Ricco

Ricco is a young Maremma still learning about the world. He has spent most of his life in a backyard with little exposure to the outside world, and as a result he is a bit shy and insecure.

He is a lovely young dog though, and now that he is in foster care on a property he has really come out of his shell. He is very loving, playful and inquisitive, and still very puppy-like in his behaviour. Everything is new for him, and every day is a new adventure with new things for him to explore.

Prior to coming into care he does not appear to have had any exposure to livestock, and at this point in time he would not suit a home that is looking for a working livestock guardian dog. He is slowly being exposed to a range of animal types, but getting him used to them will take time, patience and effort. This training/exposure will need to be continued by his new owner after adoption if they have any livestock they wish for him to get along with.

Ricco is not suited for suburban life; he is not the type of dog who can happily cope with living in town and going for daily walks to the park. He will only be re-homed to somebody living on acreage. He is shy and stand-offish with people he does not know, and it takes time to make friends with him. Once he knows a person though, he is very friendly and loving towards them.

He is slowly getting exposure to human society through daily walks in quiet rural areas, and as long as there is not too much activity he does fine with this. It will take a bit of time for him to get him more used to people, traffic and human society as a whole, and given his breed and history he will likely never be the type of dog to happily hang out at a café with his owner.

With slow introductions he is ok with other dogs, but very much prefers calm dogs over very energetic and over-exited ones. At the moment he is not very good with pocket pets. He prefers older children, as he thinks younger ones are a little scary. In addition, as he is still puppy-like in his behaviour, he could easily accidentally knock a small child over.

Ricco will be a great dog in the right home, with a person or family who understand his breed and the temperament of livestock guardian dogs. If you are interested in Ricco, please contact his foster carer.