Introductions: Allevare Luciano

Alternative name: Tigger. Pedigreed purebred boy, Bella and Pieta's retirement plan.

My name is Luc
I am a floof
I like to bounce
I like to woof

But when the tyme
for play is past
I poke my tung

I lik the grass

(© TheHippyCryptid, 2023).

Allevare Luciano arrived in 2023 as a 3-month old from the kennels of Allevare Pastore Maremmano - Abruzzese Sheepdogs.

Bella and Pieta are ageing. In 2023, they’re 10 and 9 respectively. Maremmas don’t have terribly long lives when compared to other dogs - 11-12 is usual - and one can’t expect 10-year-old working Maremmas to belt to the other side of the paddock to evict foxes.

With Romeo moving back to the house yard, we needed succession planning for the girls.

Ordinarily I thoroughly encourage taking on rescued/rehomed dogs. There are many excellent rescue groups around Australia who assess and rehome Maremmas to appropriate homes.

However, I had an unknown in the equation - Romeo.

He’s dog-aggressive. He in particular doesn’t like male dogs. And a pup to succeed the girls had to be a boy.

Romeo also has bodgy hips. He’s been cow-hocked since a pup, and I knew he’d have arthritis and other issues as he got older.

So I wanted a dog that was guaranteed sound, and the general feeling was that a pup would be less-likely to trigger Romeo’s aggression … at least for a few months.

So Luciano joined us in August 2023, carefully selected for our setup. He’s a very non-dominant pup, insanely cuddly and affectionate, and absolutely needs constant company. He cannot cope with being left alone and, with three other Maremmas and two humans around, he never will be.

He adored Romeo on first sight … and Romeo, to our astonishment, took to his new puppy almost immediately.

Luciano is now an insanely cuddly, (mostly-)respectful, company-needing 10-month-old pup … and Romeo still likes him. There are problematic moments - resource guarding is a common part of Maremma makeup, and we’re having to tread carefully in some respects.

Such as when both boys want to be near me when I sit on the couch eating dinner. That’s caused some scary aggro behaviour, but after we’ve separated them for about 30mins - one outside, one in - it’s all good again. Now we just kick them both outside in the evening until everyone goes to bed. Easy.

But he is adorable beyond belief, and moves like a cat. It’s beautiful to watch.

(Granted, mostly he bounces … ).

He also has an absolute thing about flowerpots …