Freedom for this Maremma Sheepdog to Protect Her 3 Acre Farm: Reilly's Story

February 27, 2023

Meet Reilly from Hazelton, Idaho.

Reilly is an eight month old Maremma Sheepdog. If you’re not familiar with this breed, these dogs are indigenous to central Italy and northern areas of Southern Italy. As Livestock Guardian dogs, they were originally bred to protect flocks of sheep from wolves, and ideally belong on a farm with a job to do.

And lucky for Reilly, she does indeed live on a 3 acre farm with livestock to guard. She’s the guardian of chickens and other farm animals, and serious about her job.

As a puppy, she was known as ‘pink dot broke back leg’, though her owner Terri is not quite sure where that name came from. Now at her forever home in Idaho, she simply goes by Reilly. This sweet girl has a calm disposition and an obedient manner, especially for a puppy! Despite her calm manner, Reilly is still a teenager, and a fun loving girl. When she’s not working, she likes to find and feast on the hen eggs!

As a big, outdoor dog who needs room to roam and freedom to protect her flock, Terri needed a way to prevent Reilly from leaving the property, and that’s why she chose SpotOn GPS Fence. As we recommend, Terri started training with a small fence, as a good way to keep a teenage pup engaged while teaching her the tones. With consistent training, Reilly quickly learned to respect the virtual fence boundaries.

We asked Terri what life was like before SpotOn.

‘Always on the clock, so she does wander to neighbors or into the road.’

And what the biggest benefit is to her as an owner?

‘Freedom for my dog. We feel like our dog is safe.’

Their new found GPS freedom has helped both Terri and Reilly. Terri now has more time to be off the clock, and Reilly has gotten better about listening to commands. As for what initially sold Terri on SpotOn, it was the appeal of app controlled GPS fences she could easily manage on her smartphone. Now she can keep tabs on Reilly, while also giving this Livestock Guardian dog the freedom she needs to protect her flock.

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Author Bio:
Amy McPoland is a dog mom, dog lover and Sr. Brand Strategist at SpotOn Fence.