Frequently Asked Questions

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Our Maremma puppies are placed in working homes. There must be some demonstrated need for a livestock guardian dog (LGD), even if that just means a handful of chickens that need protection 

Naranjo Hills Farm does not discriminate against smaller hobby farms and homesteads as long as the Maremma will not be a full-time house dog. There must be a job for these dogs to do to stay happy and not wander or become destructive. There must also be enough room to run and play without bumping into livestock, as well as room for a fenced off area/kennel when you are not there to supervise your puppy. Please consider your neighbors if you have a smaller property. Rural residential tracts mean neighbors within ear shot who might complain when your Maremma barks at odd hours. Most Maremmas are also not tolerant of strangers on their property. Thus, they are not suitable for agritourism type properties where the Maremma would be expected to greet and interact with visitors.

$3,000 for puppies under six months old

$3,500 for puppies six months old 

Any adolescent or adult dogs that become available will be priced on a case-by-case basis based on level of training, starting at $3,500.

Customers are required to pay a $300 non-refundable reservation fee per puppy. The remainder of the purchase price must be paid in full via check, Zelle, Good Dog, or Barkd prior to the scheduled date of pick-up/delivery/transportation. The full purchase price must clear into our bank account before we will release the puppy into your possession.

PennHIP costs are already included in the sales price and will not be a separate fee. 

We can understand how families might view our prices as more than expected. However, we are breaking even at our prices when you take into count prenatal care, premium dog food and supplements for our dam and sire, whelping and cleaning supplies, dog behavior/training courses, vaccines/dewormer/microchips and vet fees, large breed puppy food once weaned, and PennHIP testing. This doesn't include our time that revolves 24-7 around caring for and cleaning after a litter of puppies, daily training and supervision around livestock and poultry, socialization, teaching leash walking and getting comfortable on car rides, checking fencing and the property for any dangers multiple times per day, answering questions from and mentoring customers, and the list goes on. Doing farm chores with a litter of puppies tagging along makes feeding/watering livestock and cleaning coops and barns an all day event. When all is said and done, we are doing this job for next to nothing because we love the Maremma Sheepdog breed and want other families to have the ability to protect their farms and ranches from predators in a manner that works with the ecosystem. 

This is a difficult question to answer.

Livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) do best with a partner. This allows one to sleep, while the other stays alert, reduces the risk of serious injury and death (one dog, even a mature adult, can be overcome by large predators like mountain lions and bears), and provides an appropriate playmate to get out energy. At the same time, two puppies at once can be more than a new LGD owner can handle. Two puppies means if one is engaging in inappropriate behavior, the other will likely join in and you need to do twice the training. Each dog needs individual training time daily and you will need to be supervising two puppies until they are safe with the stock. We strongly feel that each family should make their own decision about whether one or more LGDs is appropriate for their situation. However, regardless if only getting one LGD or multiple LGDs, all puppies are at risk for being attacked by predators. They cannot properly defend themselves until fully grown and confident in their skills, usually around 18 months to two years old. As such, we require a safe area where the puppy(ies) can be kept when not supervised.

We believe the best age to send our puppies off to their new homes is between four and six months old for a few reasons: in order for the puppy to learn foundation livestock guardian skills and behavior from our trusted adult Maremmas and have PennHIP testing completed. At the same time, they remain malleable and adaptable to the expectations and roles at their new homes and new owners. The exact age of pick-up depends on how quick the PennHIP results are returned.

Some customers on our waitlist have requested to bring their puppies home at 2 months old. After much consideration, we have decided to honor these requests if, and only if, one of the following conditions is met: the customer has another working LGD on the property that is at least two years old; or the customer has owned one or more LGDs in the past and can verbalize a well thought out training plan for the puppy. Since PennHIP cannot be completed prior to 16 weeks old, the customer will have to sign a contract addendum stating they are waiving hip testing and will be responsible for any hip defects and resulting vet bills.

Naranjo Hills Farm may be able to personally deliver puppies to some locations for an extra fee. The fee depends on the cost of gas and standard mileage rates, time to travel to your property, the number of nights we will need to book a dog friendly hotel, and the total number of meals we will need to eat on the road. If we agree to deliver your puppy, an invoice will be sent via email and must be paid in full via check/Zelle/Good Dog/Barkd, and have cleared through our bank, prior to the scheduled date of our departure. For most families, the cost of private transportation is substantially more than air cargo.

Our puppies are too large (around 50lb) at the time of go home to utilize air nanny services or for the family to fly home with the puppy in cabin. As such, air cargo has to be utilized instead. The new home will need to pay for the airline approved crate, our mileage to the airport ($0.655 per mile), and purchase the ticket directly from the airline. Naranjo Hills Farm does not charge extra for the vet visit to procure the health certificate for travel, any required vaccines, or for the harness and leash.

We used a livestock transporter in the past to deliver our puppies within the US. The company was cheaper than air cargo and a trusted, well run company. Unfortunately, the company is no longer in service as of January 2023. We remain open to other transport companies, but have yet to find one that costs the same or less than air cargo. Please note, we will not release your puppy to any transporter until the purchase price is paid in full, and the money has cleared through our bank

• Maremma Sheepdog Club of America (MSCA) registration paperwork
• Age appropriate vaccinations and deworming
• Microchip
• PennHIP testing and copy of results
• 2 year health guarantee against fatal/severe genetic defects (excluding hip dysplasia due to PennHIP testing completed on all puppies)
• Unlimited breeder support via email, text, phone call, Messenger or any other platform you prefer
• Lifetime take back guarantee (this is not the same as a buy back policy)
• "Puppy pack" with bag of food we use for easy transition, brushes and nail clippers that work well for our Maremmas, blanket with dam's smell to ease anxiety in the new home, and extra goodies