Green Gables Caesar our male Maremma (pictured at 11 months old)

DOB: 11/26/09 (Thanksgiving Day)

 Sire: Watermark Farm Orion
   ss: Whippoorwill Farm Giovenco
   sd: Whippoorwill Farm Rovere
Dam: Watermark Farm Maia
   ds: Aronne
   dd: Gorda

Caesar has proven himself to be a wonderful livestock guardian dog who we would not trade for anything. He stays with his goats and trains in the others.  Once, when he was out in the pasture and Dixie was back at the barn resting (they take turns working), he heard one of the does back at the barn crying...  So he ran back and brought her out to be with the rest of the herd.  He also lets us know when the goats are not where they are supposed to - when the bucks get out he sounds a special "Bucks are out!" alarm.  At 6 months old, he helped Dixie chase off a wolf who thought the new chicks would make a nice evening snack.

A funny story about Caesar...  I was out milking one COLD winter morning when Caesar started to bark strangely.  I looked into the does barn where he was and he looked at me and barked as if he were trying to tell me something important.  I left the milkhouse and went in by him. "What's the matter Ceasie?" I asked.  He barked again and then I smelled it!  Smoke!  I remembered that we had put a heatlamp in for the chicks the night before as it was well below zero that night.  I ran to the chickens area and saw...  A rooster sitting under the heatlamp with his back about an inch from the bulb.  His feathers were smoking and almost ready to catch fire.  I grabbed him and unplugged the lamp.  Silly bird!  And good boy Ceasar!!!

Another story of Caesar working.  Two goats got their head stuck in the same hole in the fence.  They started screaming.  I ran over there to help them get out, but before I could get there, Caesar had gone over there, and pulled one of the does out using his front legs in the same way I would have used my hands/arms!

One more...  Caesar and Dixie have trained the goats to respond to certain barks.  The dogs often lie at the top of the hill where they can see the whole pasture while the goats are out grazing.  One day, the goats were in the far end of the pasture at the bottom of the hill near the road when a car slowed way down and almost stopped.  The dogs saw them and immediately barked their 'DANGER, come here NOW!" bark and the whole herd of goats bolted back to the safety of the barn.  It has always fascinated me to watch the dogs train the goats to respond to them.

Here is what Caesar's breeder said about his dam, Maia: "During our last kidding season a kid slipped between the boards into the next stall and was separated from its mother. Maia jumped the stall and was standing in over it, guarding it until we came to the barn to check on them. Maia also rescued a goat kid that had fallen in a water trough and surely would have died."  Caesar sure has proven to follow in his parents working heritage.  We just LOVE this dog!

Caesar has also been excellent at training in the new LGDs and pups.  He is great at knowing what to bark at and what not to.  For example, when one of the family walked around the corner of the house, 2 of the other dogs started barking at them (not sure if they didn't recognize them or what), Caesar took one look at the person, then looked at the other dogs with this 'what is wrong with YOU?' look on his face.  He then proceeded to growl at the two barking dogs and used his paw to push their heads down to the ground until they stopped barking!