[cuppacoffee]

Hello,
I'm new to the board but I have a question about my rott. First a little background.

He's 4 1/2 yrs old, we got him for Christmas this year. His previous owner (his 2nd, which makes us the 3rd owners) had to give him up cause she and her boyfriend broke up and she could no longer "handle" the dog. Apparently the BF was the disciplinarian and when he left the household, the dog would do anything, including sleep on the couch or the bed, eat food off the table or jump on counters, and this girl wouldn't do anything about it. She's a real softie and has always been a pushover in life. Also, since the rott weighs 120#, she couldn't walk him - she's 100 lb soaking wet and he'd pull her. He maintained his sweet disposition through the entire thing and never became destructive, even when she'd work 14 hr days and didn't walk him for 4 months. She recognized herself as a "bad dog owner" and offered us the dog, knowing we were looking. The previous owner was given an ultimatium by his allergic fiancee "the dog or me" Needless to say, he does have some separation anxiety issues, but we're working through those.

I was completely unfamiliar with the breed when we got him and very nervous about it at first, but he's such an angel that he quickly won me over. (we had adopted a mixed breed dog from a shelter about Nov. timeframe and the dog turned out to have some serious aggresssion/guarding issues - after a couple of biting incidents, the shelter came back, collected her and put her to sleep - so I was very worried about this "vicious" breed) We signed him up for basic obedience training at a local kennel that breeds and shows rottweilers, came highly recommended from the vet and the local club. We are about 3 weeks into the training and all seems to be going well, he was previously well trained, so he's easily the best in the class (he's the only rott in the class, he's also the oldest, most of the other dogs are puppies) However, I have some concerns about the training and I also have some questions.

First, whenever I read about the dispositions of rottweilers, they are described as "stubborn and occassionally dominant" This dog is a far cry from that. The trainer has a very physical training method and this occassionally worries me - last week when a little lab puppy growled at her, she hung him up by his prong collar in the air for about 30 seconds to a minute. Well, anyway, my fiancee has picked up on this aggressive method of training and will regularly scream at the dog for regular commands. For instance, we'll put the dog in a down stay on his blanket in a corner of the dining room while we eat dinner. As we get up from the table, he'll get up with us - since he hasn't been released, my DF will start yelling at him and grab him by his collar and drag him across the floor back to his blanket. As far as I'm concerned, he's still learning and doesn't need rough treatment like that, a simple "Place" would send him right back to the blanket. I really honestly believe that this dog wants to do the right thing. When I start preparing dinner, he automatically goes to lay down to lay in the corner, cause that's what I taught him to do, or if I need to give him a command, I tell him in a gentle, firm voice and praise him for following the command (DF is starting to praise, but still generally barks the commands) DF is former military, current law enforcement and wants the dog to "be a soldier" I'm sure his Marine/police training weighs heavily in the way he trains this dog.

He sleeps downstairs and will sometimes jump on the counters to sniff while we're asleep. (we keep them clear of all food or "interesting" things) He'll never even go near the counters when we're there - DF has yelled and hit him enough times that he's too scared. My DF has decided that the way to cure him of this is to buy an electronic shock collar and then tempt him onto the counters and shock him from upstairs or outside. The trainer agrees with this and is going to provide the training on how to use this collar. Whenever I protest that he's being too aggressive, he claims "You're just like 'Sally'" (the previous owner) and sometimes I worry that maybe he's right - the dog knows I'm the softie. I've read lots of books on dog training and opinions vary so widely, but they're very generic.

This dog seems very submissive and eager to please - but he is a BIG, SCARY looking dog. Is this type of training necessary to "keep him submissive" (like DF says) or could we be gentler with him without losing control?

Sorry for the long post, but there's such a wealth of experience here that I wanted you guys to know where I was coming from. Thank you for your help.