The True Cost of "Affordable" Livestock Guardian Dogs
You Really Can't Afford an "Affordable" Livestock Guardian Dog
Finding a Trustworthy, Loyal Livestock Guardian Dog Isn't Easy
Finding a trustworthy, loyal Livestock Guardian Dog isn’t easy. Maremma Sheepdogs are one of the best forms of protection for your beloved and valuable farm animals and make devoted family companions.
Unfortunately, not all breeders know how to produce dependable livestock guardians who are safe with families. You may end up with a dog unsuited for either job. A breeder who neglects socializing their puppies with livestock makes training more challenging than it should be—the dog could hurt or kill the animals it’s supposed to guard. A puppy not socialized with humans could become fearful and aggressive.
Breeders who neglect health testing may produce puppies with devastating health problems, causing unexpected vet bills and affecting your dog’s ability to do its job.
Sadly, many breeders are just looking to make a quick profit, often under the guise of producing “affordable” puppies. New Maremma owners don’t have the experience to raise and train their puppies without the support an experienced breeder should provide. When problems arise, the “affordable puppy” breeder is nowhere to be found.
Below are some issues you should watch out for when choosing a breeder:
- The breeder doesn’t do any health testing, particularly no PennHip or OFA testing to screen for Hip & Elbow Dysplasia.
- The puppies’ parents do not live with and actively guard livestock and may not be from working stock.
- While under the breeder’s care, the puppies are exposed to little to no livestock, making training difficult for their future owners.
- The breeder neglects to socialize puppies with people and novel experiences, causing possible fear or aggression.
- The breeder has no dog training experience. They use or recommend aversive tools instead of real training.
- Breeder offers little to no ongoing customer support, leaving the owner to figure things out on their own when problems arise.
You, Your Livestock, and Your Family Deserve Better, and We Can Help
What Makes Our Maremmas Different
Working LGDs
Our breeding dogs come from the best MSCA and UKC-registered proven working lines. They all live full-time with and guard our dairy goats and other animals. Our puppies are raised with livestock from birth.
"Plug & Play" Puppies
Our puppy socialization program utilizes Puppy Culture and other positive reinforcement training methods to produce happy, resilient LGDs and family dogs. Our “Plug & Play” pups thrive in a variety of homes.
Healthy Dogs & Pups
Our breeding dogs are PennHip and OFA tested for hip and elbow dysplasia and DNA tested to screen for genetic defects, minimizing the chance they will pass debilitating health problems on to their puppies.
Happy Families
We offer our clients a 2-year health guarantee and lifetime support. We’re always available for advice, encouragement, and training assistance. We will be there for you every step of the way, for your dog’s entire life!
Reviews From Our Amazing Clients
Even though I am new to goats and LGD, Kim the owner, has really dedicated her time to teaching me about how to raise them. She is always available to answer my questions and provides me with the expertise knowledge. I am sure she is like that with all of her clients, always willing to help.
I bought 2 Maremma LGDs and 18 goats. Yes 18 goats! I go to bed at night knowing my LGDs are protecting themselves and my 18 precious goats.
Now, I am waiting to buy another male maremma LGD since she brought a male Maremma from a Italy. Kim is always making sure her registered LGDs, ND and Mini Nubians have the best genetics possible. I fully trust my LGDs in my fields, I bought Chloe at close to six months old, and I appreciate so much that she had additional training time. In fact, the next LGD I would buy from Kim will be arriving to my farm with additional training time as well.
Prancing Pony Farm has the best quality of LGDs and goats. I will highly recommend Prancing Pony Farm if you are looking for a diverse genetics in Maremma LGDs, Mini Nubians and Nigerian Dwarfs.
I now have a 1 month old Nigerian Dwarf, and I am still getting Kim’s help to assure my kid goat grows healthy. I am just very happy I chose Prancing Pony Farm when I did. Kim is the best out there!
I appreciated that she also took the time to vet us to make sure the animals were going to a good home. She was not looking to unload them. She even requires we sign a contract that we get certified in positive reinforcement training and follow guidelines for their healthcare.
A little while after the puppies were born, she let us know that a few from one litter had umbilical hernias (harmless and not uncommon when a mother licks the umbilical cord excessively). She gave us the option to purchase the pup or wait for another litter. She was completely transparent in the entire process. As expected, there is no problem with the hernia.
I am seeing reviews on here from people who have never even communicated with her or purchased from her, so just a reminder to be discerning when reading reviews.
Kim has a top of the line welping house complete with incubators and on call mobile veterinarian.
If you are looking for a well trained Maremma puppy, this is the place to get them. Kim goes the extra mile with early clicker training, and lots of live stock exposure from day one with her puppies.
You will see how much care goes into these amazing live stock guardian dogs, if you buy from her. They are ready to go to work right away.
Thanks Kim we love our new LGD.
Dave
Dogs are incredible as well 😍
1. Health testing for the parents.
2. Parents are on site and proven LGDs.
3. Early socialization for puppies with livestock, adults, and kids.
4. Proper veterinary care for parents and puppies.
5. Careful selection of parents for genetic diversity, guarding ability, health, and confirmation.
6. Tons of support during the puppy buying process and afterwards. Kim is always responsive and takes time to help me through any issues I've encountered with our pups, offering advice and support.
We love our dogs that came from Prancing Pony Farm. They were among the first members of the family to join the farm, because we knew the importance of having well-bred LGDs to protect our stock. We have not had a single issue with predators on our farm, and we live in an area with coyotes, bears, foxes, wolves, hawks, etc, etc. They guard sheep, pigs, chickens, guinea fowl, and ducks.
I'd be remiss without acknowledging the dispute between PPF and Gold Shaw Farms, so I will just say, my husband and I always enjoyed Morgan's content, but we were really disappointed with how he's portrayed Abby and Kim. Our two girls came from the same litter as Abby. They are energetic, happy, and healthy puppies. They require training and patience. What we have experienced with them is not out of the realm of what we were expecting when we got two puppies. I think Morgan's judgement of Abby is based on his experience with Toby and has been unfair to Abby and his judgement of Kim has been inflammatory and uncalled for.
I suspect most people who are looking for a LGD already have experience purchasing dogs and stock, so know what to look for in a reputable breeder. That said, if this is your first time or your first LDG, consider what's most important to you and do your own research. You can't go wrong with someone who ticks all of those boxes and offers support to her buyers.
When we decided to start our little homestead we decided on the Maremma Sheepdog based on their typical dispositions. After considerable research, I picked Prancing Pony based off reviews and from what I learned about their facilities and practices. But they had two things against them - they are located in California and the price tag was steep.
I ended up purchasing a Maremma that was on this side of the Mississippi. I’m not going to bash anyone here, this is only for comparison sake - but the breeder understood this would be our first LGD and had glowing reviews about the girl she was selling. I trusted that they understood our situation and where we were in our journey. But what we got was a beautiful loving dog who has proven repeatedly that she can’t be trusted with any of our livestock or pets.
By the time we brought her home, I was already in talks with breeders (again) trying to find her partner and went back to Prancing Pony for talks about their offerings. Fast forward a few months, and a couple of hiccups, I could not be more pleased with our boy Daxo. I do have regrets that I didn’t get two from her when I first considered it.
Listen, they’re not cheap, I get it. There’s likely added expense with shipping... I get that too. Knowing what I know now, going through the experience of having a dog that just didn’t fit our lifestyle is so exhausting AND costly. Our boy literally came as a Plug-N-Play model, he’s just THAT good because Kim listened to our wishlist and understood our needs. Will we go anywhere else for our third attempt? Absolutely not.
And it definitely shows in the quality of her puppies. The dogs we brought home are loving, well socialized, and adaptable. We have them caring for our flock of macaws, and even at only 9 months old they are not reactive to the birds even when they fly, but come immediately if the macaws sound a warning call. They get along well with other dogs and people, but are very alert to potential threats. These are our dream dogs and we are so grateful to Kim for all the time and effort that went into giving these dogs that perfect start so that we could enjoy and cherish them for the rest of their lives.
Not only does Kim have dogs from two top-notch Maremma breeders in her breeding program (Benson Ranch and Unfinished Acres) but she raises her litters with Puppy Culture, a program I have used with my own German Shepherds. AND she has an amazing Puppy Parlor that allows the puppies to be raised around goats and other animals from birth.
So what you get when you buy a Maremma puppy from Prancing Pony Farm is a pup with excellent breeding (including all the essential health testing on both the sire’s and dam’s sides), raised with all of the benefits of Puppy culture (which gives puppies confidence when they encounter new experiences) and exposed to livestock from Day 1. That’s a terrific foundation to build upon.
Kim spent many hours in conversation with me, answering my questions about introducing the puppies (yes I got a pair!) to my pack of German Shepherds and about the pros and cons of having one puppy or two. Every question I had she was happy to answer (I had many!) and she shared resources I hadn’t previously discovered. She listened closely to my description of my home, my animals and my lifestyle and suggested two of her male puppies; as a matchmaker she was spot on.
I have been immensely impressed with the puppies I purchased from Kim. They are bonding easily with me and my family, with my GSDs and with the livestock (horses, goats and chickens). They are good-natured, affectionate and VERY smart and even at just 5 months old are showing their guardian traits. Although they look almost identical and both have great temperaments I can see differences in their personalities with one more of an observer who waits to engage and one more likely to investigate actively - that difference will work well when they are working together.
Bringing a LGD puppy home means making a commitment to build on the foundation they’ve received with their breeder, working one-on-one to develop a partnership and to shape their lives with their stock. Puppies from Prancing Pony Farm are set up for success from day one and in the hands of a good shepherd will develop into trustworthy, responsible and awesome protectors.
If I decide to add another Maremma [or two] to my pack I know where I will be going to find the perfect match for my boys Arthur and Merlin.
first the dog: cotton candy is a little over 2.5 years old now, and i can honestly say that she has been a very effective LGD since 6mo of age. while she's a sweet and playful big puppy around humans, she has always been very serious about her guardian duties, even when she first showed up as a 3mo pup. she is very nurturing with my barn cats, gentle with the chickens, alerts me when the horses get into mischief, and knows exactly what to do to make skittish goats relax. she's a super quick learner.
now, we have to realize that this wonderful dog is a product of the breeder's hard work and dedication. in addition to good breeding, kim put in a lot of work socializing her puppies with all sorts of farm animals and people, as well as starting their training using positive reinforcement methods. i have another LGD who came to me as an 8wk old, and didn't get the same kind of training and socialization kim gives her puppies. while he is a very good natured and smart dog, he required WAY more management throughout his puppyhood and adolescence. he turned out to be a great LGD. but if you don't have the time or skills to start an LGD on the right path, you would be doing yourself a huge favor by getting a well-started puppy from kim.
kim's puppies come with lifetime support, and that is not a mere sales tactic. in the 2+ years i've had cotton candy, kim has been a great resource on how to understand, communicate with, and care for not only cotton candy, but also my other LGD. she even shares tips on goat husbandry. in the past year, kim completed a professional dog trainer certification program so that she could not only better support her own puppy clients, but also help other LGD owners develop better relationships with their dogs. she is now working on an online course on LGD care and training, which will be made available free of charge to her puppy clients (and for a fee for non-clients). consider how much time, effort, and kim's own money she puts in to continuously improve the lifetime support that comes with the purchase of a dog, the choice is obvious when deciding where to get an LGD.
Real Families. Real Livestock Guardian Dogs. Real Results.
Our Maremmas aren’t just puppies — they grow into loyal, trustworthy livestock guardian dogs and beloved companions. Here are real photos and quotes we’ve received from Prancing Pony Maremma families showing their dogs at work and at play. We’re proud of every one of them, and we’re grateful to our clients for sharing their journeys with us.
Cassius and Athena prove that Maremmas can be livestock guardian dogs AND family pets. These two lovely dogs that we bred guard dairy goats, horses, and other livestock, but they still have a lot of love to give to their human family.
If you`re looking for a dog that will love and guard your livestock AND your children (or you), see the link in bio to find out how to bring home your own snuggly and brave Prancing Pony Maremmas.
#ClientStories
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#prancingponyfarm #livestockguardiandog #maremmasheepdog #maremma #pastoremaremmano #maremmano #maremmasmile #flockguardian #workingdog #snuggle #aww #maremmapuppy #kidsandpuppies #kidsanddogs #kidsandpets #ethicaldogbreeder #responsibledogbreeder #doglife
Luke and Max are two of Circe and Sevro`s pups from our July 2023 litter. They are sheep guardians in training. Here they are demonstrating why livestock guardian dogs should always work in pairs.
This is normal puppy play behavior. Puppies need to play like this to be healthy and happy. An LGD puppy who doesn`t have another puppy to play with will naturally try to play with the livestock it guards as it would another puppy. This can result in injured livestock and bad habits forming in the puppy.
But punishing the puppy for trying to behave like a normal puppy is unfair and cruel. Instead you should have two puppies and they will be happy and less likely to treat your goats, sheep or chickens like a puppy!
We have a few of Luke and Max`s littermates available. If you are looking for a pair of devoted, dependable, trustworthy LGDs like Luke and Max just put the word maremma in the comments and I’ll send you info on how you can bring home your very own adorable Prancing Pony Maremma pups! 💜🦮#ClientStories
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Well this is a first for Prancing Pony Farm - two of our Maremma Sheepdog pups went to a new home in Indiana where they will be guarding Macaws! The birds spend nice days in an outdoor aviary and need protection from predators. Sugar and Spice will be fantastic bird bodyguards!
Their owner drove all the way from Indiana to pick the pups up and he brought along one of the birds to make the drive home with them. My mom owned several of these beautiful birds so it`s really cool for me to have two of my pups be Macaw guardians. 💜
Whether you have tropical birds, chickens or anything else that needs protection, I’ve got you! Just put the word maremma in the comments and I’ll send you info on how you can bring home your very own Prancing Pony Maremma! 💜🦮 #ClientStories
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#MaremmaSuccessStories
Meet Oliver, the excellent chicken guardian. Oliver is a dog from our first Maremma litter, born in 2017. When Oliver`s owners came to me for an LGD, they had never bought a dog from a breeder because they strongly believed in rescuing dogs. However, they needed an LGD to protect their chickens on their 5-acre farm.
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https://prancingponymaremmas.com/client-stories-oliver-the-excellent-chicken-guardian/
Meet Oliver the excellent chicken guardian. Oliver is a dog from our first Maremma litter, born in 2017. When Oliver`s owners came to me for an LGD they had never bought a dog from a breeder because they strongly believed in rescuing dogs. However, they needed a LGD to protect their chickens on their 5 acre farm.
More importantly, they needed a dog to protect their children from human predators, including their special needs child, who was too trusting of strangers. They live near a busy highway and some parts of the property can`t be seen from the house. They were worried that their girls might become prey to bad people driving by.
They were not going to trust their chickens or their precious children to a rescue dog with an unknown or questionable past. They needed a healthy, trustworthy, dependable dog with a sound body and a stable temperament to protect what they loved - their chickens and their children. So Oliver became their first ever dog bred by a breeder, their first Livestock Guardian Dog, and a beloved member of their family.
Oliver`s family has stayed in touch with me over the years, sending photos, videos and updates on him. He even goes camping with them, which is so cool! (He protects them from mountain lions on the trails.) They sometimes visit my farm to see new puppies. What they say about Oliver never changes. "We love that dog!"
This video is a compilation of my two favorite videos of Oliver. The first part is when the family celebrated his first birthday. The second part is a few years later, of Oliver as a mature and trustworthy adult LGD. I never tire of watching these videos!
I love seeing the beautiful, gentle LGD I bred. I love seeing how much his family adores him, and how devoted he is to them.
This is why I breed Maremmas. To share the joy and peace of mind I get from my Maremmas with families like Oliver`s family.
If you are looking for a devoted, dependable, trustworthy LGD to protect what you love and to be your devoted companion, I can help. Just type maremma in the comments and I will send you info on how you can bring home your own Oliver. 💜🦮
#prancingponyfarm #maremmasheepdog #maremma #ClientStories
Bear and Chief are two of our pups from our January 2023 litter. They guard a flock of around 300 free-range chickens in Texas. The boys are big proponents of sharing dinner with their chicken friends. 😆
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Bear and Chief are two of our Maremma pups who live on a 55-acre ranch in Texas, where they guard 300 free-range chickens and a small herd of cows for Dave and Susan.
When they first went to their new home, they slept in a converted chicken run at night so they wouldn`t stray too far from the house. Their first friend was Pearl the cow.
Pearl loved her boys so much that she would wait by the gate in the morning, trying to bust her boys out. One day, Dave came outside to find the boys already out and hanging out with Pearl, and that was the end of sleeping in the chicken run!
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Two of our Washington pups, brothers Tofu and Toothpaste, demonstrate their recall skills after checking on the chickens and the kiddos down by the fence! The pups got their names from the kids, who thought those would be perfect names for white dogs. I agree. What do you think?
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