“Hello! I’m new to the group and looking for all the info I can on breed-specific needs. Our rescue dog Sage, who came to us in June, is 2 and is mostly Maremma but also Siberian Husky and Pyrenees. She’s been very protective of our home, and I’m working with a trainer on how to best get her to relax, trust, and settle without guarding us against guests we have invited into our home and that she has already met!

One of my Maremmas saying hello to my vet’s tech, Jon.

First, it’s great that you are working with a trainer, and hopefully, that will help. However, I will caution you about three things in this regard. First, be sure your trainer has the experience and education in dog training and behavior to help you. Dog training is an unregulated industry. Anyone can call themselves a trainer, even if they know nothing at all about the subject.

Ideally, you want someone certified by a respected dog training school like Karen Pryor Academy or a similar program. If they are not certified, they should at least be able to prove that they have taken several courses in dog training and behavior and that they are qualified to be giving advice and training your dog.

You don’t want someone who is entirely self-taught or learned from someone else with no credentials. That’s how misinformation and bad advice are perpetuated, and you don’t want to risk your dog or the safety of your guests to someone who doesn’t know what they are doing.

People who truly care about doing things right by dogs and owners invest in their education so they understand the science and research behind dog training and behavior. Those who claim they have “been training since they were a kid” and don’t need to take courses or get certified are often causing more harm than good, as a certain controversial “celebrity trainer” proves.

Secondly, be sure your trainer only uses positive reinforcement training methods with your dog and understands how to do so correctly. Anyone who suggests aversives, “corrections,” or other harsh methods should not be allowed near your dog. Aversive training methods are unnecessary, have been scientifically proven not as effective as positive reinforcement, and can be harmful to your dog. And if you’re working with a dog that is already feeling stressed and worried, using aversives is the fast track to getting a human hurt and causing more problems for the dog.

You also want to be sure your trainer understands how to use positive reinforcement correctly. You will use counter-conditioning and desensitization to help your dog get used to visitors. But it needs to be done correctly! If your trainer doesn’t know what they are doing, they could cause more harm by inadvertently flooding your dog or messing up the process and making things worse. That’s why you should only work with a qualified trainer who knows what they are doing. It’s better to do nothing than do the wrong thing and make things worse!

Lastly, I would be sure your trainer understands livestock guardian dogs, as they are different from the typical companion breeds most people own. What works on a lab or a border collie isn’t necessarily going to work with a Maremma or Great Pyrenees. And you have Siberian Husky thrown into the mix, complicating things further. (This is why crossing LGD breeds with non-LGD breeds is a bad idea. I assume your dog resulted from an accidental litter, but it still makes for a complicated dog. Independent and not very biddable with a high prey drive – oh my!) If your trainer has worked with many LGDs, you should be ok, but if they mainly work with non-LGDs, I would be very cautious.

You and your trainer must understand the nature of livestock guardian dogs and consider that when deciding how to handle this situation. Your dog may be a companion, but she is still (mostly) a livestock guardian dog. You can’t take the GUARD out of guardian just because your dog is a pet!

Wariness with strangers is part of the job description of livestock guardian dogs. They were bred to be very protective of whatever they bond with, whether goats and sheep or human family members. They tend to be very affectionate and friendly with their human family and people they know well but more suspicious of strangers.

Some LGDs are very friendly with strangers, but most are not unless they were heavily socialized to be that way as puppies. The critical socialization period in dogs ends at about 12-16 weeks. Breeders and owners should devote time and effort to socializing puppies during this time by introducing them to various visitors outside the family.  

Unfortunately, many livestock guardian dog puppies get little to no socialization with strangers during their critical socialization period, resulting in dogs that are more suspicious of strangers. You may be able to train and counter-condition them to get more used to people later, but it won’t be the same as if they were well-socialized as puppies.

Because Sage is a rescue dog, you may not know much about her history. But it’s probably safe to assume she didn’t have a well-planned and properly implemented socialization experience as a puppy. And you may not know what else she has been through. Maybe bad situations, maybe not. But losing their home is traumatic enough for dogs, even if all the homes are good.

Some dogs are naturally more wary of strangers, even if they are well-socialized as puppies. The dog you see in front of you is the sum of their four “LEGS” – Learning, Environment, Genetics, and Self. Sometimes, you can see this trait in them when they are young. They are more shy with strangers at this age. When I see puppies like that, I am mindful of the type of home in which I place them. Busy homes with children and frequent visitors are usually unsuitable for these dogs. They need peace, quiet, and stability.

Some dogs are friendly enough as puppies but become less comfortable with strangers as they mature. Their livestock guardian instincts kick in, and they decide they don’t trust people they don’t know. I always tell my clients that if they want their Maremma to be friendly with strangers, they need to socialize them heavily with people from the moment they get them home. They also need to understand that their dog may still decide they aren’t comfortable with people they don’t know well. And they need to respect their dog’s wishes on that.

The dog you see in front of you is the sum of its four “LEGS”—Learning, Environment, Genetics, and Self. Basically, it’s “nature (genetics and self) and nurture (environment and learning),” but it’s more complex than that. You can’t change who your dog is, but by learning more about its “LEGS,” you can help it adapt to our world. (More on that later.)

The mistake that some people make is getting a dog with a protective nature as a companion and then being surprised when its nature shows up. Dogs can’t just turn off who they are because it’s inconvenient for us.  A livestock guardian dog can make a great pet, so long as we fully understand that temperament and the limitations of what you can expect of such a dog. You will never turn a livestock guardian dog into a cocker spaniel or a Labrador!

Marisa and Celeste are two female Maremmas bred by the same breeder and born a week apart in different litters. Both dogs came to my farm at 9 months old. They are somewhat related but not siblings. They were socialized and trained in the same manner and have shared the same environment and experiences all their lives. However, their temperaments are very different. Marisa is friendly and outgoing with everyone she meets. Celeste is affectionate with me but very shy and nervous at the sight of strangers.

Why? Because their LEGS are different, even though they have a lot of shared experiences. They have shared the same environment (E) and learning (L) since birth. They share some of the same genetics (G), but not all. Their “S” leg (self) is unique. Despite great genetics and excellent socialization, training, and environment, Celeste developed into a dog who is uncomfortable around strangers, while Marisa has never met a stranger. What’s more, I own Marisa’s littermate brother, Pax, who is very much like Marisa in temperament. I also own Celeste’s daughter, Nova, who is shy with strangers like her mother.

My responsibility as their owner is not to try to turn Celeste and Nova into Marisa and Pax. It’s to respect Celeste and Nova for who they are. That means allowing them to say “no” when interacting with visitors. Celeste and Nova are gentle, sweet dogs. Trying to force them to relax and trust strangers would only cause them stress. (And it wouldn’t work.) There’s no reason to do that. 

If you can help your livestock guardian dog become more comfortable with visitors through training, that would be great. But it may not be the best plan of action and isn’t even necessary. There is no rule that says everyone who comes to your house needs to pet your dog, so don’t feel bad about putting your dog away or not allowing someone to interact with her. Sometimes, it is the safest and kindest thing to do—and the easiest. too. 

With my working livestock guardian dogs, I don’t allow people into my pastures unless they are people that I know well enough to be comfortable with them interacting with my dogs. Some of my Maremmas are friendly, and some are not, and it’s just not worth the risk of someone getting bit. I don’t want my livestock guardian dogs to become overly friendly with strangers because I am protecting my goats and other animals from two-legged predators as much as four-legged ones.

My companion Maremma, Titus, is in a different situation. He is generally pretty friendly, but anytime a strange person comes into my house, he could see that as a threat. After all, it’s his job to guard my family and our three small companion dogs. Therefore, I never let visitors walk into my house when he is loose. I use protected contact to keep visitors safe and to reduce Titus’s stress from potentially feeling worried about visitors. Zoos use protected contact, and it’s great for domestic animals.

Whenever someone who Titus does not already know comes into my house, I put him behind a gate. It is actually an X-pen, and it is only 2 feet tall, but surprisingly, he will not jump it. He probably would jump in the house if there were a true threat in the house, but he never has. So I always have him behind that fence when anyone arrives at the house.

If the people are here long enough for Titus to get comfortable with them, I might eventually let him out and let him interact with people. But if they will only be here briefly or if I feel it might be a stressful situation, I leave him behind the fence the entire time. 

If a visitor comes to buy a goat or puppy and needs to use my bathroom, I leave Titus locked up while they are here. There’s no reason for him to be friendly with visitors who will probably never return. I am focused on what’s happening outside when clients are here rather than on introducing Titus to visitors.

So, I leave him behind the fence and do not allow any of these visitors to attempt to pet him. He might be fine with it, but he might not, and I am not risking the safety of a visitor or putting my dog into a situation where he might feel compelled to bite someone.

Another example was on July 4th. We had our daughter and her family over, and Titus is very used to them and likes them a lot, so it’s no problem for them to visit. But we also had another family of six over that Titus had never met. With all the noise and busyness of so many people here, I knew letting Titus out of his space was not a good idea. There would be too many situations that a protective-natured dog could misinterpret, and I couldn’t watch him every minute.

So, I kept Titus behind the fence the entire time. People could come over to him and say hello, and he could watch the activity, but the fence was there as a safety net. That gave him a good experience of meeting many new people, but it kept everyone safe.

Respect your dog for who she is, and don’t try to force something that might not be in your dog’s and visitors’ best interest. If you help her get comfortable with visitors through positive training and counter-conditioning, that’s great. But don’t feel like you have to. It’s ok if your dog doesn’t want to say hello to your visitors. What is not ok is putting the visitors or the dog into a situation that could cause stress or harm to either side. So don’t feel bad about advocating for your dog and just saying no to visitors wanting to interact with her.

Every visitor might be different, and you can judge the situation, the person, and your dog and decide what is best. If someone is coming over often, you may want your dog to get used to them. And she probably will, just because she will see them more often. But if it’s someone your dog will rarely, if ever, see again, then it might be easier and safer not to allow them together at all.

I would practice putting her in her “safe zone” when visitors are not around so that she will be comfortable in the area and not see it as a punishment. Give her yummy, long-lasting treats like a stuffed Topl, food puzzle, or bully stick so she considers this time enjoyable and relaxing. All dogs should get used to some confinement, whether it’s a crate or an area behind a fence or gate. Even my working livestock guardian dogs sometimes spend time in kennels, barn stalls, or other small areas, so they get used to it. (Usually, this is when they eat dinner, so the goats don’t eat their food.)

Below are some great resources (books) that will help you understand and train your dog. Just remember that training is not the answer to everything, even positive reinforcement training from a great trainer. The most important thing to start with is understanding your dog, its “LEGS,” and the limitations that may affect what you are asking of your dog.