up date, even if you are leaving them longer for board and training.
If you do not pick up your puppy on time or arrange in advance to have us board them longer and pay for both the puppy and the board by the ready date then your puppy reservation will be cancelled. Your reservation and/or wait list fees will be forfeited and your puppy will be put back up for sale.
All Maremma puppies must go to a working home with livestock to guard and must have proper fencing. While Maremmas do love people they are working Livestock Guardian Dogs, not pets or property guard dogs. They are very different in temperament than most dogs and it’s the buyer’s responsibility to research LGD behavior and training in order to help them be successful in their new jobs.
Proper fencing is a must!
Maremmas are usually respectful of fencing but any LGD will wander if unfenced and this could be hazardous to the dog.
We highly encourage you to have two Livestock Guardian Dogs working together. This can be an older and younger dog or you can purchase two puppies and raise them together. Two dogs will be better protection against predators, who sometimes work in packs to lure the dog away from stock so that other pack members can attack stock while the dog is occupied. Also, having two dogs helps lessen the chances of a dog chasing or harrassing stock out of boredom. We have found this to be really important with our dogs. They are much happier when they have another LGD buddy and have an appropriate outlet for all that energy! Having two LGD’s together in no way keeps them from bonding with the stock. In fact it makes them better LGD’s, therefore we always have at least two dogs per pen on our farm. If you are unable or unwilling to have two LGD’s you will have to devote extra time to your dog to keep it happy and well adjusted and to make up for the socialization and interaction that a partner LGD would provide.
Puppies will be up-to-date on puppy vaccinations at time of pick-up. Puppies are dewormed every 2-3 weeks starting at 2 weeks old. All pups will be microchipped and enrolled for life in the Petlink Pet Recovery System.
We feed Diamond Naturals All Life Stages and/or 4 Health Puppy Formula (from Tractor Supply) and suggest you feed that to your puppy when you bring it home. If you would like to switch to a different food please transition over slowly to avoid digestive upset. We suggest the Dog Food Advisor website for researching the best options in dog food and suggest you go with a 4 or 5 star food if possible.
We feed Diamond Naturals All Life Stages and/or 4 Health Puppy Formula (from Tractor Supply) and suggest you feed that to your puppy when you bring it home. If you would like to switch to a different food please transition over slowly to avoid digestive upset. We suggest the Dog Food Advisor website for researching the best options in dog food and suggest you go with a 4 or 5 star food if possible.
All buyers are required to sign our Puppy Contract before picking up their puppy. Samples of the contracts can be seen on the links below but you will be sent a contract personalized with your and puppy’s info.
| __puppy_contract_limited_registration.pdf |
| __puppy_contract_full_registration_.pdf |
| __puppy_contract_unregistered.pdf |
Puppies are in good health at time of purchase and up to date on vaccinations, deworming and other routine health care. Buyers shall have 72 hours after delivery/pick up to have their puppy examined by a licensed veterinarian. PPF shall refund the full purchase price if the we are supplied with a written opinion of a veterinarian no later than 7 days after purchase, describing any pre-existing health problems found that would render this puppy unfit as a LGD. The buyer will be responsible for returning the puppy to us and all associated costs. If the buyer wishes to keep the puppy there shall be no refund of the purchase price and PPF shall not be responsible for any veterinary bills or expenses in relation to the puppy. This guarantee does not cover accidents, injuries or illnesses that happen after the puppy leaves here.