New additions to my menagerie

Well I guess it was bound to happen. I went out and purchased a couple of maremma pups this weekend. We had discussed getting a dog to guard that alpacas but I had no idea it would happen this quickly. We were discussing whether to get a dog or a couple more llamas to have out in th fields with our girls.

We have a llama with the boys in the back fields but some of the girls up front didn't have anything in with them for protection. They are pretty good at looking after themselves but it never hurts to have a bit of extra protection.

I found that out the hard way last summer when I came home to find that 2 of my girls had been attacked by either a dog or coyote. I had to have them put down immediately because of the nature of the injuries I knew that they would not recover and would suffer unneccessarily if I tried to keep them alive. We were never 100% sure what had gotten them but it was quite clear it had been a biting attack.

So now, here I sit with 2 maremma's to train. I am looking forward to the aspect of having them at the barn. They are such wonderful dogs to work with. Today we are off to the vet to get baby shots and check ups. They have spent their first night in the barn and seem quite happy there. They will get the opportunity to bond with the alpaca girls in the barn for the first couple weeks and then we will introduce them to the outside males and the front fields of females.

It is hard to picture them as guard dogs at this point. LOL They are just the cutest little balls of white fluff.