This is a guest post by one of my Maremma clients, Violet Qu. Violet owns Cotton Candy (CC), a puppy from my May 2022 Sevro x Polar litter. Violet also owns a Great Pyrenese named Marshmallow. Violet took the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Foundations course before bringing CC home. She has been extremely succesful in training CC and a lot of the reason why is the excellent knowledge and skills the course gave her. I asked Violet if she would write a "review" of the course for my email newsletter and she did such an excellent job that I invited her to do a guest post on the blog. Enjoy!

A Tale of Two White Dogs, by Violet Qu

The big dog on the left is Marshmallow. He came to me as an 8-week-old fluff ball, with a mission to keep my chickens and barn cats from being picked off by the big bad wolves. He was my first dog. I didn’t know what I was doing. I watched a lot of Zak George videos and took a puppy training class over zoom (it was during Covid lockdown) where I learned to manipulate his body by using a lure. For the most part, things worked fine. Marshmallow learned to sit, lie down, stand up, shake, crawl, and so on. He even learned to fetch, which is somewhat unusual for a Great Pyrenees. But sometimes, when I asked him to do something, he would suddenly have this unbearable itch that he had to scratch, and then he would yawn, and then he would give a sideways glance at the ground before performing the task in slo-mo. I coined it “emergency itch” and sometimes asked with a sarcastic tone “really? must you right now?” For months, he was mouthy and I just ignored it. Everything I read said it would stop if I just kept ignoring it.


At the age of 1, Marshmallow’s guarding instincts kicked in in full force. He ran around the ranch barking and chasing coyotes at night, and often looked exhausted in the morning. However, the mouthiness remained. And he was also chewing just about everything I didn’t want him to chew on. Even though Marshmallow was doing all he could to guard my small ranch, I still had 2 chickens disappear without a trace and a barn cat mauled by what I could only imagine a coyote (the kitty fully recovered after veterinary intervention). The coyotes did not fear him. They kicked dirt at him from the other side of the fence. It was clear to me that Marshmallow needed a partner.


A few months later, Cotton Candy joined the family as a 3-month-old from the Prancing Pony Farm, where she had already learned many life skills as a livestock guardian dog. 


In preparation of CC’s arrival, I took the Dog Trainer Foundations online course from the Karen Pryor Academy. It turned out to be more helpful than I expected. Throughout Marshmallow’s puppyhood, I had been ransacking the internet for positive reinforcement dog training tips. But tips are exactly that: a melange of “do x” instructions. The DTF course provided me with the structure I needed to internalize the positive reinforcement training concept. I am not known for following instructions. So if a training tip says step 1: wait for behavior, step 2: click, step 3: treat, I’ll more than likely mess up the timing or order or skip a step. But if I understand the building blocks to positive reinforcement training, then I can “derive” my own instructions time and time again and always get it right. Other than the science and mechanics, I also found the chapter on understanding dog language really helpful. Marshmallow’s “emergency itch”? That’s stress. His yawning? That’s stress. Mouthiness? Yup, still stress. That poor pup! The whole time he’s been gently telling me that he could use a bit more support, and I’ve been an idiot trying to wait it all out. What also dawned on me, is that a lot of what I thought / was labeled positive reinforcement, wasn’t reinforcement at all. Dangling a piece of bacon to get a dog to sit is bribery, or non-contact coercion, if you will.


Now back to CC. She has received positive reinforcement training at Kim’s since the day she was born. By the time she arrived on my ranch, she knew how to mand and target really well. And that gave me plenty of opportunities to reinforce her and quickly build a trusting relationship. Eventually I taught her to shake, only because she looks incredibly cute doing that. But by golly she was so polite and never pawed me for attention like Marshmallow did when he was a pup. She knew that manding gets her attention and treats, and giving me her paw only when I ask gets her praise and treats. I haven’t intentionally taught her to come, but she figured it out because every time she comes to me she gets pets and she might even get to lick my face. She has a pretty good “go to bed” from a single training moment. It was her birthday and I had a serrano ham bone for her. I wanted to let her have it in the kennel without being bothered by Marshmallow. I walked towards the dog bed once we entered the kennel and she hopped on it. On the spur of the moment, I clicked, then gave her the ham bone. I later put it on cue, but really, the “go to bed” action was learned in just 1 event. 


She’s been here about a year now, and CC has never had an “emergency itch”. Now isn’t that interesting! More interestingly, Marshmallow’s “emergency itch” and chewing all but disappeared after CC’s arrival, which roughly coincided with the beginning of proper use of positive reinforcement on my end. Was it me? Was it CC? Only Marshmallow knows. What I do know is that with 2 happy relaxed dogs, my life has gotten easier. And we’ll just end the story here and live happily ever after.

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!

I also owned a few other breeds (St. Bernard, Husky, 2 Boxers, Pekingese) when I was a teenager, and later our family tried a few different breeds (Yorkie and Boxers) after our last Cocker passed away. (Besides the Maremmas and Cinder, we currently own a Shih Tzu and a Boxer.) I loved all of these other dogs, but there was never a breed I loved enough to want to breed them until I got my first Maremma Sheepdog.


I had a lifelong dream from when I was a child to live on a farm. When I was 19, I married that career Navy man I mentioned earlier. Little did I know that meant my dream would be put on hold until I was fifty and my husband retired from his 40-year Navy career. But some dreams are worth waiting for. We bought our farm in late 2015. I also bought 6 Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats to add to the horses we already owned and the chickens and other poultry I planned to get. 🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐


Because we have a lot of coyotes in the area, I knew I would need a Livestock Guardian Dog to keep my animals safe. I only knew a little about LGDs, so I began reading whatever I could find, which wasn't much. Then I started my search for an LGD of my own. I found two breeders on Craigslist. One bred Great Pyrenees, and one bred Maremmas. The GP breeder told me how it "only took six strands of barbed wire to keep her dogs in" and how "sometimes they killed her stock." Not very reassuring. 😳


The Maremma breeder, who raises Angora goats, told me how Maremmas are better at respecting fences and staying with the stock than Pyrs, that they haven't lost their guardian instincts as so many Pryrs have, and how he has never lost any goats to predators since getting his Maremmas. Let's see, should I choose the dog that will be hard to contain and might eat my goats and chickens or the dog that will stay home and be more trustworthy? 🤔


The Maremma breeder was much more convincing and reassuring. And five-month-old Olaf soon joined our farm's six goats and 11 horses. Olaf came into the barn and settled in with my goats like one of them. He soon won over the horses, too. And he also won the hearts of all the humans in the family. 💜

​Growing up as a city kid in Memphis, Tennesse, one of my favorite places to go was the Memphis Zoo. Later as a mom of six kids, visiting the Zoo was a favorite family activity. As a Navy family, we have visited big and small zoos all over the United States. And as grandchildren started coming along, going to the Zoo with them was also lots of fun. Zoo memberships are a great way to support your local zoon and enjoy many visits throughout the year without breaking the bank. 

Undoubtedly my favorite part of any zoo is the petting zoo. I know most people go to the Zoo to see wild animals and I enjoy that, too. But since I wanted to live on a farm since I was a little kid and didn't achieve that dream until I was 50 years old, the petting zoo was an excellent way for me to get a little up close and personal time with the types of farm animals I hoped to one day own. And without a doubt, my favorite animals in the petting zoo were the goats. I could have spent hours watching and petting those fascinating creatures. Of course, my family usually had other ideas, so I didn't get to spend that long with the goats, but I took whatever time I could!

Now that I have a farm of my own and more goats and other farm animals than I can count, I tend to spend more time visiting the wild animals when I visit a zoo, but I still believe petting zoos are lovely places. Where else can city kids like me meet, pet, and interact with real farm animals? How many of those kids grow up, like I did, to own farm animals of their own?

A few weeks later, the exciting day arrived when two staff members, Kristen and Patrick, drove from Santa Barbara to pick up their new kids! Seeing the SUV covered in painted butterflies and Zoo signs pull into my driveway was beyond exciting. Then meeting Kristen and Patrick and showing them around my farm was so cool. We drove around on my golf cart so they could see the herd in the back pasture without disturbing our Maremma Sheepdog Livestock Guardian Dogs at work or risking biosecurity. Then we went to the pick up area near the Puppy Parlor, where the Zoo kids were waiting to head off on their new adventure. Kristen Facetimed Dr. Barnes so she could inspect the kids while Patrick got things set up and ready for them. Of course, I took lots of photos as we got the kids ready to go. Then they were loaded up for the trip and on their way back to the Zoo! 

📖 Read the Rest of the Story!

This zoo adventure didn't end with these four goats! Want to know how the Santa Barbara Zoo ended up with ten Prancing Pony goats? The sequel involves "oops babies," a skipped kidding season, and another surprise phone call from the zoo.
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Read Part 2: How Six "Oops Babies" Became Zoo Stars on our new dedicated goat website!

P.S. This story has perfect timing since I'm currently stepping away from goat breeding - making this zoo legacy even more special. Learn more about our final genetics sale.