​One Key Thing You MUST Do to Succeed as a New Maremma Sheepdog Owner!

Over the past seven years, I have placed over 100 Maremma Sheepdogs puppies in all types of homes. These homes vary greatly in the types of environment, livestock the dogs guard, and family structure. Most of these owners successfully train their puppies; however, raising and training a Livestock Guardian Dogs to maturity requires a lot of patience and work.

One thing I always recommend all new puppy owners do to help them succeed with their pups is to take the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Foundations course. This online course combines material you read, videos demonstrating the concepts, and hands-on practice with your dog. 

The course is simple but gives you an excellent foundation in training and understanding how to communicate with your dog. The course is designed to be completed in 6 weeks, but you have up to 12 weeks to complete it, and you can finish it quicker if you want. It took me only a little while to complete it once I got going, though I was already familiar with positive reinforcement and clicker training. 

The course costs $250 but usually goes on sale twice a year for $199. Many people balk at spending that much money on a dog training course. They believe they can figure things out on their own by googling the topic, reading training books, or watching free YouTube videos.

I get it. I don't like spending unnecessary money and prefer the "do it yourself" approach to learning. I have always been a self-led learner, reading books and endless articles on the internet, watching videos, googling anything and everything I wanted to know, and doing a great job overall of educating myself. Most of my education has been informal, self-led, and free. So I was dubious about this course, too, until I tried it.

When I went through the Dog Trainer Foundations program, I realized that Karen Pryor Academy does a fantastic job on this one. The various ways of presenting the materials cover all the learning styles. As a mom of six now-grown, homeschooled kids, and several homeschooled grandkids, I know how vital teaching using different learning styles is. The KPA courses (all of them) cover all the modalities: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. You learn by reading, watching videos, hearing, and practicing the skills with your dog. There are so many ways for the material to sink in, and you get to practice it with your dog, which means you both benefit. And it's fun! It really is fun for you and your dog!

Once I went through the Foundations course, I was hooked. Next, I took Puppy Start Right for Instructors and then Better Veterinary Visits. I also spent a week at the KPA National Training Center in Washington, attending the Training for Professionals: Across Species Course, where I learned to clicker train goats and donkeys, as well all learning about using science-based positive reinforcement with a large variety of species, including marine mammals, zoo animals, farm animals, and domestic pets. Positive reinforcement really does work with all animals! If you can train a whale, a tiger, or a wolf using positive reinforcement, you can certainly train a dog. Even a Livestock Guardian Dog!

So when one of my puppy owners or anyone else comes to me with a training issue with their dog, the very first thing I recommend is that they take the KPA Foundations course. Of course, if this is one of my puppy clients, I suggest they take the course before bringing their puppy home. Unfortunately, only some of them do. Whether it's the money or the time it takes or that they don't see the value in it, I don't know. 

I have considered requiring prospective puppy buyers to complete the course before they can buy a puppy from me, but someone has to want to learn this information for it to be effective, and unfortunately, not enough people understand the value of this program to them and their dogs.

I do require my breeding candidate owners to complete the course before they can get breeding rights on their puppies, and I am firm on this requirement. If you are a breeder, you are also a trainer, and this program is step one to being a successful trainer of little Livestock Guardian Dog puppies. Unfortunately, most people who take the course to get breeding rights choose to wait until their dogs are of breeding age to do so. Better late than never, but it's sad that neither the dog they bought from me nor the owner themselves benefitted from the program when their puppy was little. 

Of all the puppies I have sold over the years, the owners who have been the most successful and had the fewest problems training their pups are the ones that have taken the KPA Foundations Course. The puppies who have benefitted the most from an owner who truly understands their dog and how to communicate and train in a kind, fun, science-based way are the puppies whose owners have taken the Foundations course. This course truly is Step One in your success as an LGD owner. 

A Livestock Guardian Dog is a huge investement. The safety and security of whatever you value are riding on that dog, be that goats, chickens, horses, or the family cat. (This course is just as vital for companion Maremmas.) Livestock Guardian Dogs have a high failure rate, and that is because most people are ill-equipped to train their dogs. The Karen Pryor Acedemy Dog Trainer Foundations course gives you the vital first step towards success with your dog.

​Think of it as insurance on your investment. Most people wouldn't forego insurance on a new car. That would be too risky. Don't skip on insurance for your LGD! Take the KPA Foundations course before you bring home your new Maremma puppy. Or if you've already got that adorable pup, start the course now. Your dog will thank you for it, and you will thank me for this advice!