MSCA & UKC Registered Maremma Sheepdog Puppies, Juveniles & Adults for Sale in Lemoore, California
At Prancing Pony Farm we breed happy, healthy, beautiful and sound Maremma Sheepdog puppies that will grow up to be excellent working Livestock Guardians as well as devoted, loving family members. We are MSCA and UKC Code of Ethics breeders. We have an outstanding collection of Maremmas from breeders all over the United States as well as our recently imported (July 2022) Italian stud dog. Our Maremmas are registered with the Maremma Sheepdog Club of America and the United Kennel Club and are proven working Livestock Guardian Dogs with correct conformation, excellent PennHip scores (to screen for hip dysplasia), Embark DNA testing to screen for multiple diseases and loyal, affectionate temperaments. We operate a large dairy goat breeding operation, producing over 100 goats per year, as well as also owning a variety of other livestock. Our farm is located in a high predator load and high goat theft area. Our Maremmas are working farm partners as well as beloved family members, protecting our valuable and beloved animals from predators and theft. It’s our goal as breeders to produce this type of loyal, affectionate, hard working dog for other families and to place our puppies in homes that will value the important work they do and love and cherish them as much as we do.
As full time farmers ourselves who rely on our dogs to keep our livestock safe we feel we are in a unique position to understand the needs of our customers. We know the importance that both proper breeding and proper early socialization and training play in producing trustworthy, safe LGD's. We are not hobby breeders of dairy goats or Maremmas. We are professionals. As such, we are able to devote our time, energy and financial resources to do things right and breed the best Maremma Sheepdog LGD’s available. We breed the type of dogs we ourselves need to protect the investment we have in our high quality dairy goat herd. This, in turn, produces dogs that will suit our customers needs, as well.
We do not believe in the hands off or “minimal contact” approach of raising LGD’s, which produces feral, unsafe and neurotic dogs. Instead we seek to build a partnership with our dogs. We spend time every day interacting with our working Maremmas and their puppies while they go about their job guarding our goats and other livestock. We utilize positive reinforcement training methods including Puppy Culture , Karen Pryor Academy Clicker Training and BAB Puppy Curriculum to train our puppies and adult Maremmas. We socialize our puppies to farm life and livestock from birth, as well as to a variety of sights, sounds and experiences such as farm visitors, vehicles, vacuum cleaners, music (Disney songs are a favorite), machinery, appliances, house pets, car rides, walks off property, visits to stores that are pet friendly and more. This makes for happy, well adjusted dogs that are easy to handle and a joy to be around. It ensures our puppies get the best start in life and sets them and their new owners up for success.
Most of our puppies go as working Livestock Guardian Dogs are general purpose farm/ranch dogs. That is and always will be our primary goal in our breeding program, because that’s how we use our dogs. However, we have placed a few puppies over the years in companion homes, including our daughter’s family and home in military housing. Others that started out as LGD’s have become companions when their owners sold their farms. And still others are primarily LGD’s but receive occasional or regular “house privileges” from their families. Some of these dogs even vacation or go camping with their families. We have learned two things from these observations. One is that in the right home, with a dedicated and educated owner, Maremmas can make wonderful companions. The other thing that we strongly believe is that the same traits that make a great LGD can make a great pet, in the right home. Most breeders only agree to sell their “failed” LGD’s as companion dogs. But if you wouldn’t trust a dog with goats or chickens why in the world would you trust it with children? Only the most gentle, trustworthy dog should have the privilege of being a child’s companion.
Our puppies stay in training here for a minimum of 12 weeks, where they receive an intensive socialization experience with our large herd of dairy goats as well as our horses, chickens, ducks, geese, barn cats and a variety of different adult Maremmas, taking advantage of the critical learning period all puppies have in the first weeks. We employ our adult Maremmas and our gentle and dependable puppy savvy livestock to mentor and train the puppies in how to be great LGD's. We have a state of the art heated and air conditioned combination whelping room and dairy goat milking parlor, our “Puppy Parlor”, which allows our puppies to be raised in a safe, healthy environment without sacrificing the vital early socialization with livestock. Included in our whelping facility are a full sized dog grooming tub and electric grooming table, two whelping suites with outdoor access to the goat pastures and a puppy incubator and oxygen concentrator to make sure our puppies have a healthy, safe birth. We have also found that the more “home like” setting of the Puppy Parlor better prepares the puppies for experiences that they will encounter in a veterinary office or other “town sights and sounds”. We feel that our Puppy Parlor is the best of both worlds (part barn/part house) for raising well rounded puppies, no matter what kind of home they are going to. (Our socialization process is the same for all of our pups.)
We have litters throughout the year and offer puppies from 12 weeks through adult (subject to availability) for those who need or prefer an older dog or who find themselves in an emergency situation and needing a LGD immediately. Our puppies start at a base price for a 12-14 week old puppy and then go up incrementally by age to reflect the additional training and care they receive. Juvenile and adult dogs are priced individually according to their training and maturity level. Our puppies are on a deworming and vaccination schedule, under the care of our licensed farm veterinarian, come with a two year health guarantee and lifetime enrollment in the Petlink pet recovery system. We believe that raising LGD's well should be an intentional, well thought out process and as such, we are always looking for ways to improve our program. We provide lifetime support for our puppies. We have an extensive wealth of resources on our website for puppy owners, and are always available by phone, text or email to give advice or answer questions. We also have a lifetime satisfaction guarantee. We will take back any dog we breed if the owners can no longer keep them. But this rarely happens because our customers adore their dogs and do not give them up easily!
For a long time we believed the “nevers” about LGD’s. “Never fuss over your LGD.”, “Never give your LGD a lot of attention or affection”, “Never let your LGD in your house.”, “Never take your LGD off your farm.” But what our own experience and the experiences of our customers have taught us is that advice is not only silly but can be detrimental to our dogs. A dog that’s never seen a car, a bicycle or even pavement will be at a great disadvantage if they suddenly need to be exposed to these things. What’s more, taking your dog on walks and outings can be a fun bonding experience. At the end of the day they are still dogs. Admittedly different from most breeds traditionally kept as pets, but still dogs. So as long as the livestock is kept safe in their absence there’s absolutely no reason not to enjoy these experiences with your dog if you want to. And if you don’t there’s no reason to feel guilty about it. Life is busy and stressful enough without guilt trips! Most of all remember it’s YOUR dog. Enjoy it!
If this type of dog sounds right for you we invite you to read further about our breeding program and to fill out our Puppy Questionnaire so that we can discuss your needs for a Maremma puppy further. Filling out the questionnaire is not a commitment. It just helps us better understand what you’re looking for in a dog, even if you’re still only in the “thinking about it” stage. ☺️
As full time farmers ourselves who rely on our dogs to keep our livestock safe we feel we are in a unique position to understand the needs of our customers. We know the importance that both proper breeding and proper early socialization and training play in producing trustworthy, safe LGD's. We are not hobby breeders of dairy goats or Maremmas. We are professionals. As such, we are able to devote our time, energy and financial resources to do things right and breed the best Maremma Sheepdog LGD’s available. We breed the type of dogs we ourselves need to protect the investment we have in our high quality dairy goat herd. This, in turn, produces dogs that will suit our customers needs, as well.
We do not believe in the hands off or “minimal contact” approach of raising LGD’s, which produces feral, unsafe and neurotic dogs. Instead we seek to build a partnership with our dogs. We spend time every day interacting with our working Maremmas and their puppies while they go about their job guarding our goats and other livestock. We utilize positive reinforcement training methods including Puppy Culture , Karen Pryor Academy Clicker Training and BAB Puppy Curriculum to train our puppies and adult Maremmas. We socialize our puppies to farm life and livestock from birth, as well as to a variety of sights, sounds and experiences such as farm visitors, vehicles, vacuum cleaners, music (Disney songs are a favorite), machinery, appliances, house pets, car rides, walks off property, visits to stores that are pet friendly and more. This makes for happy, well adjusted dogs that are easy to handle and a joy to be around. It ensures our puppies get the best start in life and sets them and their new owners up for success.
Most of our puppies go as working Livestock Guardian Dogs are general purpose farm/ranch dogs. That is and always will be our primary goal in our breeding program, because that’s how we use our dogs. However, we have placed a few puppies over the years in companion homes, including our daughter’s family and home in military housing. Others that started out as LGD’s have become companions when their owners sold their farms. And still others are primarily LGD’s but receive occasional or regular “house privileges” from their families. Some of these dogs even vacation or go camping with their families. We have learned two things from these observations. One is that in the right home, with a dedicated and educated owner, Maremmas can make wonderful companions. The other thing that we strongly believe is that the same traits that make a great LGD can make a great pet, in the right home. Most breeders only agree to sell their “failed” LGD’s as companion dogs. But if you wouldn’t trust a dog with goats or chickens why in the world would you trust it with children? Only the most gentle, trustworthy dog should have the privilege of being a child’s companion.
Our puppies stay in training here for a minimum of 12 weeks, where they receive an intensive socialization experience with our large herd of dairy goats as well as our horses, chickens, ducks, geese, barn cats and a variety of different adult Maremmas, taking advantage of the critical learning period all puppies have in the first weeks. We employ our adult Maremmas and our gentle and dependable puppy savvy livestock to mentor and train the puppies in how to be great LGD's. We have a state of the art heated and air conditioned combination whelping room and dairy goat milking parlor, our “Puppy Parlor”, which allows our puppies to be raised in a safe, healthy environment without sacrificing the vital early socialization with livestock. Included in our whelping facility are a full sized dog grooming tub and electric grooming table, two whelping suites with outdoor access to the goat pastures and a puppy incubator and oxygen concentrator to make sure our puppies have a healthy, safe birth. We have also found that the more “home like” setting of the Puppy Parlor better prepares the puppies for experiences that they will encounter in a veterinary office or other “town sights and sounds”. We feel that our Puppy Parlor is the best of both worlds (part barn/part house) for raising well rounded puppies, no matter what kind of home they are going to. (Our socialization process is the same for all of our pups.)
We have litters throughout the year and offer puppies from 12 weeks through adult (subject to availability) for those who need or prefer an older dog or who find themselves in an emergency situation and needing a LGD immediately. Our puppies start at a base price for a 12-14 week old puppy and then go up incrementally by age to reflect the additional training and care they receive. Juvenile and adult dogs are priced individually according to their training and maturity level. Our puppies are on a deworming and vaccination schedule, under the care of our licensed farm veterinarian, come with a two year health guarantee and lifetime enrollment in the Petlink pet recovery system. We believe that raising LGD's well should be an intentional, well thought out process and as such, we are always looking for ways to improve our program. We provide lifetime support for our puppies. We have an extensive wealth of resources on our website for puppy owners, and are always available by phone, text or email to give advice or answer questions. We also have a lifetime satisfaction guarantee. We will take back any dog we breed if the owners can no longer keep them. But this rarely happens because our customers adore their dogs and do not give them up easily!
For a long time we believed the “nevers” about LGD’s. “Never fuss over your LGD.”, “Never give your LGD a lot of attention or affection”, “Never let your LGD in your house.”, “Never take your LGD off your farm.” But what our own experience and the experiences of our customers have taught us is that advice is not only silly but can be detrimental to our dogs. A dog that’s never seen a car, a bicycle or even pavement will be at a great disadvantage if they suddenly need to be exposed to these things. What’s more, taking your dog on walks and outings can be a fun bonding experience. At the end of the day they are still dogs. Admittedly different from most breeds traditionally kept as pets, but still dogs. So as long as the livestock is kept safe in their absence there’s absolutely no reason not to enjoy these experiences with your dog if you want to. And if you don’t there’s no reason to feel guilty about it. Life is busy and stressful enough without guilt trips! Most of all remember it’s YOUR dog. Enjoy it!
If this type of dog sounds right for you we invite you to read further about our breeding program and to fill out our Puppy Questionnaire so that we can discuss your needs for a Maremma puppy further. Filling out the questionnaire is not a commitment. It just helps us better understand what you’re looking for in a dog, even if you’re still only in the “thinking about it” stage. ☺️
*We also have unregistered Maremma puppies available on a limited basis out of our homebred DNA tested purebred Maremma, Polar, and our registered males. We have chosen to keep Polar in our breeding program because she is, quite honestly, the best LGD we own, and she produces puppies that are equally amazing. If we could only keep one LGD on our farm, Polar would be the one that stays and since breeding the best LGD's possible is our top priority she remains in our breeding program.
To see the most up to date photos and videos of our current and past litters and our adult Maremmas please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!
All MSCA/UKC registered puppies are sold with limited registration (no breeding rights) on spay/neuter contract unless the buyer meets our requirements for a breeding candidate puppy.
For more info about our Breeding Candidates Program go to this page.
For more info about our Breeding Candidates Program go to this page.
MSCA/UKC Registered Maremma Sheepdog Puppies
12 weeks old $3000
14 weeks old $3100
16 weeks old $3200
18 weeks old $3300
20 weeks old $3400
22 weeks old $3500
Juveniles 6 months and over and adult dogs occasionally available and are priced individually, but our average prices are:
6-11 months $3500
12-23 months $4000
2-3 years $5000
3 years and up - priced individually
If you would like to purchase a puppy or dog from us but need additional training and board time that can be arranged for $25 per day, paid in advance. Long term rates available on a case by case basis.
14 weeks old $3100
16 weeks old $3200
18 weeks old $3300
20 weeks old $3400
22 weeks old $3500
Juveniles 6 months and over and adult dogs occasionally available and are priced individually, but our average prices are:
6-11 months $3500
12-23 months $4000
2-3 years $5000
3 years and up - priced individually
If you would like to purchase a puppy or dog from us but need additional training and board time that can be arranged for $25 per day, paid in advance. Long term rates available on a case by case basis.
If you are interested in obtaining one of our puppies the first step is to fill out our Maremma Questionnaire below. We will be happy to answer a few quick questions by text or email but we do require you to fill out the questionnaire before we have a phone conversation. This is so that we will already know a little bit about you, your livestock and your needs for a LGD before speaking to you on the phone. We put a lot of time, money and effort into raising healthy, high quality working Maremma Sheepdogs and do our best to match them with the right families. This Maremma Questionnaire is designed to help us match the perfect puppy for you, to ensure our pups get great homes and to give us all the necessary contact info we will need for registration paperwork and record keeping later. It’s in your best interest to fill out the form right away so we can better serve you.
No Maremma reservation can be made until this form has been filled out. No form, no pups, no exceptions!
No Maremma reservation can be made until this form has been filled out. No form, no pups, no exceptions!
How to Reserve a Maremma Sheepdog Puppy or Adult from Us
Once we receive your submitted questionnaire we will contact you to discuss your needs and goals for a Maremma puppy (or adult) and see if one of our Maremmas would be a good fit for you. The more information you can give us about yourself, your family, your livestock and your goals for a puppy the better. We want our puppies and their families to be happy so communication is key in making a good match. ☺️ Our initial contact will be by email but if you would like to have a phone conversation we can set that up after we receive your questionnaire, or you can text or email us with your questions.
Please check your spam if you don’t hear back from us in a day or two. We always reply in a timely manner but sometimes the form doesn’t come through or our replies go to spam.
If we have any currently available puppies they can be reserved with a $500 non-refundable Puppy Reservation Fee, payable by PayPal.
All Reservation Fees are non-refundable.
Information on current and upcoming litters can be found on our Available Puppies and Adults page.
If we do not currently have any available puppies then you can be put on our you on our Master Reservation List for a puppy from a future litter by paying a $500 non-refundable Master Reservation List fee. Information can be found here. Or if you do not wish to pay the fee then you can check the website occasionally for updated information on litters.
Farm Visits
If you would like to visit our farm and learn more about Maremmas and our breeding program before reserving a puppy that can be arranged after the Maremma Questionairre has been filled out. However, only those who have placed a deposit may interact with the puppies and only if proper biosecurity procedures are followed.
Please check your spam if you don’t hear back from us in a day or two. We always reply in a timely manner but sometimes the form doesn’t come through or our replies go to spam.
If we have any currently available puppies they can be reserved with a $500 non-refundable Puppy Reservation Fee, payable by PayPal.
All Reservation Fees are non-refundable.
Information on current and upcoming litters can be found on our Available Puppies and Adults page.
If we do not currently have any available puppies then you can be put on our you on our Master Reservation List for a puppy from a future litter by paying a $500 non-refundable Master Reservation List fee. Information can be found here. Or if you do not wish to pay the fee then you can check the website occasionally for updated information on litters.
Farm Visits
If you would like to visit our farm and learn more about Maremmas and our breeding program before reserving a puppy that can be arranged after the Maremma Questionairre has been filled out. However, only those who have placed a deposit may interact with the puppies and only if proper biosecurity procedures are followed.
The puppies are weaned onto Diamond Naturals All Life Stages (puppy) food and raw goat milk from our dairy goats and are on an age appropriate parasite prevention and vaccination program. Puppies come with registration paperwork, a clicker so you can continue the positive training methods we started with them, and are microchipped with lifetime enrollment in the
Petlink Pet Recovery System.
Petlink Pet Recovery System.
A Prancing Pony Farm MSCA/UKC Registered Maremma Sheepdog Puppy:
- Comes with the appropriate registration paperwork. Puppies are sold with Limited Registration in most cases.
- Has an excellent pedigree with ancestors who are proven working LGD's.
- Has correct conformation with no major defects that would prevent him or her from doing their job as a LGD.
- Has a well balanced temperament; affectionate and friendly with their family, friends and people they are properly introduced to but wary of uninvited strangers that might seek to steal or harm their charges.
- Has a sound body with no defects that would interfere with them doing their job as a LGD. Puppies will only be produced out of parents with good hip scores, proper conformation and no major faults or defects.
- Comes with a Puppy Contract and 2 year Health Guarantee.
- Will be properly socialized with a variety of livestock, including goats and poultry, from the first weeks of life until leaving the farm, so that they will mature into trustworthy, safe LGD's.
- Will be properly socialized with humans, including small children and teenagers, so that they will be safe to handle and comfortable around a variety of people and situations.
- Will be trained with positive reinforcement methods, including Puppy Culture, Karen Pryor Academy Clicker Training, Early Neurological Stimulation, BAB Puppy Curriculum and other positive training methods. They will be exposed to a wide variety of experiences in order to help them mature into well balanced, happy and well adjusted LGD's.
- Is on an age appropriate vaccination and parasite control program, is under the care of a licensed veterinarian and fed a high quality dog food along with fresh raw goats milk from our dairy herd.
- Is microchipped and enrolled for life in the Petlink Pet Recovery System, with Prancing Pony Farm as the guardian on the account, in case the owner can't be reached if the puppy gets lost.
- Comes with Lifetime Support from Prancing Pony Farm. We are always available to answer questions and give advice and support however we can. We also provide many useful links and articles on our website, which we are continually adding to. And we have a private Facebook Group for families who have bought goats and puppies from us, where owners can connect with other Prancing Pony Farm Maremma owners and ask questions, share photos and stories and more.
- Comes with a LIFETIME Satisfaction Guarantee. We do not give refunds or buy back dogs but if at any time in your dog's life you can no longer keep it, for any reason, we will gladly take it back and find it a new home. If a suitable home can't be found we will keep the dog ourselves. We never want one of our dogs to end up in a rescue situation and there is no reason why they ever should because we stand behind our dogs.
Our pups are born and raised in our dairy goat barn and heavily socialized with all types of livestock, including goats, horses, ponies, donkeys, a variety of poultry, other dogs & barn cats. The puppies also receive extensive interaction with humans, including children. We utilize the Puppy Culture early socialization program, Karen Pryor Academy Clicker Training and other positive reinforcement training methods for happy, loving, well balanced LGD's. (We encourage our future puppy owners to enroll in one or both of these awesome programs to prepare for their new puppies.) We keep puppies until 3-4 months old to ensure they get a strong training and livestock socialization foundation and that they are fully prepared to go to their new homes.
About Our Puppy Training Program
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Age of Placement
In general we prefer to place our puppies at approximately 12 weeks old. We chose this age for several reasons. First because the first 3-4 months of a puppy’s life are the most critical for learning. We provide a rich learning experience for our puppies. They learn how to be LGD’s from both of their parents and other mentor dogs. They learn proper dog socialization skills, such as bite inhibition, from these adult dogs and from their siblings. They learn an incredible amount from being immersed with livestock from an early age. They learn to respect livestock, to see them as their natural companions and they learn their “language” of the livestock they live with, much the way young children learn a foreign language - by being immersed in that language from birth. Our puppies also learn from our Puppy Curriculum, which is a combination of Puppy Culture, Karen Pryor Clicker Training, BAB Puppy Curriculum and other positive reinforcement training methods. Keeping our puppies longer allows them to get a very strong training foundation which will benefit them, their new owners and the stock they will go on to guard.
We also prefer to keep the puppies longer for health and safety reasons. Puppies are at great risk to diseases like canine parvovirus and distemper, so we prefer to keep them until their have had most, if not all, of their puppy vaccines and have built strong immune systems to keep them healthy and disease free. And because our puppies are going to Livestock Guardian Dog homes where they may be exposed to livestock that aren’t used to dogs yet, as well as large predators, it’s in their best interest to let them get a bit bigger before they leave here. There’s a huge difference between sending a 15 lb puppy out into the world and sending a 40-50 lb pup out to do their job!
Also because a large percentage of our puppy buyers are first time LGD owners we feel it’s in the best interests of the puppies, the new owners, and the livestock they are to protect for us to keep them long enough to get a really solid training foundation. An 8-10 week old Maremma puppy is certainly adorable and sweet, but it’s not ready to take on the job of protecting livestock against large predators, nor to be left completely unattended with stock that’s not used to LGD’s, nor is the average new owner ready to take on the task of properly socializing such a young puppy with livestock while also keeping it safe. After much trial and error and experimenting with letting puppies go at various ages we’ve decided that a little older is better overall.
We also prefer to keep the puppies longer for health and safety reasons. Puppies are at great risk to diseases like canine parvovirus and distemper, so we prefer to keep them until their have had most, if not all, of their puppy vaccines and have built strong immune systems to keep them healthy and disease free. And because our puppies are going to Livestock Guardian Dog homes where they may be exposed to livestock that aren’t used to dogs yet, as well as large predators, it’s in their best interest to let them get a bit bigger before they leave here. There’s a huge difference between sending a 15 lb puppy out into the world and sending a 40-50 lb pup out to do their job!
Also because a large percentage of our puppy buyers are first time LGD owners we feel it’s in the best interests of the puppies, the new owners, and the livestock they are to protect for us to keep them long enough to get a really solid training foundation. An 8-10 week old Maremma puppy is certainly adorable and sweet, but it’s not ready to take on the job of protecting livestock against large predators, nor to be left completely unattended with stock that’s not used to LGD’s, nor is the average new owner ready to take on the task of properly socializing such a young puppy with livestock while also keeping it safe. After much trial and error and experimenting with letting puppies go at various ages we’ve decided that a little older is better overall.
Puppies can be kept longer for additional training if desired. This must be arranged in advance and is subject to availability based on space constraints and the time of year. There will be a board and training fee which must be paid in advance.
Prancing Pony Farm is proud to partner with Trupanion Pet Insurance in offering 30 days free coverage for our puppies. Offer must be activated within 24 hours of picking up your puppy with the breeder code we will provide.
We have a Facebook group called Prancing Pony Farm Families for anyone who has bought a goat or Maremma puppy from us or who has paid a deposit and is waiting to pick up their babies. Look us up on Facebook and meet some of our other families!
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We accept cash, credit or debit for deposits and final payments through either our PayPal Business account or Square. We do not accept checks.
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Puppy Trainer Goats
*Our dairy goat kids are raised with our Maremmas from birth so they are generally very calm and patient with puppies. For those that are needing puppy mentors for their new puppy a pair of our Mini Nubian or Nigerian Dwarf goats is ideal. You can reserve your goats at the same time as you reserve your puppies and bring them home together!
If we have a surplus of wethers (castrated male goats) leftover at the end of the kidding season we sometimes offer them for free to those purchasing a puppy from us. This is ideal for those just starting their farm who haven't secured livestock yet or who simply want stock that is comfortable with the puppies and that the puppies already know. If you are interested in a couple of puppy trainer wethers please tell us and we will let you know about availability.
If we have a surplus of wethers (castrated male goats) leftover at the end of the kidding season we sometimes offer them for free to those purchasing a puppy from us. This is ideal for those just starting their farm who haven't secured livestock yet or who simply want stock that is comfortable with the puppies and that the puppies already know. If you are interested in a couple of puppy trainer wethers please tell us and we will let you know about availability.