Seven Maremma Sheepdogs in Desperate Need of New Homes and Jobs ASAP

8/3/2023

Carina as a puppy on my farm.

***Update on the dogs. Marco and Henry have found new homes and been picked up! 💜 Remaining are Carina, Alesia, Massimo, Guido and Rico. Carina is Massimo's dam. I still own his sire, Olaf and the parents of Alesia (Simba and Polar) and Guido (Olaf and Genevieve). I also still own one of Massimo's littermates (ET) and one of Alesia's littermates (Titus). They are all excellent LGDs, trustworthy with all livestock, including poultry and baby goats.

*** If you’re interested in these dogs contact Allison directly at +1 (559) 362-1294. Thanks!

If you would like a little more background on these dogs you can go to these pages below:

Carina born 2017, purchased from a breeder in San Diego

Alesia born August 2020, parents Simba x Polar

Massimo born September 2020, parents Olaf x Carina

Guido born May 2021, parents Olaf x Genevieve

Rico - Bred by another out-of-state breeder

My friend and client, Allison, and her family are selling their farm due to an out-of-state transfer. They are moving at the end of August and cannot take their goats or their seven Maremma Sheepdogs. Six of the dogs came from me, and one from another breeder. They are all unregistered. There are five males and two females. Most of the dogs are 2-3 years old, with one 6-year-old female. Their names are Carina, Alesia, Henry, Marco, Massimo, Guido and Rico.

The dogs have been guarding Nigerian Dwarf and Mini Nubian dairy goats since they were puppies. The 6-year-old (Carina) does have experience with chickens, ducks, and horses. I believe both females have experience with alpacas. The dogs are used to children. All but one of them is intact, but I'm checking to see if my vet will spay/neuter the rest for a discount. The dogs are located in Hanford, CA. There are a couple of possible options for shipping the dogs out of state.

That's all I know, but I will try to visit the dogs soon and learn more. If you want to adopt any of these precious dogs, please reply to this email or contact Allison directly. Below is her Facebook post about the dogs:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0FzHpdHfCY5vKsg1tkzok9CMXaxLfLntS4iUvUC6vtQvxQD7DCAL9GgrZyfiU5ggUl&id=816164838&mibextid=qC1gEa

Even if you can't take any of these dogs, please pass this info along and help us get these sweet dogs some great new homes!

Thanks so much!

2 Comments

Sharon Beckwith link

8/3/2023 11:06:12 am

Hello. I am hoping not to post a public comment on this topic, but I wanted to express our possible interest in adopting one or two of the dogs from Allison and wanted to run it by you first before contacting her directly.

We have a ND dairy goat farm in McArthur, CA. We raise ADGA registered stock with an emphasis on milk production. We have 23 goats at this time.

We have discussed acquiring a LGD but have had concerns about keeping them contained and also wondering if our current pens are too small. One area is about 20 x 30 where our bucks live, and our doe pen is about 50 x 80. They all have shelters and we had a large wooden doghouse built for our bucklings that would be perfect for a very large dog. We plan on utilizing more of our 5 acres in pasture but don't have the fencing yet. It will realistically be 1-2 years before that happens.

Do you think we would be good candidates for adoption? We are also pretty far away. I wonder if anyone would meet us in Sacramento for pickup? Also, is there an adoption fee? It has been cost prohibitive for us to consider a guardian dog because trained ones are so expensive and we didn't want inexperienced ones since we don't have LGD ownership experience.

We would definitely consider the oldest female dog for her experience and one of the younger. Or even just the older female for now.

Well, that's probably TMI for now. lol I will wait to hear back from you. Thanks very much. -Sharon Beckwith - Freedom Reins Farm

Kim

8/3/2023 04:49:56 pm

Hi Sharon,

Thank you for your interest in the dogs. They have all been with ND and Mini Nubian goats so they would probably be well-suited to your needs.

As far as space Maremmas can do well in smaller pastures. A couple of my pastures are 70 x 80 and a couple are even smaller. My dogs do well in these. They just need enough room to run and play and stretch their legs.Older dogs less so than pups.

I hear you on the longrange plans for fencing. W've been here going on 8 years and still have lots of fencing left to do. At least about 5-6 acres worth. Someday...

As far as I know Allison is asking $250 per dog but she might waive that to the right home. You'd need to ask her that. She is moving August 28th, I think, so she getting pretty desperate.

As far as meeting you partway, you would also need to ask her about that. She's probably going to say no because she's very busy prepping for the move and taking care of several small children, but you can ask. She does have some teenaged sons and maybe one of them would be willing to meet you.

It's true that well-trained, well-bred LGDs are expensive becuase they are so time, money and labor intensive to produce. Normally I would say you're better off paying more for such a dog than gambling on a free or cheap dog with a questiionable past. But because I know where these dogs came from (mostly from me) and that their working genetics are the best they are very good options for someone on a budget.

Two of the dogs were picked up today. Both Allison and I have been getting a lot of inquiries so if you're interested I would reach out to her asap, as she can't hold dogs for anyone, because of her looming deadline.

Thanks for your interest! Kim

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