Maremma Puppies: Adopt or Buy in Australia?

Should you adopt or buy a Maremma?

Start with a different question: do you have something for a Maremma to guard? The Dogs Australia breed standard describes “a shepherd dog used mainly for the protection of flocks and guarding property”, and its temperament section says the dog is “proud and not inclined to submission”, though “devoted to his master and all his entourage”. The Dogs Australia breed page puts it more plainly: “all of the things that make the breed a great stock guardian can make it problematic as a backyard pet”.

If you run sheep, goats, alpacas or poultry, a registered breeder who raises pups with stock is the most reliable route to a working guardian. If you want a large, calm companion on acreage, an adult from rescue whose history you know can work well. The route to avoid is a cheap “Maremma” puppy from an online ad, bought for a suburban yard because it looked like a polar bear cub.

Reference figures: the RSPCA NSW, RSPCA Victoria and RSPCA ACT fee pages, read November 2026. They are not quotes. Breeders and rescues set their own prices and change them, so check with them.

What is a Maremma bred to do?

Guard, not herd. The Dogs Australia breed page says the Maremma protects whatever stock it is bonded with by living with them, and keeps predators away by territorial marking, warning barks and, when required, protective behaviour. Its first response is to put itself between the threat and the flock and bark; if a predator persists, it will protect its flock by force. In Australia, it says, you find the breed on rural properties guarding sheep, goats, alpaca and even poultry.

Government and research sources describe the same dog. A 2016 Biosecurity Queensland fact sheet says guardian dogs stay with or near livestock, acting independently of humans, and aggressively repel predators, and names the Maremma among the more common guardian breeds. The National Wild Dog Action Plan says that of the guardian breeds available in Australia, Maremmas are by far the most numerous. A long-term Australian study of farmers using livestock guardian dogs concluded they can remain an effective predator control method with long-term use, while noting that a substantial number of producers have difficulty training and managing them (van Bommel and Johnson 2023).

Sources: Dogs Australia breed standard, Dogs Australia breed page and Dogs Victoria breed page, read 11 November 2026.

Can a Maremma live in the suburbs?

Some do, but it is a real welfare question for the dog and a real noise question for your neighbours. The Dogs Australia breed page says the breed is wary of strangers and suspicious of odd noises and anything unusual, that this “can be a problem in suburban areas where the breed has been known to become a nuisance barker”, and that it is “probably best suited to rural properties and hobby farms, or to people who can take their dogs everywhere”. The UK Royal Kennel Club lists it as a country dog for a large house and large garden, needing more than 2 hours of exercise a day.

The night-time side matters. In a GPS study of free-ranging Maremmas on three Victorian properties, the dogs spent on average 90% of their time in the sheep paddocks, and their movements away from the sheep happened mostly at night (van Bommel and Johnson 2014).

Even on farms, guardian dogs do not always work out. In a follow-up of 112 Australian farmers first surveyed about their guardian dogs in 2008 and 2009, re-interviewed a mean of 8.9 years later, half had stopped using them. Of those who stopped (more than one reason could be given), about half cited a change in business, about a quarter problems with the dogs and about a fifth problems with neighbours, most often complaints about barking (van Bommel and Johnson 2023). The Biosecurity Queensland fact sheet lists the problems poorly trained, entire or improperly bred (crossbred) guardian dogs can cause, including roaming away from the flock and becoming aggressive towards neighbours and/or barking constantly, causing complaints.

If you are in a town or suburb and still drawn to the breed, be honest about three things: whether your fences and neighbours can cope with a loud, territorial 40 kg dog; whether someone is home most of the day; and whether your council has already dealt with barking complaints on your street. Our guide to barking dogs in Australia explains what councils can do.

How is a working guardian puppy raised?

With the stock, from early on. Biosecurity Queensland's 2016 fact sheet advises rearing pups with livestock from eight weeks of age, keeping enough contact that you can still handle them, and making sure any bonding between owner and dog happens with the herd. It says guardian dogs must be desexed, that most work well within a year, and that they may need up to two years to mature fully. It also says failure is usually down to poor selection, improper rearing, cross-breeding or trying to train a dog that is too old.

That is why the breeder matters for a working dog: ask whether the pups have been raised around the kind of stock you keep. For guidance on rearing and managing guardian dogs, the National Wild Dog Action Plan points to the Best Practice Manual for the Use of Livestock Guardian Dogs by Linda van Bommel.

Which health checks should a Maremma breeder show you?

Hips first. The Dogs Australia breed page calls the Maremma usually quite a sound breed with no real breed-specific health problems, but notes that a Maremma lacking good nose pigmentation has been known to develop skin cancer. Here is what the UK and New Zealand kennel clubs list; use it to ask an Australian breeder questions, not as an Australian rule.

Sources: Royal Kennel Club, Dogs New Zealand accredited breeder health tests, Dogs Australia breed standard and breed page, read 11 November 2026.

Ask to see hip results for both parents, with names that match the litter. Dogs Australia says the nose and eyelids should always be black to protect them from the sun, so look at pigment as well as papers.

How much is a Maremma puppy from a registered breeder?

We quote no breeder price, because none of the member breeders whose websites we read published one. In November 2026 we read the own websites of Maremma breeders who are members of Dogs Australia state bodies, leaving out classified and listing sites, and found no current price. We cannot speak for every breeder, so ask each one.

Ask for the price in writing and compare what it includes: the parents' hip results, the vet check, vaccination and microchip, whether the puppy is on the Limited or Main Register, whether it has been raised with stock, and whether the breeder will take the dog back if it does not suit your property.

Expect few litters. Dogs Australia's registration figures show 45 Maremma Sheepdogs registered in 2025, down from 196 in 2020. The dog cost calculator gives a first-year budget beyond the purchase, and Biosecurity Queensland's fact sheet notes that producers using guardian dogs need to maintain good fences.

Survey of member breeders' own websites, November 2026. Prices change; check with the breeder.

What do Maremmas in rescue look like?

The history matters more than with most breeds. A rescue Maremma may have come off a farm or out of a town backyard; the long-term Australian survey above recorded that most guardian dogs rehomed by those farmers were surplus to requirements, but some were rehomed for unwanted behaviour (van Bommel and Johnson 2023). Ask the rescue how the dog was raised, how it is with visitors, other dogs, cats and children, and whether it has lived with stock.

An adult whose temperament you can see first is often a safer bet than a puppy for a first Maremma. If what you want is a big, calm dog rather than a guardian, browse large dogs listed by rescues too: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide.

What does a rescue Maremma cost?

Reference only, not a quote. These are the fees each rescue published on the date shown; fees change and some dogs are priced individually, so check with the rescue. The fee normally covers desexing, microchipping, vaccinations and a vet check. Read our guide to adopting a dog in Australia.

How do Maremma puppy scams work?

Scamwatch warns that scammers set up fake websites, social media profiles and marketplace listings for pets that do not exist, and that a very cheap pet is likely a scam. Dogs Victoria's puppy scam fact sheet adds that fake ads may display microchip, source or membership numbers lifted from legitimate breeders. Maremma versions of the pattern to watch for:

• No hip answer. A breeder of a 40 kg breed should know the parents' hip results. Vagueness is a warning.
• Coloured patches. The breed standard asks for solid white and lists black shadings and well-defined patches of Isabella or ivory colour as disqualifying faults. A patched or dark puppy sold as a purebred Maremma does not meet the standard; ask what it really is.
• Borrowed numbers. A real breeder's membership or source number in an ad proves nothing on its own. Check it with the state body yourself.
• “Great in any backyard”. A seller who says this about a livestock guardian is telling you they do not know the breed, or do not care where the puppy goes.

Our guide to puppies for sale in Australia has the state-by-state table of breeder numbers, how to check each one, and what to do if you have already paid.

When is a registered breeder the better choice?

Rescue is not right for everyone. If you need a working guardian for stock, a puppy raised by a breeder with the right animals around it, then reared by you with your stock, is the method the government guidance describes. Check these before you pay:

1. Registration. Ask for the breeder's prefix and membership number and check them through Dogs Australia's breeder search or your state body.
2. Hip results for both parents.
3. How the pups are raised. With stock, in a house, or both, and which suits your plans.
4. Questions about you. A good Maremma breeder asks about your fencing, your stock and your neighbours. One who asks nothing is a warning.
5. A written contract covering health problems, register type, desexing and whether the breeder will take the dog back.

Is a Maremma the right dog for you?

The appeal is real. The Dogs Australia breed page calls the Maremma loving and loyal, with a curious habit of “smiling” at its owner, and Dogs Victoria says it is friendly and loyal to its own family. But it is also independent, loud, territorial and large, and Dogs Australia points it towards rural properties and hobby farms.

Not sure? Try the what dog breed is right for me quiz and the adoption readiness check, and read our guide to guard dog breeds, which compares the Maremma with other guardian and watchdog breeds. If you want a big, gentle family dog for a suburban home, our guide to family dogs may suit you better.

Find a Maremma near you

Maremmas and Maremma crosses listed by rescues, by city:

• Maremmas for adoption in Sydney
• Maremmas for adoption in Melbourne
• Maremmas for adoption in Brisbane
• Maremmas for adoption in Perth
• Maremmas for adoption in Adelaide

Or see every listing nationally on the Maremma Sheepdog breed page.

More adopt-or-buy guides: Bernese Mountain Dog, Newfoundland, Samoyed, Kelpie, Cattle Dog, Saint Bernard.