Elimar Farm Enterprises

The Maremma is a breed of dog from Italy, used as Livestock Guardian Dogs, protecting herds of livestock from predators.  Maremmas are working dogs, and are extremely effective at their jobs.  They protect our herd of alpacas from threats by black bear, coyote or loose dogs.  They are also effective guards against cougar, if you have at least two full-grown Maremma dogs.  A good Maremma is worth their weight in gold, because they will lie down their live before they allow their animals to suffer harm.  While they can be extremely fierce toward predators, they are amazingly sweet around their own family and the animals in their herd.  They are safe around non-threatening people that are welcomed by the owners, so there are no worries about liability and farm visitors.  We have had small children come in to meet our Maremmas and they naturally know to be gentle and kind around them. 

Our Maremmas are both registered, purebred, out imported Italian lines, bred for both good temperament as well as strong protective instincts.  Both of these dogs are trustworthy, kind and easy to manage.  Gnocchi is our primary stud male Maremma, and he is a big, goofy dog with a lot of personality, a big heart, athletic prowess and strong protective instincts for guarding his herd.  He is a particularly large Maremma, weighing around 150 pounds, and resembles the old Abruzzi style of Maremma, used to protect sheep from wolves in the mountains.  His size, agility and strength is an advantage against any predator.  Gnocchi will boldly and speedily charge toward a 300 pound bear and effectively scare them away.   Although he is large, he is built for speed and agility.  Although he is capable of jumping our 4 ft fences, he knows that he should stay with his flock, so he does not leave the pasture.  There have been occasions when he jumped an interior fence to join the female Maremma in protecting against bear that just outside her pasture, just after a newborn cria.  They work together as needed, one charging off predators while the other stays close to the flock, even pushing them back away from predators to keep them as safe as possible.  These dogs require no training -- they instinctively know what to do to protect a herd of animals. 

Gnocchi

Gnocchi is available as a proven stud dog at this time. He is a proven stud, having impregnated our aging female every time without fail, and is well able to produce beautiful puppies.  The photo on the left below shows Gnocchi at 6 months of age, already working and safely guarding his alpaca boys.  He is inherently gentle and never has harmed an animal.  For an example of his offspring, take a look at below at Romeo Romano. 

Above right photo shows Gnocchi at 12 months old, in his light summer coat.  Maremmas are ideal for climates like Virginia which run very hot in the summer but go below freezing, with snow and ice in the winter.  Maremmas grow a thick warm winter coat but shed out in the spring to adapt to warmer weather.  Although you can brush their luxurious coat if you wish, it is low-maintenance.  Other than annual event of blowing out the undercoat, you do not need to tend to this coat to keep it from matting and looking good.    It even seems to let dirt roll off of it, and it remains largely unstained, somehow it never requires bathing or clipping. 

The photos below show Gnocchi full grown in full winter coat, about 2 years old, about 135 pounds, without any extra fat.  He is all muscle.  But as you can see, he likes to play with Mark, who is 6' 3".   I'm pretty sure that Gnocchi would win any wrestling matches!

Romeo Romano

For an excellent example of Gnocchi's stud abilities, take a good look at this dog!  Romeo is a stunningly beautiful Maremma, large-boned, offering size, strength & agility, with a refined head and graceful appearance.  He has bright white fur, with just a little waviness, dark pigment in his skin, and dark brown eyes showing a great deal of expression and intelligence.  His temperament is very easy-going, calm and collected, very protective of his family, on alert at any threat.  He is very loving toward his owners, and very quietly behaved around livestock.  Like his dad and mom, he has never chased livestock, and was trustworthy around them at an early age.  Photos below show him at 6 weeks of age, 11 weeks of age, and 7 months old.  Romeo will be a year old this November, and available as an unproven stud this winter 2010/2011.  In contrast with his dog, he is taller, less bulky, but resembles Gnocchi in his overall size and general features.  At eight months old, he is already taller than his sire, and should continue to fill out.   He is more "on guard" and less trusting of strangers than Gnocchi, who is an exceptionally kind and gentle soul. 

Spumoni

Our female Maremma, Spumoni, is seen below.  Spumoni comes from Peavine Hollow lines, and is the mother of Romeo, but is now retired from breeding, due to her age.  But she is still an excellent example of a great Livestock Guardian Dog, very serious and diligent about her duties, patrols the perimeter on a regular basis, barks off any potential threats and stands up to bear three times her size.  Yet she is exceptionally sweet and submissive around the alpacas and we trust her with newborns and playful young alpacas.   She is cautious and submissive around people, but is very sweet with family and easily handled at the vet.  And in addition to her wonderful temperament and guard abilities, she is very beautiful.  She is the mother of Romeo. 

Send mail to elacy@elimarfarm.com with questions or comments about this web site.