Meet Lucy Brown

Let me first start out by saying...my life is now complete. I have my doggie! The story of how we found Lucy started about two years ago when I was taking Charlie to the vet. I came out of the exam room to find a beautifully groomed, milky white, GIGANTIC dog. I was in awe. I asked the owner what kind of dog it was and she told me that she thought it was a mix of Pyrenees and Maremma Sheepdog. I knew what a Pyrenees was, but had never heard of the other. I was curious, so I googled the breed when I got home. After reading quite a bit about the dog, I started to think that it might be quite perfect for what what we wanted. Trouble was, they are fairly rare and finding a puppy was going to be a challenge. The closest breeder was in Bellingham, WA. I emailed the breeder a couple of times for information and price. They were $600...and driving to Bellingham in the truck was going to cost a small fortune as well. That didn't detour our wanting one...we just didn't make it a priority. As everyone knows, dogs are a big commitment, and I was content to wait. So, we waited.


Last spring, I got together with one of the mom's at the preschool for a playdate. She lives waaay out in the sticks on a farm. Somehow, in our conversation, we started talking about dogs. I told her about the dog I wanted, and she said that her mom (who lives right next to her) and her other neighbor has those dogs for their goats and sheep. I got really excited and asked her to ask her neighbor where he got his dogs. Turns out he got them in Bellingham, but she said that sometimes there are ads for them in the Capitol Press (an agriculture newspaper in Oregon) for mixed breeds, and even full breeds for much cheaper. I knew my dad got the Capitol Press and asked him to save his papers for me, but he told me that he stopped getting it. Life got real busy, and I just didn't take the time to keep on actively searching.


Two weekends ago, my sister and I threw a bridal shower for our friend Tonya at my parent's house. When it was over, I sat and chatted with my family. Dad told a story about an article he read in the Capitol Press. Dad was getting the Capitol Press again! Hooray! I asked him if he could save the classifieds for me, and I meant to take a few papers home when I left, but I forgot. The next day Dad called me with a number for a guy in Gaston, OR selling Maremmas for $350! Within seconds of hanging up, I was dialing Adam's cell phone. He agreed I should call the guy. Long story short, I called the guy, he had two left (a boy and a girl). I asked for the girl. Fifi and the kids came with dad and I to pick her up last Wednesday.



Lucy is a pure bred Maremma Sheep Dog (classified as a livestock guard dog) and is already almost 5 months old. She has been kept completely isolated from the world. Breeders keep them away from human contact, etc. so that when they get to their home, they bond with and protect the sheep or goats. So, when we got her, she was quiet and nervous and leery of just about everything. Maremmas are an ancient working breed and were bred in Italy 2000 years ago to be independent guardians. Therefore, they are stubborn and do what they want. In fact, they see themselves as equal to humans, and expect to be treated as such. Training them is a challenge and they aren't known to come when you call them...especially when in pursuit. These are all attributes I was familiar with before purchasing her. One characteristic I'm particularly nervous about is that they tend to bark a lot. Bark collars aren't really a good option, as they will often bark more, and if you hit or harm them in any way, they will remember it and dislike you for the rest of their days. She isn't at the barking phase yet, as puppies are just curious and playful and don't have their guarding instincts yet.

On the other hand, Maremmas are extremely loyal and love their families dearly. They are wonderful with children and other animals, and are an excellent judge of character. Of course, we got Lucy as a companion dog, and not as a guard for livestock. However, she will guard her territory...meaning, our other animals will be protected as well. Maremmas also know their boundaries and are not known to wander beyond their home. This is great, as we don't have a fenced field because the elk and deer would destroy it anyway.

So far, Lucy is adjusting very well. She only whined the second night and hasn't since. We are going to try our best to socialize her as much as we can, as soon as we can. It would have been better had we gotten her as a small puppy so that we could have given her more experiences with other animals and people outside the home before she turns into a "teenager"...which, I've read can start at about 6 months. Socializing Maremmas is extremely important if one plans to keep them as companion dogs...otherwise they can be overly guarding and aggressive towards other people and animals outside their home.

After a trip to the vet tomorrow, we're taking Lucy camping with us! Wish us luck!!