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Lupine & Cedar
DOB: 7/8/21 & 7/10/21
Spayed/Neutered
$6500/pair (6/27/22)
Lupine was born in California to a mom sired by our Milan. He got his early start with goats and came to me when he was eight-weeks old with his littermates. Lupine is such a dedicated worker and very brave. He has a lovely read on communication with his livestock.
Cedar was sired by our Stoneybrook’s Milan and is a sibling to Blue and Sky. I bought the entire litter of ten pups, spoken for before they were born, and brought them here to the ranch when they were eight-weeks-old. Cedar is busier than Lupine and equally as brave.
This is Lupine, with his sibling River, at four months of age. Such early aptitude!
The Language of Animals - New Home, New Sheep - Katie S.
https://www.bensonmaremmas.com/post/the-language-of-animals-new-home-new-sheep
This is Lupine, a little older, again showing me how capable he is.
Lupine & Sage & The Elk
https://www.bensonmaremmas.com/post/lupine-sage-the-elk
Both Lupine and Cedar spent some time with Katie S.
Feeding & Manners - Katie S. - Shaping, Blog #1 – Katie’s Story
https://www.bensonmaremmas.com/post/feeding-manners-katie-s-shaping-blog-1-katie-s-story
Feeding & Manners - Katie S. - Shaping, Blog #2 – Katie’s Videos
https://www.bensonmaremmas.com/post/feeding-manners-katie-s-shaping-blog-2-katie-s-videos
Training To Prevent Resource Guarding - Katie S. - Success!!!
https://www.bensonmaremmas.com/post/training-to-prevent-resource-guarding-katie-s-success
PennHIP tested
Registered Maremma sire and dam, also PennHIP tested
Raised with livestock
Guarding experience with sheep, goats, and cattle
Well socialized!
Extensive training – on-leash and off
Ever wish you could turn back the clock and raise dogs flawlessly as you gaze at the dog in front of you who is no longer a puppy?
Here’s your chance to own flawlessly, professionally training livestock guardian dogs ready to go to work for you! Purchasing dogs trained by me means that you can relax, knowing that the training of these dogs has been managed very well.
I am a specialized, professional trainer of livestock guardian dogs with extensive hands-on experience and formal behavioral science education. I begin training my pups even before they open their eyes.
These dogs were produced by true working Maremmas employed full-time as trustworthy, valuable protection for the investment my livestock represents. The pups were whelped directly into that environment and have known no other; the sights, sounds, and smells of livestock are welcoming and familiar to LGDs raised here.
We have high predator pressure on this ranch; that includes bears, cougars, and coyotes. Our dogs have grown up learning early discernment about the activity of the night. Learning through the examples set forth by the many adult Maremmas on the ranch, pups learn what to bark at/alert to and what are simply the sounds of the night. Because the pups have always worked as a group, first as a litter and then in the company of adult mentor dogs, they are fearless adversaries to the indigenous predators. We place our dogs into new homes when they are old enough to step in and go straight to work. Puppies are a promise for the future if everything goes just right; our trained dogs represent that promise fulfilled.
Our dogs have been taught life skills! They have been on grooming tables and walked up ramps; clippers, the blower, and toenail trimming are all familiar to them. They have had leash training and have gone on car rides to the veterinarian and to the local hardware store for a look at slippery floors, high ceilings, and lots of traffic and strangers.
They have been trained by a multitude of visitors to the ranch. This includes children and people who are not skillful in dog training. Our dogs trust people and know how to forgive most human mistakes; these are mistakes in timing or training judgment, not “corrections”. Indeed, our dogs are raised believing that it isn’t possible for them to make a mistake. If redirected to a more favorable behavior they are happy to change their behavior and accept the positive reinforcement they have been promised and have always received. Simple. Beautiful.
There is a critical window of time, of opportunity, in raising any pup; most certainly this is made even more important with livestock guardian pups. LGD pups are tasked with learning how to become well-balanced adult dogs and gentle stewards and protectors of livestock. That is a lot to learn! If this early training is incomplete, or done poorly, an LGD may never become a trusted, valuable, happy guardian who is a pleasure to live with. The stakes are high. Don’t gamble, go with a sure thing. Our dogs are “the real deal” from any perspective.
The training protocol I use is well documented in my blog library. All posts and videos are of dogs raised and trained here; most are dogs that were also produced here. Please take a good look. You will see video of the training of twelve litters of Maremma pups, as well as the work I have done with dogs owned by my training clients. I am very proud of the level of skill I bring to working with livestock guardian dogs. It has been my privilege to be the student as so many of the Maremmas along the way have taught me what an LGD pup, or adolescent, or adult needs to learn to be successful as a guardian of livestock.
Visitors Welcome!
Please feel free to visit the ranch. Meet the Maremmas and see them capably and serenely doing their jobs.
The ranch is 40 miles north of the California border and 6 miles off the major north-south interstate: I-5. We are 15 minutes from the Medford airport. Come for an hour or come for a day! I love to teach, and there is a lot to be learned here from the 27 beautiful Maremmas that call Benson ranch home.
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