I’m Jamie—a mom, homesteader, chicken tender, cat lover, and blogger in NW Tennessee. Our family raises Svarthöna chickens, fainting goats, and Maremma Sheepdogs. I write about homestead life, homemaking, budgeting, and baking while offering hatching eggs, chicks, and goat kids to our community.
the Italian wolf fighter...that's good with kids?
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Hey Reader, Continuing with the so dang cute puppy content... Who can resist this face?? The puppies are really coming out of their baby phase and enjoying exploring the world around them. I can't say our Svarthöna are impressed by these seven in their midst, but it's important for the puppies to grow up around our livestock.  And weekly weigh-ins aren't showing too much difference from previous weeks. Red is still definitely the leader of the pack at over 6 pounds while her siblings are all a little over 5 pounds. so...how can a ferocious Italian wolf fighter be good with kids?And by kids, I mean both those of the human and goat variety. Well it happens through thousands of years of breeding for instincts, intellect, and temperament by human livestock guardians to reach a dog with a lower prey drive that bonds with its charges. Maremma Sheepdogs, or the Maremmano-Abruzzese Sheepdog, originated in Italy to guard sheep from wolves. The breed is specifically indigenous to central Italy in the Maremmo region and southern Italy in the Abruzzo region - hence the name. They potentially shares a related ancestor with the Great Pyrenees that originated in Spain, the Kuvasz, the Tatra Shepherd Dog, and the Šarplaninac. Maremmas have been depicted in artwork and literature back to the days of ancient Rome when sheep flocks and predator loads were greater than today. Breed standard dictates a solid white dog with thick, coarse fur (thicker around the neck) and black lips, nose, and skin around the eyes. This standard helped (and still helps) shepherds quickly spot wolves and other predators in the flock because the Maremmas blend in with the white sheep. Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, an ancient Roman writer on agriculture, stated this perfect pairing of solid white in his first century AD writings. Today Maremmas protect all kinds of livestock around the world. Even protecting small penguins from foxes in Australia.
Fascinating to me and, I hope, to you as well! Ciao for now! Jamie P.s. Know someone who needs a good livestock guardian? Our puppies will be available mid December! |
Arda Acres
I’m Jamie—a mom, homesteader, chicken tender, cat lover, and blogger in NW Tennessee. Our family raises Svarthöna chickens, fainting goats, and Maremma Sheepdogs. I write about homestead life, homemaking, budgeting, and baking while offering hatching eggs, chicks, and goat kids to our community.
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