Get Your Maremma Sheepdog Questions Answered Live, Every Week

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Hi Reader,

I’m writing this at an hour that would horrify my early-bird friends, but that’s how my brain works — and it’s fitting, because tonight I finally pulled the trigger on something I’ve been talking about for months.

New Weekly Group Maremma Sheepdog Breed Discovery Calls

Starting Tuesday, September 15th at 3 pm Pacific, I’m hosting a free, live group Zoom call every single week for anyone who’s curious about Maremma Sheepdogs or livestock guardian dogs in general.

If you’ve ever thought about getting a Maremma specifically or an LGD in general, and had a hundred questions — how much space they need, how much they bark, what it’s actually like to live with one — this is for you. Come with your questions. Come with no questions and just listen. Both are welcome.

I’ve done close to 100 of these one-on-one over the past couple of years, usually an hour each, answering a lot of the same questions over and over. I love doing it, but it wasn’t sustainable, and it meant only one person got the answer at a time. Group calls fix that — and honestly, hearing someone else ask a question you didn’t know you had is half the magic.

Fair warning: this is my first time running a group call like this. It might be a little rough around the edges the first few times. Bear with me while I figure it out.

What These Calls Are (and Aren’t) For

These calls are for people who are still deciding if a livestock guardian dog is right for them — not for troubleshooting a dog you already own. If you already have your Maremma and you’re working through a specific issue, that’s what a training consultation is for (more on that below).

A Quick Heads-Up About Recording

These calls will be recorded, and the recordings will become searchable content inside my membership site — so anyone can find that exact question later without waiting for a live call. Clips may also show up elsewhere: my website, YouTube, social media. I probably won’t put faces on video (I’m not a huge fan of being on camera myself), but I won’t promise that for certain.

If you’d rather not be recorded, this particular call isn’t the place for you — but I’ve got you covered below.

Maremma Sheepdog Training Consultations Are Now on Zoom

If you’re already working with me on training a dog you already own, those consultations are now done over Zoom. It means I can reference our actual conversation when I build your customized training plan afterward — no more relying on my notes from a phone call. Had one this week, in fact, and it worked beautifully.

Coming Soon: Paid One-on-One LGD Readiness Consultations

I’m also working on a paid, private consultation option for people seriously considering a Maremma or other LGD who want deep, personalized guidance — fencing, setup, timeline, integration process, all of it — with the same kind of customized follow-up plan my training clients get. I’m still building out a full website page for those but you can sign up below.

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To be clear, nothing free is going away. The group calls are the new home for open, “still figuring it out” questions. (The old “Maremma Discovery calls, but better.)

If you’re closer to being ready to bring home a Maremma and want a private, one-on-one conversation, you can still apply for a puppy here and we’ll set up a call around your timeline.

Pick whichever door fits where you are — or use more than one. That’s kind of the whole point.

Summer Litter Puppies: New Homes, New Options, and a Rare Opportunity

We’ve had a lot going on here at the farm! Two puppies headed to Colorado last week to guard an alpaca farm, and two headed to Michigan to become chicken guardians — all four riding out with our trusted ground transporter, who’s done this trip for us many times and always takes great care of our pups.

These pups came from our three Summer Litters — born in May and June to three of our girls, Marisa, Electra, and Nova, all sired by Pippin, our imported Italian stud dog. With just a two-week age spread across all three litters, we’ve got a lot of flexibility to match puppies (even from different litters) to exactly the right homes — including pairs.

A rare opportunity: Electra may be retiring

​Electra is one of my senior breeding girls — friendly, sweet, an outstanding livestock guardian — and I’m considering retiring her from breeding. I have a lot of promising young dogs coming up, so rather than keep breeding her, I’d love to see her start her next chapter in the right home.

I want to be upfront: this isn’t a “first come, first served” situation. Older dogs have very specific needs for the kind of home they will thrive in, and I’ll only place her if it’s exactly right. For Electra, that means a home with a male partner (ideally one of mine), no female dogs, no single-LGD setup, and no companion dogs mixing in with livestock. If that sounds like your farm, this could be a special opportunity to get a fully-trained, mature livestock guardian dog.

​Apply here to find out if Electra is a good fit for you.

Currently available Maremma Puppies:

• ​Marisa — one of my best working LGDs ever, sister to my amazing stud dog, Pax. This is likely her last litter before retirement — a couple of boys available now and maybe one girl.
• ​Electra — a male and a couple of females available, raised with goats. Electra is mom to our amazing Hawaiian princess, Caia.
• ​Nova — our best PennHIP scores yet. A couple of males available, and possibly a female.

These pups have dozens of proven adult siblings and other related dogs working (and some as companions) out in the world — this isn’t just good genetics on paper. It’s what we do here at Prancing Pony Farm.​

Why now is the best time to reserve a Maremma puppy

If you’ve been thinking about adding a Maremma puppy to your family and know you’ll need commercial shipping, timing actually matters:

• Flying? September means airlines are accepting puppies again after the summer heat restrictions. Puppies ship by weight and crate size — right now they still fit a 36″ crate, but that won’t last long, so flying sooner saves money.
• Ground shipping? When we combine multiple clients on the same route, everyone saves — our Colorado and Michigan families each saved over $450 by sharing a trip.

Not ready to bring a puppy home yet? Our extended stay option lets you reserve now and bring them home later — perfect for finishing fencing or prep work. One recent client’s puppies stayed an extra 2.5 months and came home at 5-months-old ready to go to work on their beautiful 105-acre Oregon sheep farm.

Pedro and Penny were living fulltime with the sheep within a few days of coming home. I always advise clients to go slow when acclimating their puppies to new livestock but in reality for most of my pups that means days, not weeks or months like some people might expect. Years ago one of my clients dubbed my pups “plug and play” and the description is 100% accurate. If you’re looking for your own plug and play Maremma we’ve got you covered.

​Browse Available Puppies →​

See you Tuesday,

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Kim

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Kim Crawmer, KPA CTP, LFDM Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner Licensed Family Dog Mediator