If you are interested in a Rowenglen Kennels puppy...
The Maremma Sheepdog is unlike other breeds of dog that most people are familiar with owning, and is not a breed suited to everyone!
If you are still interested after reading all you can on the breed and all you can on our site please contact us via email and/or phone. We will ask that you fill out our Puppy Questionnaire so that we are able to get a better idea of your lifestyle and what you are looking for. It is not unusual to be on our waiting list for a year or more as we have a very limited number of litters and try to have most of our future puppies with potential homes before breeding.
We are more than willing to help you to find a puppy from another reputable breeder if we do not have a puppy for you in the timeframe that you desire.
All of our puppies are desexed before leaving our care. We will sometimes co-own a breeding potential/show puppy with other serious competitors and/or select homes. All of our puppies are sold with a lifetime health guarantee against genetic defects that forms part of the "Contract of Sale".
Our breeding program is based on good ethics and the protection of the Maremma Sheepdog breed against breeders who breed with no thought given to ability, temperament, or health standards. While you are looking for a puppy, please BEWARE of breeders who tell you that their dogs do not have health problems and thus do not need to be health tested. Health problems ARE present in the Maremma Sheepdog breed which is why health clearances/health testing is done by all responsible and ethical breeders.
We believe in and uphold the Maremma Sheepdog of Americas Code of Ethics which states that all breeding dogs must be OFA certified (hips and elbows xrayed with acceptable scores prior to breeding).
Once we have received your questionnaire and spoken with you personally via email or phone, and you have been accepted on our waiting list we will maintain contact with you to provide updates regarding our breeding plans. We keep a record of as much data as we can about our puppies from birth and like to track our puppies health after they leave us, we therefore appreciate owners that assist us in our record keeping by staying in touch from time to time.
Our puppies are temperament tested and graded for conformation and structure at 8 weeks of age. Placement selection is done after this and we endeavor to place all our puppies with their new families between 8-9 weeks of age.
We do our best to select the best possible home for our puppies based on each puppy's instinct, abilities, and conformation, and the desires of the prospective owner. We always have the best interest of the puppy in mind when placing them in homes and do all we can to ensure a good 'fit' for both the puppy and the new owner.
Whether you decide to get a Maremma Sheepdog puppy from Rowenglen Kennels or someone else we are always happy to take the time to speak to new owners regarding the breed and assist you to make an informed decision when choosing your puppy.
Our personal breeding principles and goals....
We take the act of 'creation' very seriously: both parents must have passed their health testing, be of proper temperament, excellent conformation and have an intrinsic guarding instinct. Our dogs are registered with Dogs NSW. We DNA test all of our dogs and only breed to dogs that have also been DNA'd. Our dogs and their breeding partners must have been tested for Canine Hip Dysplasia and received acceptable scores.
Our puppies are born and raised in the house with our family until they are 4-5 weeks old, at which time they move with their dam to the barnyard where they will have access to the goat and sheep pen and supervised interaction with our other livestock - poultry, alpacas and other dog breeds we own. They also have endless cuddling sessions with our two children! At 6 weeks we start crate training the puppies as well as teaching them basic obedience; how to walk on a leash, sit, have their nails trimmed and be groomed.
We feel that the puppies need to develop this initial bond with humans to become confident, stable working partners with man. The ancient shepherds, who trusted these dogs with their livelihoods, also trusted them with their lives! You cannot develop that kind of bond unless there is mutual love, respect, and trust.
Maremma Sheepdogs guarded the flock during the transhumance - the seasonal migration of the flocks between the highlands of Abruzzo and the plain of Puglia - not as it is nowadays where flocks primarily reside in one location.
Because of this migration (traveling up to 1860 miles) the dogs would have been naturally selected for stable, confident temperaments because of the many villages and homes located along the tratturi (sheep trails). It has been mentioned by someone that when people (villagers, etc) would come to see the flocks, sometimes one of the dogs would bite them and thus have to be destroyed. I personally feel this led to automatic selection against overt (unsteady) aggressive temperaments, because the dogs who had correct, stable temperaments were more likely the ones to produce puppies, just based on the fact of a longer life-span!
We also feel it is important that you be able to handle your dog for grooming, vaccinations, etc, and that you can take your dog to the veterinarian when needed, without the dog freaking out at being on a leash, in a crate or in a car - and NOT attacking the veterinarian on sight! Which also applies to your family and visitors. For the Maremma to be able to interact with people, they need to learn social skills in the same way you would teach social skills to a puppy of any dog breed.
Between 7 and 12 weeks, the puppies start to get more individual interaction with our livestock and with us. Our puppies are up-to-date on their vaccinations, have been wormed, microchipped and vet checked. The puppies are started on a variety of livestock which they will likely be working\with in future on a farm and plus they leave us having had the proper socialization and training to be good canine citizens as well.
We provide a written health guarantee with full contract, registration paperwork, 3 generation pedigree, Maremma Sheepdog breed and training information booklet, puppy starter kit and a lifetime of support.
Our breeding objective is to maintain the natural guarding instinct of the Maremma as well as the breeds inherent good health. We emphasize excellent temperament and conformation. We believe that there is no departure between correct conformation and working ability - they are one and the same. A dog that does not have good conformation would not be able to perform their duty as they have been doing for thousands of years. The conformational standard should reflect the working ability of the breed and we breed to that standard.
We also feel that it is not healthy for a bitch to have more than 1 litter per year, that they should not be over-bred and they should be spayed at no later than 7 years of age. Both females and males should not be bred before reaching adulthood and receiving their health clearances. Our mission is to better the breed through selective breeding of only sound dogs that will pass innate guarding instinct, good health, stable temperament and correct conformation onto their offspring.
Our goal is to place puppies in working homes or with people who are familiar with the Maremma Sheepdogs character, temperament and independent self-thinking attitude. The Maremma is not for everyone and you need to make sure that you understand their needs and how VERY different they are from other breeds before getting one - essential to your, and your new puppy's future happiness.
Puppy comes with:
Dogs NSW 3 Generation Main Register Pedigree
Contract with Health Guarantee
Rowenglen Puppy Folder and puppy pack
Health Record & Veterinary Health Certificate
Livestock Guardian Dogs Best Practice Manual - Linda van Brommel
Microchipped
Desexed