Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Maremma Sheepdog Breed Overview
- History of the Maremma Sheepdog Breed. Where Maremma Sheepdogs came from
- What the Maremma Sheepdog Looks Like
- How Much is the Maremma Sheepdog Puppy?
- Good Names for Maremma Sheepdogs
- Health Problems in Maremma Sheepdogs and How to Prevent Them
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Maremma Sheepdogs
- Other Things to Know About Maremma Sheepdogs
Maremma Sheepdog Breed Overview
The Maremma Sheepdog is a large-sized dog.
The adult Maremma Sheepdog stands 23.5 to 28.5 inches.
The Maremma Sheepdog belongs to the Working Dogs group.
Dogs in the Working Dogs group, like the Maremma Sheepdog, were developed to assist humans in some capacity – including pulling sleds and carts, guarding flocks, guarding homes, and protecting their families.
Breeds in the Working Group are known for their imposing stature, strength, intelligence, and fearless.
Because of their size and strength, working dogs require a structured home life and firm, fair, consistent training by someone who can provide leadership without resorting to anger or physical force.
The fact that Maremma Sheepdogs belong to the Working Dogs group is one of the reasons why Maremma Sheepdogs have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Maremma Sheepdog is generally described as:
- Alert
- Determined
- Dignified
- Friendly
- Intelligent
- Loyal
History of the Maremma Sheepdog Breed. Where Maremma Sheepdogs came from
The Maremma Sheepdog`s history, like that of many of its relatives, is shrouded in mystery, but the most common belief is that it descended from the ancient Mastiff and evolved through the lines of other native mountain dogs more resembling wolves.
They have been described and depicted throughout history, dating back to Roman times, with the details being quite accurate to the dogs that exist today.
The first Maremma was registered in 1898, but no breed standard existed until 1924.
This breed was once thought to be two separate breeds, the Abruzzese and the Maremmano, each descended from their own region, which was actually two separate countries a few hundred years ago, one from the mountains and one from the plains.
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What the Maremma Sheepdog Looks Like
The Maremma Sheepdog is a large dog, though not as large as some of its relatives.
They have a long, solid white double coat that is extra thick around the neck and slightly coarse to the touch.
Their head is shaped like a bear`s, with a squarish muzzle topped by a black nose, medium-length folded ears, and dark, watchful eyes.
They have deep chest cavities, strong legs, a square stance, a long, bushy tail, and large paws.
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How Much is the Maremma Sheepdog Puppy?
The average price of a Maremma Sheepdog puppy is $1220. The price of a Maremma Sheepdog puppy ranges from $675 to $1500.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Maremma Sheepdog. These factors include what health records the Maremma Sheepdog puppy has, the lineage of the Maremma Sheepdog puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Maremma Sheepdog based on the many factors that determine the price of the Maremma Sheepdog puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Maremma Sheepdog puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Maremma Sheepdog breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
Good Names for Maremma Sheepdogs
Here are some really good names that are typical for the Maremma Sheepdog ranked by popularity:
- Leo
- Aias
- Bear
- Apollo
- Alice
Health Problems in Maremma Sheepdogs and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Maremma Sheepdog is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Maremma Sheepdog puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Maremma Sheepdog breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Maremma Sheepdogs for:
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Maremma Sheepdogs here.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Maremma Sheepdogs
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Maremma Sheepdog.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Maremma Sheepdog:
- Central Asian Shepherd Dog (75 percent match with Maremma Sheepdog). Learn more about the Central Asian Shepherd Dog here.
- Hovawart (72 percent match with Maremma Sheepdog). Learn more about the Hovawart here.
Other Things to Know About Maremma Sheepdogs
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Maremma Sheepdog that you need to know about the Maremma Sheepdog breed:
