Young guard dog

[Paul DeWitte]

We have a Maremma that is now about 10 months old. This spring she bit some ewes around the mouth and we had to doctor them.
She wants to play like all pups do, and I think that that is the trouble with the biting.

My question is, how old do people let their guard dog get before they can trust them with the sheep without harming them?

She has been in a big pen all summer and I let her out a couple times a day for exercise, but I hope that she can be out with the sheep this winter if I can trust her.

Any replies would be welcome.
Thanks, Paul

[Hilmar]

A dog that injures sheep even as a puppy doesn't seem to be a good sign. I don't have a great deal of experience, but my Anatolian/GP chased ewes when he was young and still tends to be a a bully. He spent a great deal of time wearing a dangle stick when he was young which helped a bit.

[farrier]

I had a Maremma pup that would play with ewes and lambs.
He chewed a few ears off. I thought it was a puppy thing and just put up with. He did stop for a while.
At about 18 months he turned into a sheep killer.

If I had to do it over again, I would have put him in with some rams or something that wouldn't tolerate puppy behavior.

[high plainsman]

I would suggest you go back through the archives and past postings on this forum. There have been many posts concerning LGD behavior and ways of controlling (semi controlling) unwanted behavior.