Sunday, July 22, 2012

Agostino's Maremmani

What is your breed?
Official ENCI/FCI name : Cane da Pastore Maremmano-Abruzzese... I believe it is not correct that outside Italy the breed is only named  "maremma sheepdog" - The origin of the dog are the Appennino Mountains and principally  the Abruzzo Region

When did you start with these dogs?
I started as an amateur  breeder with show dogs around 1990 , but  in 2003 I started the Official Kennel " Dell'Antico Tratturo " registered with ENCI ( Italian Kennel Club )

What made you choose your breed?
I knew these working dogs  from the young age (my grandfather was a shepherd and a farmer ), so for me it would be not possible to love and know any other breed.

How many do you have?
Currently I have 4 females.( Bella , Rescagnata, Pertecara, Presentosa) that I am breeding with, 3 old "ladies ": (the Champions Filuccia,Irpina and Faleria ), the reproductor Drago , and the young males Mazziere and Carrito

Describe how your dogs live with you:

In the conviction that one cannot deeply know a breed without knowing the environment and the culture that have shaped it, we keep on breeding exclusively Abruzzese rustic bloodlines, fully respecting our pastoral tradition. 
Therefore, a selection mainly aimed at maintaining the functional characteristics and the balance of the character and temperament, which have always been the true essence of the breed. 

With this aim in mind, many of our dogs are still used to guard flocks and, even those which do not directly work with the sheep, freely live in the open air, in big spaces, together with the animals they guard. 

Puppies are raised with the adult dogs and immediately learn the clear "rules" of the group. 

All this determines resistance to illnesses and absence of genetic defects and guarantees that our dogs are reliable guard-dogs, never fearful or uselessly aggressive.

Following the morphological ideal of the Abruzzi-sheep-rearing, our adult males always have an "important" head, with a thick leonine (lion-like) mane, often reaching a height of 70/73 cm at  the withers and a weight which varies from 50 to 55 kg. They are easily distinguishable from the females, which are generally smaller, with a height of 65/68 cm and a weight of about 40/45 kg.

Both males and females have considerable diameters and a strong bone-structure. The coat is always pure white; the yellow stains, admitted by the official standard, are considered a clear sign of degeneration.

With a consistent selection for working ability,  and after the last inspections were carried out,
our kennel of dogs can boast all adult subjetcs hip dysplasia free, XRay certificated by ENCI authorized official districts.

This is the only real and credible certification wich ensure dogs are free of this disabling desease.
To improve the security for our own breeding and those buying our pups, even young subjects (aged less 18 mounth) were XRay certificated by an ENCI authorized official veterinary.

You can contact me on Facebook -  Allevamento Dell'Antico Tratturo Maremmano-Abruzzese

1 comment:

  1. This breed dogs even look similar to sheep) Maybe that is why sheep and herding dogs get along with each other))These dogs greatly help people.