I aim to please

Can  you guess what search term  brings people to this blog every single day? Sheep maybe? Or yarn?

Nope. Day in and day out, the number one search by far term is…dogs. Isn’t that weird? Cause a google search for the word “dogs” brings up 201,000,000 hits. And somehow, lots and lots of people who search for dogs wind up here.

Since I believe in giving the people what they want, today’s post is all about the brilliant, lovable goofballs that protect the sheep and goats at Juniper Moon Farm.

Fettucini, Sabine and Lucy are Maremma livestock guardian dogs. Maremmas are an Italian breed and have only been in the U.S. for about 20 years, but they’ve been used since the 15th century. Livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) are not herding dogs- there only job is to protect their flock from predators. In our case, the predators that threaten our flock are coyotes, bears, but mostly domestic dogs.

The dogs are with the flock 24/7 from the time they are born. This is upsetting to some people who don’t understand how we can leave the dogs outside when it’s raining or snowing. You have to understand that these are working dogs, not pets. Their reason for being is their flock and they would be miserable and antsy without a job.

That being said, my dogs are as sweet as strawberry pie. We work hard to socialize them as puppies for a couple of reasons. First, aggressive dogs are unpredictable and I wouldn’t allow an unpredictable dog anywhere near my sheep. Also, our farm is always open to visitors. We don’t want anyone to feel intimidated while they are here. Finally, aggressive dogs are a big insurance liability.

Ernie and Sabine

My dogs have very different personalities. Fettucini is my oldest dog; we call him Cini (pronounced Chee-knee). Cini is my hardest working dog by far. Nothing gets past him. Cini is motivated by praise, primarily from me.

Cini is all business.

But he’s always gentle with the sheep and goats.

Sabine is Cini’s daughter. She is lighthearted and silly, but she is serious when she feels her flock is threatened. Most of the time though, Sabine wants to be loved on. She is a people dog for sure.

Cini and Sabine

Lucy is our youngest Maremma and she is a handful. Actually, all of my Maremma puppies have been handfuls with the exception of Cini- he was born perfect. I love Lucy dearly but I cannot wait until she isn’t a puppy anymore. Unlike Cini and Sabine, Lucy is motivated by food. Also unlike the other dogs, she is a dog’s dog. Lucy would much rather be with Cini and Sabine than me any day of the week. Lucy also might be the smartest of my dogs. I think she is going to be a great guard dog when she grows up. Time will tell.

Lucy was the cutest puppy ever.

This is my favorite Lucy photo. She’s trying to get Cini up to play.

Mudpuppy

Lucy will be bred to Cini when she is two. We’ll probably keep one or two of the puppies and find homes for the rest on working sheep farms.

Sabine and Cini at work.

House guests sometimes get worried when they hear the dogs barking at night but that’s exactly when I don’t worry. Barking dogs mean I can sleep easily.