Wednesday, June 08, 2016

Welcome Monty!

Look who joined our family yesterday!



This is Monty! He is 4 months old and is here to live with and act as guardian dog for our goats!


He was born and bred on a goat/cattle farm in Alberta. My friend who is a sheep farmer took his sister, and both dogs flew in together yesterday.

As you know, most of our animals are rescues, but we wanted a true working dog to guard the sheep, with good breeding and parents who are livestock guardian dogs. So after much agonizing, we got Monty.

He's a super pup, smart and not hyper. Already good with the goats who are not shy about putting him in his place. For the most part he is only interacting with them while on his leash, and he has a pen in the pasture so he can be with them (confined) when he is not being supervised.


He needs more time to get used to the pigs and cats, but I feel confident he will come around and I an working on training and basic obedience.


He is super-adorable and not afraid to use it to his advantage!


This is Gordon's first puppy ever, and he is pretty excited about it! He came home from work yesterday and MOnty was here.


Kevin's not shy about teaching Monty goat manners!


I think this little guy will fit in great here. I will do my best to train him well, and sleep better knowing we have Monty keeping our goats safe from coyotes. Eventually we'd like to add a second livestock guardian dog, but one thing at a time!

If you'd like to learn more about Maremmas, check out this link!

22 comments:

  1. My goodness he is very handsome and cute. We hope he makes good friends with his goat buddies.

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  2. It's a fine name, in fact we used it for our Lab'. He looks superb.

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  3. He is a beauty! And I'm sure you'll have no trouble training him. Hell, you've done a pretty good job with Gordon.

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  4. He is a cutie , My cousin has been breading these dogs for years in England and lots of the sheep farmers have them over there to to do just that guard their sheep . I am sure he will be a great guard dog and a good companion for you all . Lovely photos , Thanks for sharing , Have a good day !

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  5. What a face. I can't wait to meet him, Natalie.

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  6. I was introduced to a pack of guardian dogs once, years ago, who looked like big Monty's. I was not allowed to interact with them; their job was to keep strangers away from the livestock.

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  7. At first glance, he looks far too sweet to fall into the guard dog category, but with credentials like his, I'm sure he'll be a big success.

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    1. he's a big teddy bear! And slight distinction, he's a livestock guardian dog as opposed to guardian dog. I intend to socialize him well with adults, chlldren (he's already been living with kids) and pretty much all animals except coyotes and other predators. :) He'll be a working dog when he's in the goat pasture. Typically these dogs are very loving with their people. :)

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  8. He is adorable!! I think that is a good thing for the goats and you will sleep better. AND,he is adorable!!

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  9. He is absolutely beautiful! I'd have a hard time not letting him do whatever he wants... but I've been trained so well by the cats.

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  10. I'm afraid Monty would be inside sleeping in my bed within 48 hours of arrival at my place. (Oh, who am I kidding? It would be that night!)

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  11. Oh my! Monty is adorable!

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  12. Welcome Monty! I've never heard of this breed before and did check out the link you posted... very interesting reading.

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  13. Monty looks like he'll fit right in. Now you train Monty not him train you!

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  14. another photogenic soul...

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  15. Welcome Monty! He is a cutie.

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  16. Dakota was so excited to hear about a woofie being here that he HAD to come over!! Welcome Monty!!! He is sooo handsome!! DakotasDen

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  17. Monty looks like he's up for the job. Beautiful boy.

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  18. Monty is adorable! My brother's dog Anna is believed to be a Maremma mix and looking at the first photo, I can see a resemblance. Unfortunately she wasn't well taken care of as a young pup, and was given up when she showed up as a stray at my brother's farm. She's very shy and scared of loud noises, birds, and various other common sounds. But she's a sweet girl. I'm so thrilled for Monty that he's got a great home with lots of animals to work with.

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  19. You choose the best names for your animals! Monty is adorable and looks like he's ready and willing to work, XOXO

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!