ROGER SAUMURE

So its been a while since I have been here and Lupo turned 3 last month. While he is a great big 3 year old puppy who loves to play - I really could not have asked for a better dog. He has bonded so well with my wife and me - probably something most Marema owners don't care about but while I expect working dogs to work, I really cant just use them as purely a "tool". We still go on our walks and he knows exactly the spot where he gets to go off leash and will stop even if I forget LOL. He clearly understands every command I give him - although he may think about what else is going on before responding - but he does respond. This just how this breed is programmed. If I do tell him to stay he will freeze in his tracks. and when he is off leash he will never not know exactly where I am - always looking back to see where I am. He still spends all day outside and only comes in at night. I never had a problem with him trying to leave the property - ever. Now if we can train him not to shed....LOL Thank you so much for all your help!

Here is another clip of Lupo. My wife has some crackers she is using as a treat for the chickens and Lupo. Notice when she drops some of the crackers Lupo doesn't dive in after them (even thought he wants his treat too) but instead waits for one to be offered to him. He is so chill. IMG_3839[1].MOV

So as I mentioned Lupo has been doing really well on the leash. We try to get in 2-4 miles a day. Being in a rural area there are all kinds of distractions (deer, turkeys, horses, feral cats, cars) and I really wanted to start proofing him to see how he will react when not on a leash. So on our walk home yesterday I dropped the lease and he walked the last mile at my side the whole time. If he started to deviate, I simply called him and he went right back into position. With passing cars I would stop walking and tell him to stay (by my side) and he calmly waited for the car to pass. Seems like the more time we spend together the more we understand each others expectations and how to work together. BTW caught a few of your articles on Pethelpful. Really well done. Just a note - Lupo does have the double dew claws on his hind legs. IMG_3838[1].MOV

Bianca looks like she just wants to have fun. Too bad so far away - but hey Italy is a good life. And I am sure its great for her too.

So its been a while but Lupo has been doing great. I tried walking him on a leash off the property and he was having none of it at first. He was obviously uncomfortable with things he was not familiar with. We kept at it and now we are doing around 4 miles whenever the weather permits and sometimes even when it doesn't. I do have him on a HS (Herm Sprenger) collar although I rarely apply any correction and then only mildly. It was mostly for his own good as he would want to pull me up hills or lunge at passing cars. He is over this now and stands by my side until cars pass. He will issue a sharp bark if he thinks they are going too fast (yes I am serious). I can keep the leash short and he will walk by my side and most of the time the leash pressure is not even there - but I like to let him sniff and explore as well so I give him some leash freedom. He loves little kids and they love to pet the big white fluffy dog. We did have a run in with a pit bull that was not fenced in but got away with no real damage. The next house we came to has a golden retriever so we spent a few minutes until the two of them started playing together. Really don't want Lupo to get dog aggressive. We did have a run in with a porcupine as well and put up with me for 2 hours pulling quills. We already had a scheduled visit with the vet a couple of days later and he was even impressed that we got the quills out. Lupo even got into the car for the ride to and from the vet! Big progress for us here! He does like to bury everything from bones to frisbees. He will did a hole place the item in the hole and very carefully cover the hole - most times you would not even know he has been digging. He has to have stuff buried all over the place. I have even asked him to get his toy and he will go dig it up so we can play. The problem is when he digs something up he never fills in the hole - LOL. Probably something we will just have to live with. A while back I started working with Lupo to jump over something on command - which he will do. I kept it to something he could step over just because his joints are developing but when is it safe to go higher? He could easily clear 3 feet if he wanted to and my wife and neighbor watched him do just that. Also I would like to work with him on some scent training - any suggestions on where to start? I have to say I am totally amazed with this dog/breed. He has been having major fur blow outs recently so all that brushing when he was a puppy really paid off. I had to go over him every 2-3 days way in the back of the yard. The birds and the mice are loving it though!

Hi I have a Maremma about 7 months old and about 70 lbs. Sounds like we have a very similar situation. We do the perimeter walks and training very similar to the situation you describe. And I get/got all the same kind of mouthy behaviors. Sometimes in the evening - he is so full of piss and vinegar that he will run in large circles at full speed. Its fun to watch actually. He will also come running at me full speed and just touch my shoulder with his nose. Thankfully he will not do this with anyone else as it would scare the bejesus out of them. He spends the nights inside the house so after blowing off some steam he is ready to settle down. To stop the mouthing nipping behavior, as we head out for our walk, I point to one of his toys and tell him "take it". Right now his favorite is a Chuck It frisbee. As long as he has a job to do - carrying something around - he never mouths or nips. Sometimes I just find a stick. And sometimes he finds his own stick - like the one last night that was about 4 ft and almost as thick as my wrist LOL. I have even folded up my leash and had him carry that. He really likes playing fetch and has learned to put the frisbee in my hand before releasing it. When he drops the frisbee at my feet, I tell him to "take it" and he will pick it up and hand it to me. I also have the Chuck It tennis ball launcher and he is really good with fetching and returning but the frisbee seems to hold his interest longer and is easier for him to place directly in my hand. The mouthing / nipping behavior would increase as we were walking back to the house. He just wants to play all the time so we end our little walks with a game of tug - another of his favorites. Now instead of walking with me to the house he will stop short and wait for his game of tug LOL. For me the frisbee has worked really well, not just for retrieves, but its something he likes carrying around. If he has something he likes in his mouth, he is not going to be doing a lot of nipping. I hear you about the deer poop - that can be a distraction. We need to do a refresher on the leave it. We have a bunch of boulders on the perimeter of the field we walk/train in. I have been teaching him to jump up on the boulders - something he really likes to do. Then we started working them in sequence - running from one to the next. Unfortunately my treat bag was open and I ended up leaving a trail of treats. It took him a couple of days to finally realize he had gotten them all LOL Overall, I can't complain about his behaviors, actually I am really happy. Most people who meet him can't believe how well behaved he is.

Here is a picture of Lupo with his favorite hen. This hen is one that my wife rescued or nursed back to health. But the hen cannot run like the other hens and tends to get picked on. We keep her segregated from the other hens in the coop but she wants her time out side to free range and we had to keep an eye on her and the other hens. Lupo as a puppy developed a fondness for her - to the point we were afraid he might hurt her. Over time Lupo mellowed and now will check on her and just his presence keeps the more aggressive hens and roosters at bay. IMG_3597[1].MOV

Really sorry to hear this. I know first hand how heartbreaking this can be. Years ago we had a neighbor who indiscriminately (not in bait stations) used some rat poison and my terrier got into them. The vet diagnosed the problem but there was nothing he could do about it. Modern poisons attack the neurological system vs the old ones that eliminate the ability of blood to clot. Unfortunately there was no antidote for the newer type of poison. The vet advised us to put the dog down - or if we really wanted to try to save the dog to go to Cornell or Univ of Penn. We opted for Penn for logistics reasons - I was away on business and Penn was midway between home and DC. When my wife arrived at Penn our dog was as limp as a dishrag. The vets at Penn advised us to put him down. I got the vet to explain the mechanism of the poison to me and we decided on a course of treatment. We administered epilepsy drugs to keep the brain swelling down and gave him a IV of lipids to bind with the poison in his system. After 3 days of the treatment we were making the 3 hour drive to Penn to be with our dog when he was put down when the vet called and said he was showing some signs of improvement and maybe we should give it a little more time. We continued the drive to see our little dog and a few days he was back home. While he was never the same, and the road to recovery was long, he did live out the rest of his life to be over 15 years old. At the time I believe he was the only dog to survive this type of poisoning.

I am no expert on the subject but I will offer what has worked for me when my voice was not enough to get my dog's attention. A poke to the ribs with my index finger has always been enough to get my dog to stop what ever he was doing and look at me. He would be like "what was that? who did that? you have my attention - now what do you want?" The poke in the ribs is not hard but seems to be unexpected in a way that he immediately breaks focus on what ever he is doing and looks to me for guidance.

Just wanted to update you on my progress. In terms of being annoying when guests come over, it just so happens just after we were corresponding, I was taking Lupo on the leash out back for a little training exercise when the person Lupo liked to jump up on came over to meet my wife. Since I had him on the leash with the treat bag on my belt, Lupo and I walked over to join the conversation. While Lupo was clearly excited, I was able to get him to sit, and fed him a few treats. Eventually he just laid down while we continued our conversation. The same person has come over since (along with many others) and he is really well behaved. The main and consistent reaction from Lupo when someone comes up the driveway now is a low key warning bark. This lasts as long as it takes me to come outside to tell him everything is OK and introduce him to whoever it is. He calms right down and is friendly. I really think this is exactly the behavior I want to see? I really use the leash infrequently but I am trying to incorporate it into our daily routine just so he stays used to it. Its hard because there really is no need for the leash. We still need to do more work on the car thing though. Its all about spending time. My wife and I had to go away over night and a friend offered to watch Lupo. He was fine with the car ride - he just does not like getting put in the car. The friend has an older lab with some health issues - as well as some hounds that are kept in a kennel. About 40 acres of their property is completely fenced (even for snakes!) so Lupo, as an outdoor dog, was completely in his element. Lupo was a little apprehensive at first with Missy the lab, but after some routine sniffing they got along great. At night Lupo found his spot under their kitchen table with Missy a few feet away in her bed. They were amazed to see a six month old - sixty pound puppy so well behaved. And it was good for Missy too - she showed a lot more activity and seemed quite happy to have a playmate. So hopefully we can arrange a few play dates as Lupo does not get out much. Now for my question. Lupo is still a puppy and fairly large, and with me - very playful. We play fetch a couple of times a day - and if the treat bag is on my hip he will faithfully drop whatever we are playing with at my feet. He loves tug o war. But he also loves for me to chase him. He also likes to play keep away - where he has a toy and wants me to chase him. He will also come running at me full speed, take a flying leap into the air and tag me on the shoulder with his nose. I can see where this could be quite intimidating - but its a behavior he only exhibits with me. Once he came running at me full bore, jumped and planted both paws on my chest. Luckily he was the one who went sprawling on the ground and hasn't tried that move since. When he does get a little too over active, I can either tell him to "settle" and after ha few seconds he will settle down or I can cross my arms and he will sit calmly at my feet. When he does want to play he will tug at my shirt sleeves - which is a behavior I should probably be discouraging. I can do this by giving him a toy or a stick and he will dutifully carry that while we walk together. He's a puppy and wants to play, and every puppy I have ever had liked to rough house to some extent - there have not been that many and they have been years apart. Our playtime is fun - but I worry that I could be encouraging some bad behaviors that I will regret. Honestly this dog is so smart he is probably wasted on me - I don't ever see myself bringing him to his full potential.

Thank you so much. Lupo is just about 5 months old. That is very good news! I hope when he has nipped in the past he has shown signs of good bite inhibition. Has he? Make sure he has durable and safe chew toys to chew on. How old is he now? I estimate around 5 months? They get a second "chewing stage" which takes place between 4 and 9 months. His bite inhibition is better than any puppy I have ever come across. In the time we have had him I don't even have a scratch to show for it. When he does get mouthy we simply say "no teeth" which he seems to understand really well. Most of his mouthing is limited to my shirt sleeves. So far chewing has not been an issue - I was expecting a puppy to chew up everything and this has not been the case. However, just because they're not the easiest dogs to train doesn't mean they can't be trained. This is a big myth. It has been so many years since I had to train a puppy I was actually quite worried about training a Maremma. Not that I have a lot of experience with different breeds but I find Lupo incredibly smart and easy to train. Maybe my expectations are too low or I just got lucky. It's also important paying attention to in what circumstances the dog doesn't follow our directions so to identify patterns. A great Pyrenees I trained didn't do well being trained nearby windows or doors as she was hearing noises often and wanted to check them out. I often used the Premack Principle considering that for her one of the highest rewards was going outside to check things out, so if she didn't listen to something, at least I made the best out of it, by asking her to sit in front of the door before opening it. Since she cared so much about being out, in 90 percent of the cases, she readily complied. You may also want to work on making collar grabs more pleasant so that he doesn't feel like instinctively moving away. Lupo does exhibit typical livestock guardian behavior when we walk the property. When we go out for a walk in the morning he likes to get a sense of what might be around - just studying the tree line and smelling the air. Once he has done that he is fine. I am not really concerned with this as I want him to be a dog and that is one of the reasons we decided on getting a LGD in the first place. I can point to one of several large rocks and tell him "up" and he will run to the top of the rock. If I tell him to "sit" he will sit on the rock. If I tell him to "stay" he will stay until called. When called he will come running to me. I always be sure to grab his collar. He will chase deer and the occasional fox off the property but does not pursue them. Actually foxes have become much less of an issue with Lupo around - they were trying to get our chickens every other day but no fox activity for a couple of months now. At around 5 months, you'll also start seeing further more independent behaviors as he's in the flight stage and nearing adolescence, so keep up the training, but always ensuring to not make sessions too long or boring. Lupo does get the zoomies - especially in the early evenings and they are hilarious. I do spend a couple of minutes a day brushing him - not so much of a grooming exercise but just to keep him used to being brushed. He keeps his nails worn down pretty good but he does have the double dew claw on his hind legs so I do trim his dew claws ever so slightly once a week or so - just so he is used to it. The flight stage has always been my biggest concern and we have worked on boundary training twice a day since day one. He is never allowed to walk down the driveway - he will not even follow me when I take down the trash - and he never goes more that a few feet into the treeline. OK, so that's a circumstance I talked about prior that we need to pay attention to. Being extra smart, Lupo is likely worried that he'll have to get into the car and may be rebelling to that because he's not comfortable in there. That is clearly the case. When we would walk past the truck together Lupo would take a wide berth around the truck. He is getting better since I started opening the door/tailgate and making him put his paws on the sill to get a treat. Our plan is for my wife and I to take him on some short rides together. The one time he did fine in the car was when we were both in the vehicle together. Does he ever start drooling or get nauseous/ or has he ever vomited in the car? Many cases of car phobia may be triggered by underlying motion sickness, and not always it's easy to identify. No. I am concerned this may be actual protective behavior more than attention seeking. Is he doing this only with guests entering the home? Does it happens also outside of the home? Just about all our interaction with people occurs outside the house. Lupo is primarily an outdoor dog who only comes into the house to sleep. Does he seem to really like human attention? Yes - especially children. When my wife is trying to have a conversation, he is nuzzling her guest. This behavior is more pronounced with women. How often do you have guests come over? A few times (4-5) a week people (women) will come over to buy eggs and stuff my wife sells. We also have fairly frequent deliveries to the house and I am not aware of any issues with delivery people. My wife says this behavior occurs less with men. Has he always been this way or is this a new behavior? Hard to say but I think it has always been there to some degree. Does it only happen when around your wife? No but its not like I have many friends stopping by. One of my friends (male) will stop by with two small children and the kids will play with Lupo and he is well behaved and my friend an I can have a normal conversation. One of my wife's customers brings her children to see the chickens and Lupo and Lupo is well behaved - getting attention from the children. Another friend (male) stopped by and Lupo started barking as we were talking. Its almost as if he was taking the appearance of a new face as a cue for playtime. If it's only you having the guests over (your wife is away in another room or out of the home) does he still engage in this form of barking? Not sure. Is he putting himself in between your wife and the person approaching, with the barking increasing the more they advance towards your wife (don't actually try this, just let me know about this by recalling past events) No, his behavior seems more attention seeking and playful. When we picked Lupo up at the breeder, the breeder had several Maremmas in pens with different types of livestock. One of the dogs was quite standoffish and would bark without approaching the fence - clearly guardian type behavior. We were informed that the only person who could even touch that dog was the breeder (a woman). Two of the other dogs in another pen would bark but when we approached the fence were quite friendly. It just so happens that I spotted a Maremma on a farm not to far from ours. The owners were outside so I stopped to speak with them. This dog, who was in a pen with chickens, would bark and did not approach the fence - clearly trying to warn me off. I would say Lupo's behavior is more playful/attention seeking and not aggressive/protective. Is he always by your wives' side when people come over? I would have to say yes. My wife spends a lot of time outside and Lupo is at her side sticking his nose into what ever she is doing. He absolutely adores her, but she is busy and excitable and her attempts to correct him may be viewed more as play? What has happened once the guests enter the home? Does he keep on barking? Chills down eventually? Or does he chill and then star barking again as guests move around, get up etc? Lupo does not come into the house until late at night so we have no experience here.

So things with Lupo are going really well. We regressed a little bit with on leash training since I really don't need one - Lupo just hangs out with us. But I have started leash work again just so he is well behaved on the rare occasions we leave the property. His adult teeth are coming in and while he is mouthy, he does not bite or rarely even nips. A couple of issues that I need a little help on: Sometimes he gets a little too big for his britches - sometimes I will give him a command - that he full well knows how to do - and he will stubbornly bark as if to say "no way am I going to do that right now". When he is like this he will not let me grab his collar and jumps back when I try. This will usually occur if I am near a vehicle as he absolutely wants no part of getting into a vehicle. He is smart and I think this may be a trust issue. I have been working with him - getting him to put his paws up onto the back of my wifes jeep and treating him when he does. I also have been successful at placing him in the Jeep with the tailgate open and treating him for sitting in the back of the Jeep. I would really like to reduce his anxiety over getting into a vehicle. Yes I can pick him up and go for a short ride - but he does not like that - and it only seems to increase his level of anxiety. When people come to see my wife, Lupo will insert himself between my wife and her guest, and bark to get attention - it is quite annoying and we really have to correct this behavior. Thanks for your help!

Thanks for the advice. Lupo is growing like a weed and his appetite is growing along with him. We have been feeding him twice a day so instead of having the ability to graze, he is developing an appreciation for food. Some of the bolder chickens will dare to steal a piece of his kibble while he is eating and he does not seem to have a problem with that. Will work on keeping treats out of sight. He has "stay" down pretty good. My question is when I am 50ft away and I release him, he will come to me. Should I give him the treat when he comes back to me or should I be walking back to him to release him and give him the treat. Regards

Gee with a name like Adrienne Farricelli I would have never guessed you were from Italy. LOL! We called France home for many years and we made our way to Italy a few times. I had a dear friend with a place in Montelupo with a bunch of olive trees. After tasting olive oil pressed right in the town square, my wife always made sure I came back home with the good stuff on every trip. Lupo is 12 weeks old today. We got him from a breeder who used Maremmas to guard livestock. They clearly were not pets. They had 1 in with the cows, 1 in with the pigs, and 2 in with the goats which tended to be more soft targets for predators, plus Lupo's mom. Lupo was born in the barn and it seems she already started preparing him for his duties ahead as a farm dog. He has been really good with small children - playful but not rough. Good bite inhibition for a puppy - not a scratch on my arms. I took him to a 4th of July party where he got to play with other dogs and be around a lot of new faces. Just made sure we left before any potentially traumatizing fireworks started. He was just so good - my wife was so proud of him. He sat on my wife's lap for the ride home and was fine - he just wants to be on someones lap in the car - which tends to be an issue if there is only the driver in the car. I may try blocking off the back seat/cargo area and taking him for rides that way. I had him to the vet last week for his second round of shots - again he was great - and a real chick magnet. At the breeder he was free fed. We try not to do that as we will have chickens eating dog food - thankfully he leaves the chicken food alone. We feed him a large breed puppy kibble. Sometimes my wife will boil a little chicken or beef trimmings that we use very moderately mixed with the kibble or as "high value" treats which he clearly prefers to standard dog treats. He does really like Greenies or Dentalife chews. There is no question the dog is really smart and understands commands but he does have a mind of his own. If I tell him to "come" there will be times where we stare at each other until he comes. Other times he will just sit until I walk far enough away so that he can run to me. However if he likes doing something - no issue. We have a couple of large rocks that if I point and say "up" he will scramble right up and sit on top of the rock. I would say that praise goes a long way with this dog. I think we have the digging problem sorted - he has found a way beneath a low deck that provides him with shade and cool dirt to escape the heat. My last dog was a Norwich terrier - fantastic and smart. Totally food motivated. He was actually my mom's dog (who lived in a town) and I was the "fun uncle" who let him off the leash. When my mom passed he came to live with us in the country and he loved every minute of it. Left the chickens alone and chased everything off the property from chipmunks to deer and even a few bears. And tried to eat a lot of chicken food. Thanks for the tips - definitely need to read and re-read some of the material you sent. Just a lot to remember.

We have had our little Lupo for just over 2 weeks now - actually he is not so little - it seems he has about doubled in size since we picked him up. All in all he is just a fantastic dog - better than I could have ever hoped for. We live in a rural area and my wife raises chickens. It probably took more time for the chickens to adjust to Lupo that it took for him to adjust to the chickens. Lupo stays outside all day - we bring him in the house at night (after everything is locked down outside) where he sleeps in a "crate". Other than the occasional wimper this has worked out very well. He does not have the run of the house - but sometimes before crate time we will let him in where he will curl up on the rug at the front door. He will rarely try to leave that spot but a simple pointing of the finger and he is right back curled up on the rug. Every morning just after dawn, Lupo and I go "on patrol" where we walk the property to try to establish his boundaries. He is really good about not trying to wander beyond where he is allowed to go. I do the same in the evenings. While he loves to tug at my pantlegs on these walks, I usually have a stick with me that I can use to redirect him and that seems to work well. Sometimes he will just carry the stick for the rest of the walk as if that is his job. Other times, I will start off letting him drag his leash and by the end of the walk he will carry that - just another "job". He constantly throws glances my way to be sure he has me in sight. We never walk him down the driveway as we do not want him to think its ok to do that himself. If I want to take him to visit a neighbor or the neighbor's dogs I always put him in the truck and park down the road. He is anxious about going for a ride and needs to be next to me - but I think he will get used to it with time. I find Lupo is not food motivated at all! And this has been a bit of a challenge - at least for me. "Sit" is no problem. "Down" is ok. "Come" on the other hand is a bit of an issue. He clearly understands the command, but sometimes refuses to execute. Sometimes I feel like he wants me to get far enough away so that he can really run to me and other times I feel like he is thinking "I don't want to come". Any pointers here would be most helpful. If we go to an unfamiliar area he is really good about staying with me - either on or off the leash. At home it seems he is more comfortable doing what he wants to do and pulling against the leash as a form of play. Like I said the experience has so far been fantastic, but I feel like I am in some sort of honeymoon phase and the in a couple of months time he will go from adorable Lupo to Kujo. My last dog was just over 15 years old when he passed so it has been a while for me working with a puppy. I want to be sure we are all off to a good start and no unknowingly reinforce any bad behaviors. Is he really going to start testing me as he gets older? Thanks!