BREEDING PLANS
Upcoming Litter Update: Our breeding program is on pause. We originally took a break from breeding Maremma Sheepdogs due to the down turn in economy and slow market between 2023 and 2024. As ethical breeders, we do not want to add to the number of livestock guardian dogs not able to find homes. We then experienced a grassfire in June 2024, which resulted in the loss of much of our pasture fencing and electric netting, as well as our barn. Our focus for 2025 was on rebuilding; we did not have the time and financial means to raise and train a litter of puppies to the gold standards we strive for and follow. Our plan was for the next litter to be born in early 2026, but life threw us more curves delaying the timeline of moving to our up-and-coming 320 acre farm on the Nevada/Oregon/California borders. As a result, we are actively splitting our time between our current homestead in Tracy, California and our new farm, which is not conducive for raising a litter of livestock guardian puppies. We will never compromise on raising our Maremmas with our full focus, even if that means having to wait until the right time. Stay tuned!
Second litter: Eureka Sammie June (sire Benson Ranch Giovane) gave birth to her second litter on February 18, 2023. The final count was six males and two females. The puppies completed PennHIP on June 14, 2023 and July 5, 2023 with good results (all better or right at average for the breed with no indications of hip dysplasia!). We will post the puppies' PennHIP scores in the near future when we get a moment to breathe.
First litter: Eureka Sammie June (sire Benson Ranch Giovane) gave birth to eight beautiful Maremma puppies, five boys and three girls, on January 19, 2022. All puppies from this litter went to their forever homes in the summer of 2022. The litter completed PennHIP testing at 16 weeks old with great results. All eight puppies scored at or better than the breed average with no indications of hip dysplasia. We try to be as transparent as possible with potential customers and have posted the puppies' PennHIP reports below.
PennHIP is completed on all our puppies to assure they go home without any genetic hip defects. This is very important to us after we unknowingly purchased a six month old Maremma with already advanced hip dysplasia and osteoarthritis. We do not want any families to go through this heart break of seeing a puppy in pain. However, this does not mean your puppy will not develop hip or elbow dysplasia as a result of environmental circumstances after he/she leaves our farm. Some situations that can contribute to dysplasia and osteoarthritis down the road are feeding improper food for large breed puppies (e.g., too much or too little calcium and phosphorous and caloric rich food that promotes rapid growth), overfeeding, running on hard ground (e.g., concrete), jumping from platforms or other elevated spots, and injuries. We have read hours of research on feeding large breed puppies and are available to answer any questions you may have on the topic.
