At the Sign of the Prancing Pony The Prancing Pony Farm Newsletter Hi Reader, When I started my business in 2017, my focus was on breeding Mini Nubian and Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats. 🐐 I bought my first Maremma, Olaf, to protect my goats and other farm animals. Genevieve came not long after. Over time, more Maremmas joined the farm, and I had my first litter in 2017. Olaf and Genevive in 2017, with some of our first goats. For many years, breeding Maremmas was just a sideline to my business,…

At the Sign of the Prancing Pony The Prancing Pony Farm Newsletter Hi Reader, Last week, I received an email from a subscriber named Renee asking if Maremmas make good companion dogs. I am very passionate about this topic and have been meaning to write about it for a long time. Renee’s questions inspired me to finally write that blog post, and it is a whopper! It’s the longest blog post I’ve ever written, and I only covered half of what I have to say about the topic. Mushroom, a Prancing Pony…

At the Sign of the Prancing Pony The Prancing Pony Farm Newsletter Hi Reader, I had grand plans to write an awesome blog post for you this week. A few days ago, someone emailed to ask if Maremmas can be kept as pets. She said there was a lot of conflicting information, and she wasn’t sure what to think. (She’s right.) This topic is near and dear to my heart, and I’ve wanted to write about it for a long time. So, I decided to write about it this week and send it to you. But I had a surprise…

At the Sign of the Prancing Pony The Prancing Pony Farm Newsletter Hi Reader, Guess what I have been doing all night? Writing the first in a new series of blog posts inspired by my readers! Why have I been at this all night, you ask? See, I have two problems. I am a terrible night owl, and I have ADHD. (Which I didn’t even realize until I went through KPA Professionals. 😂) On a “normal” night, I stay up until 2 or 3 am. But when that ADHD hyperfocus kicks in, I often find myself still awake…

At the Sign of the Prancing Pony The Prancing Pony Farm Newsletter Hello Reader, I hope you’re having a great week. It’s been a busy week for me, so I am just dropping in to say a quick “hello” and share a new page I made on my website with some important resources on keeping children safe around dogs. My Granddaughter, Genevieve, petting Cinder while Titus and Pixie watch. Learning how to interact safely with dogs is important for children because humans and dogs communicate and show…

At the Sign of the Prancing Pony The Prancing Pony Farm Newsletter Hi Reader, My lovely Italian imported Maremma, Pegaso has an appointment at the vet early Wednesday morning, so he had a quick grooming session Tuesday night. Pegaso is such a beautiful and sweet boy. Importing him from Italy two years ago was a dream come true. It felt like a significant accomplishment as a breeder. I still remember how excited I was when I picked him up at the airport. Excited enough that I braved LA traffic…

At the Sign of the Prancing Pony The Prancing Pony Farm Newsletter Hello Reader, I hope you had an awesome Fourth of July! Mine was great, other than a scare when my husband texted me while I was at the fireworks show to say he thought he saw one of my Maremmas run down the street. Talk about heart-stopping. I was pretty sure it was the Great Pyrenees down the street, but I wasn’t happy until I got home to see for myself. And this is what I found. Imagine my surprise when I walked in the gate…

At the Sign of the Prancing Pony The Prancing Pony Farm Newsletter Hello Reader, I am sooooo excited about what I have to share with you this week! Probably the number one question I get from EVERYONE – my Maremma puppy clients, my email list, my social media followers, and my Livestock Guardian dog training clients is: “How do I introduce my new Livestock Guardian Dog to my ________ (sheep, goats, chickens, etc)? Or there’s: “How do I get my young Livestock Guardian Dog to stop chasing my…

At the Sign of the Prancing Pony The Prancing Pony Farm Newsletter Hi Reader, It’s that time of year again. The time that makes me question my sanity for having a farm in Central California. ☀️😆 I love my animals and business, but our temperatures get to around 115 degrees in July and August. People say, “It’s a dry heat”. Yeah, it’s kind of like sticking your head in an oven. Not my idea of fun! 🥵 I am NOT a morning person, and the afternoons are way too hot to be outside. That means I do…

At the Sign of the Prancing Pony The Prancing Pony Farm Newsletter Hello Reader, I hope your summer is going great! I wanted to let everyone know that we’re having a drawing for a free adult dairy goat doe! This will be either a Mini Nubian or a Nigerian Dwarf. Even if you’re already on our mailing list, you can enter for a chance to win by going to the contest sign-up page at the link below. Dairy Doe Drawing The contest ends on July 20th, 2024. The winner will be announced in the email…