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Watch this sweet first greeting between a young girl — who used to be afraid of dogs — and her family's new Prancing Pony Farm Maremma Sheepdog puppies.

Using the PET PET PAUSE method from the DIAL program, she pets the puppy a couple of times, then pauses to let the puppy decide if it wants more attention. This simple technique helps prevent dogs from feeling overwhelmed by enthusiastic kids and is a key part of raising safe, confident relationships between children and dogs.

Children are statistically the most common victims of dog bites, most often from dogs they know — which is exactly why teaching this skill matters, whether you have a Maremma Sheepdog, a family pet of any breed, or you're preparing for a new puppy.

As a certified DIAL Guide, I also offer consultations to help families apply this program to their dog — whether or not your puppy came from us.

Learn more about our Maremma Sheepdog breeding program and the DIAL program at prancingponymaremmas.com

https://prancingponymaremmas.com/the-dial-method/

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Bear and Chief are two Prancing Pony Farm Maremma Sheepdog brothers, living on a 55-acre ranch in Texas, and guarding 300 chickens and a herd of beef cattle.

Learn more about our breeding program, which produced these amazing dogs:

https://prancingponymaremmas.com

https://prancingponymaremmas.com/why-choose-us/

https://prancingponymaremmas.com/why-choose-us/

https://prancingponymaremmas.com/why-choose-us/

https://prancingponymaremmas.com/why-choose-us/

https://prancingponymaremmas.com/maremma-sheepdog/

https://prancingponymaremmas.com/maremma-sheepdog-companion/

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Maremma Sheepdogs are pack animals, and that fact applies regardless of property size, herd or flock size, or predator load. Whether you have one acre or one hundred and 300 sheep or 3 chickens, you NEED a minimum of two LGDs.

In this video, real Prancing Pony Farm Maremma families show what bonded pairs actually look like — brothers, sisters, littermates, working partners, and lifelong companions sharing guardian duty and everyday life. No fake "litter mate syndrome" (there is no such thing), just happy, thriving dogs and happy owners.

We always prefer sending our Maremma puppies home in pairs. Why? Because it is better for the dogs, the stock, and the owner. A partner means less isolation, less stress, less barking, less inappropriate behavior with stock, and a dog who has a partner who "speaks dog" - something no livestock or human can ever do.

No matter how much you love your dog and how much you love them, you are not a replacement for another dog, nor are the animals they guard.

Since 2017, we've bred and placed over 200 Maremmas, most going in pairs. Not once have we ever had a client regret buying two puppies. Not once.

Want success with LGDs? Buy two!

Learn more about our Maremma Sheepdog breeding program: https://prancingponymaremmas.com

Learn more about Companion Maremmas: https://prancingponymaremmas.com/companion-maremmas

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Come along for one of our evening golf cart runs with Lia, one of our Maremma Sheepdog livestock guardian dogs — plus a couple of puppies riding along in the cage for some exposure and enrichment.

Lia went through an escape artist phase this summer, and instead of fighting it, I found a way to give her what she actually needed: room to run. Now it's become a daily ritual — golf cart runs through the orchard and around the farm, with puppies coming along for the drive whenever the timing works out.

This isn't a polished, produced video — it's real life on the farm. You'll see the property, our neighbor’s orchard, some conversation along the way, and a dog who is genuinely having the time of her life.

If you want the full story behind why we started doing these runs, I wrote about it here: https://prancingponymaremmas.com

🐾 Learn more about Prancing Pony Farm and our Maremma Sheepdogs:

https://prancingponymaremmas.com

📧 Get farm updates and stories like this one delivered weekly:

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📅 Interested in a Maremma Sheepdog puppy or need training help with the one you already have?

https://prancingponymaremmas.com/available-puppies/

https://prancingponymaremmas.com/maremma-training-consulting/

#MaremmaSheepdog #LivestockGuardianDog #FarmLife #WorkingDogs #PrancingPonyFarm

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Bear and Chief are Prancing Pony Farm Maremma Sheepdogs guarding 300 free-range chickens and a small cattle herd on a 55-acre Texas farm. Before them, their owner, Dave, was losing dozens of birds a day to coyotes. The dogs were full-time guardians by 10 months old, and the predator losses stopped completely.

This video shows the two sides of a great livestock guardian dog: serious, alert work, and total devotion to their family. Prancing Pony farm Maremma Sheepdogs are bred and carefully socialized to guard livestock independently while still being deeply bonded, affectionate family members. This isn't an accident. It's a carefully designed, intentional LGD development program.

Learn more about our Maremma Sheepdog breeding program: https://prancingponymaremmas.com

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My oldest female Maremma, Genevieve, got herself in a pickle. I came out to feed the dogs to discover that she had backed herself into a hole and was so tightly wedged she couldn't get out! It took 30 minutes to dig her out. 🤦🏻‍♀️ She just calmly waited while the puppies supervised the rescue of "auntie Genny." Life with dogs is never dull! 😆 #maremmalife

https://prancingponymaremmas.com/available-puppies/

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Circe loves her baby goats so much! Circe is one of our young breeding females and an excellent goat guardian. I intentionally skipped kidding season for 2024 because of my commitment to the Karen Pryor Academy Dog Trainer Professional program. However, a few of my goats had plans, and two ended up with surprise litters. I came out one day to find that one of my does had kidded three adorable Mini Nubian kids. No worries, because Circe had them all taken care of! She was so proud of "her" babies!

Circe gave birth to her first litter of eleven adorable Maremma pups in July, sired by Sevro. These pups will be excellent livestock guardian dogs, just like their parents.

If you are in need of an excellent LGD, go to our link in bio to reserve a Prancing Pony Maremma of your own!

https://prancingponymaremmas.com/available-puppies/

#livestockguardiandog #maremmasheepdog #prancingponyfarm #maremma #pastoremaremmano #maremmano

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You often hear that "livestock guardian dogs aren't good at recall," but is that true? It depends on a few things:

Part 1: How you train them. Training with positive reinforcement works best with all dogs, especially with LGDs, who tend to be more independent. Learning about positive training methods like clicker training will make things easy and fun for you and your dog.

Part 2: When you start training them, Training works best if you start young. Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks, but puppies learn faster and better than older dogs. Ideally, the breeder will begin training the puppies before they leave, and the owner can continue once they bring their pups home.

Part 3: How well-connected you are with your dog. Your LGD will be more likely to listen and want to be with you if you have a strong bond and if your dog finds you reinforcing to be with. Here's where positive reinforcement training comes in again. That's not to say your LGD will never use "selective hearing" if they see something they need to check out, but if they find YOU reinforcing, they are more likely to come when called.

Watch as Electra's 9-week-old puppies demonstrate their recall skills. They ran from the house three times to the pasture fence, where their mom was barking for them, and interesting barn cats were waiting to say hi. Three times, I called them back with the puppy call, and they gladly left mom and the cats and came running back to me. These pups are well on their way to great recall!

If you're looking for a breeder who starts their puppies off right and equips their owners to succeed with training their pups, look no further than Prancing Pony Farm. See the link in the bio for details on available pups.

https://prancingponymaremmas.com/available-puppies/

#prancingponyfarm #livestockguardiandog #maremmasheepdog #maremma #pastoremaremmano

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Puppy training is so much fun that even children can do it! Four of my grandkids help me train Levi, Jocelyn, and Audrey, who are five months old. What is the secret weapon in the training arsenal? Peanut butter!

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