See Spot banned

In what seems to be a first (to myself at least), the Maremma edges towards being considered a dangerous and banned breed:

Dog Breed Bans in Germany

While the situation seems to be fluid, here's a snippet of what is being talked about:

Category II dogs - potentially dangerous dogs that can be owned, imported, bred, and sold if they pass a temperament test and are free of aggressive actions for three years - include Akbash, Briard, Beauceron, Bullmastiff, Doberman, Komondor, Kuvasz, Maremma, Pyrenean Mountain Dog (our Great Pyrenees), Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Tibetan Mastiff, and more than 15 other breeds that are virtually unknown in the US.

As this blog entry states - there is some question as to when this was originally discussed or proposed. The original posting was by the National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA). I can't claim any knowledge of the group or it's intent.

Personally, I consider comparing the restriction of dog breeds to the Holocaust as distasteful, if not down right wrong. Yet the question as to why Maremma (and some of the other breeds mentioned) need a three year behavioural review process should be asked. Especially considering their role.

Does anyone know if this is going ahead in Germany, or had the Interweb once again dragged up something which is very much long dead and burried?

Is this a little spoilt?

In a brief snippet titled A dog's reward, John Andersen of the Townsville Bulletin writes


"They're worth their weight in gold so in order to keep them happy and fed it was delivery by chopper of the dog nuts."

The mind boggles.

Mostly Maremmas

I recently read of a small publication titled Mostly Maremmas. I emailed Chris Wood the editor for some more information, and here's what I got back:

Hi, The newsletter is 14 - A4 pages and has been running since 1994. Content
is mostly for livestock guardian dogs but a lot of it would be useful to any
dog owner.

Has anyone read this? The newsletter comes out four times a year: March, June, September and December and the cost is $25 (Australian dollars I think).

Come to think of it - where do we all get our information about Maremmas? Have we moved to a community-centric model, mixing online toolsets and friends?

See Spot go ... ferral?

"The pack leader is a bit of a legend, a pure white dingo crossed with an Italian maremma - a dog bred to be left alone in the mountains to guard sheep and goats from wolves and wild dog attacks," .

Dogged trekker spots rare dingo

Thank you Mr Bob Piper.

The question is - how do they know it was crossed with a Maremma? Curious minds want to know. Well - I do at least.

See Spot guard penguins

Some of you may know about the recent trial of Maremmas to protect Little Penguins on Middle Island, Warrnambool, Australia.

The inital report on how well the two dogs did has was released and the recommendation was made to have a second trial, this one 12 months in length.

Predator protection of little penguin and shearwater colonies

A quote from the conclusions:

The trial's success has generated world-wide interest. The use of guard animals such as maremma and even alpacas, (which also deter foxes), is now being considered to save other endangered species such as the eastern barred bandicoot.

Alpacas. Who knew!

However, things didn't work out so well.

Things appear to be a bit grim as of the last few weeks. The Age reports that Ben and Misty actually caused the death of ten penguins, possibly due to human inteferance.

It doesn't sound like normal Maremma behaviour ... and the Council is treating things in a calm manner for now - Council investigates penguin deaths.

Happy New Bear!

Yes, it's been a long time since my last post, and we've been through Christmas and New Year's without a hitch. The two dogs have met lots of new people and only given the occasional one a good barking at before being the nice boys that they are.



We gave gifts to the boys at Christmas, and they both treated them with the due respect they deserve - ripping at them and squeaking the toys merry-like. A good Christmas for all.

So - any gifts for your pups and dogs?

See Spot ... fold?

Just a quick note, for any reader who is new to Maremmas - they fold.

No, truely - they can really fit into the smallest of places. We kinda already knew this, but with Magic we've found he likes to sleep on our couches. And when he does he turns into compact dog. He slices, he dices, he folds into small spaces. I mean - he's tiny when he wants to be.

And, as a point to giggle about - here's the running total of what Magic has been nicking from our kitchen over the last few weeks - he's getting kindy tricksy:

A box of roses chocolates (he only managed the box however!), a tub of margarine, a bag of 5 or 6 nectarines, a small container of licorice all-sorts, a pack of 5 hamburger buns. Another box of (expensive) chocolates.

The war continues. We will prevail.