Bringing Home Your Prancing Pony Maremma Sheepdog
This page contains information to help you prepare for your new puppy or dog and make their transition to your home and your stock as smooth as possible. If you have questions or concerns that aren’t addressed here let us know. We will answer them and add them to the page for future customers!
How to Make Your Puppy Reservation or Final Payment
We do not accept checks, Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, wire transfers, or other payment methods for puppy reservations, puppy payments, shipping fees, or other dog-related payments. We have three approved payment methods. These options are as follows:
- The GoodDog secure payment system. Good Dog offers purchase protection and additional support to new puppy owners for a fee. However, there is also a fee-free option for those who do not wish to pay this fee.
- Credit or debit is accepted through our Honeybook payment system. There will be a 3% transaction fee for those who wish to pay through the Honeybook payment system.
- Cash. (For those picking up their puppy in person.)
Please let us know which of our three payment methods you prefer.
Your Puppy Contract & Your Puppy's Health Records
Before you pick up your puppy (or have it shipped) you will need to sign your puppy contract. We will send the contract through Breeder Cloud Pro to be signed digitally. We will also send an invitation through the Pet Portal so that you can log on and access your puppy’s heath record, which you can print and take to your veterinarian when your puppy is ready for follow up care or additional vaccinations. There is no cost to you to use this site!
Travel Arrangements for Your Maremma
For our California customers, we are centrally located near Highway 41 and less than a day’s drive from most locations, so picking up your puppy in person is easy. Out-of-state customers also sometimes drive out to pick their puppies up, and we welcome you to do so if that’s your wish. You may also choose to have your puppy shipped commercially. You will need to make the arrangements yourself. We will work with the shipper of your choice. We have some helpful information and recommendations below.
Picking up Your Puppy in Person
Click the button below to learn what you need to know if you will be picking up your puppy yourself.
Shipping Your Puppy Commercially
Click the button below to learn what you need to know if you will be shipping your puppy commercially.
Feeding Your Maremma
We feed our puppies and adult Maremmas Diamond Naturals All Life Stages Chicken and Rice formula. This food is available at Amazon, Chewy, Tractor Supply, and most feed and pet stores. If you have a different brand of food you would prefer to use, we suggest you buy one bag of the formula we use and switch the puppy or dog over gradually, as sudden changes in diet can cause digestive upset. Ensure you are using a food containing the AAFCO Statement, certifying that it meets the nutritional needs of large breed puppies. A good place to research dog food brands is Dog Food Advisor. We recommend sticking to 4 or 5-star foods formulated for large-breed puppies.
AAFCO approved food for puppies and adults, including large breed puppies. This is a 5 star food on Dog Food Advisor. All of our Maremmas eat this food.
Order a Harness for a Your Maremma Below
We train our Maremmas to be walked with harnesses, not collars. Harnesses are safer and more comfortable for dogs. You can train your puppy to a collar later if you would like, but we suggest you use a harness on your puppy when you first take it home.
The harness we use is the Blue 9 Balance Harness, and this is the one we suggest you use. We sell them on our website. If you would like, you can order your harness through our farm store, and we will have it ready when you pick up your puppy. You can also order this harness or a similar brand through Amazon or some other company and bring it when you pick up your Maremma.
Harness Sizing Info
- 3-5 months old – a size medium generally fits these pups
- 6-12 months old – usually a medium/large fits, but some larger pups may be ready to move up to a large sooner
- 1-2 years old – medium/large or large, depending on the dog – please ask. (Most males and some females need a large. Most females can fit a medium/large as adults.)
Order Long Lines for Your Maremma
We include a complimentary 6′ leash with each harness, but we usually walk our dogs on a 15-foot-long line for training purposes. You can order one of those through our Amazon link below.
Long Dog Leash 15 FT: Heavy Duty Rope Leashes for Dogs
About this item
- 🐶Newly Added Accessory:Shock Absorbing Reflective Bungee uses innovative Zero Shock BUNGEE Technology perfect for control and cushion the pulling, effectively slowing down the tension on the hand, reducing laborious traction, which makes dogs'walking enjoyable!
- 🐶Upgraded 360°Swivel Lockable Hook.
- 🐶Heavy Duty Reflective Dog Leash
- 🐶Comfortable padded foam handle: ergonomically designed, soft padded handle for extra comfort.
Trupanion Pet Insurance
Prancing Pony Farm is proud to have partnered with Trupanion Pet Insurance for its breeder program. I’ve included a Breeder Code below for puppies purchased from us. With this code, you can sign up for 30 days of free insurance for your puppy. This covers your puppy for illness and injury. After that, you can choose whether to continue the insurance or not.
I highly encourage all puppy owners to take advantage of the free trial. It costs you nothing, but their vet bills will be covered if the puppy is injured or becomes ill after leaving here. Puppies are most susceptible to illness when young because their immune systems are still developing.
This is especially important for pups being transported commercially or even by their owners, as there is a lot of risk to a young puppy traveling long distances in public places. They could pick up something or be injured. We hope that won’t happen, but with Trupanion, you won’t be stuck with expensive vet bills!
Please note: The coverage has to be activated on pick-up day or within one day before or after the puppy is picked up. And the buyer has to activate it using my breeder code. I cannot legally sign you up.
Use the Breeder Code below to sign up. Please let me know if you have any questions
*I am not sure what the cut-off age is for this offer, but if you purchase pups older than a year, you can check with Trupanion to see if they would be covered.
Here is what the insurance covers:
- 30 days of coverage with no upfront payments
- Immediate coverage – waiting periods are waived
- $250 deductible, 90% coverage, and no payout limits
- Coverage for new, unexpected injuries or illnesses (more information about Trupanion online)
- Terms and conditions apply. See the policy at Trupanion.com/pet-insurance
Use the Breeder Code below to sign up.
Please note: The coverage has to be activated on pick-up day or within one day before or after the puppy is picked up. The buyer has to activate it using my breeder code. I cannot legally sign you up.
*I am not sure what the cut-off age is for this offer, but if you purchase pups older than a year, you can check with Trupanion to see if they would be covered.
Protect Your Investment You Made in Your LGD
I highly encourage all puppy owners to take advantage of the free trial through Trupanion. It costs nothing, but your vet bills will be covered if your puppy is injured or becomes ill after leaving here. Puppies are most susceptible to illness when young because their immune systems are still developing.
This is especially important for pups being transported commercially or even by their owners, as there is a lot of risk to a young puppy traveling long distances in public places. They could pick up something or be injured. We hope that won’t happen, but with Trupanion, you won’t be stuck with expensive vet bills!
Is Pet Insurance Worth the Cost?
People often ask me if they think it’s worth continuing insurance after the free trial. I do not personally have insurance on my dogs for two reasons. Because the premiums would be too high for so many dogs and because breeding-related costs aren’t covered. However, I believe insurance is sometimes worth having because dogs can get into crazy situations, especially livestock guardian dogs.
My son’s dog caught his belly on a tiny nail on a tree stake in their backyard and ended up with a $1500 vet bill! (They got insurance after that.) He is a medium-sized pet dog (not a livestock guardian dog) living in a suburban backyard. Livestock guardian dogs live lives that make them more prone to injuries than most companion dogs, which makes insurance worth considering.
I have been told that Trupanion’s prices are a bit high. I have not researched prices, but my son got insurance through Costco, which is very reasonable. I would suggest that new puppy owners take advantage of the free 30 days from Trupanion and then shop around to see which company has the best deal if they decide that insurance would be a good investment.
Ready to Join the Family?
The best way to start the process is by filling out our Maremma contact form. Then, we can send you information on available puppies and dogs. You’ll also be able to fill out our puppy application. The application helps us better understand you and your needs so we can match you with the perfect puppy!
Join Our Email List!
Sign up for our email newsletter, and we’ll keep you posted on upcoming litters and available dogs! Our email list members are always the first to know and get first dibs on available dogs. We also send out helpful Maremma Sheepdog care and training articles and links to useful resources.