[2rotties2luv]

My recommendation for people who want to do therapy work with a rottie or other large breed working dog is to wait at least until the dog is mentally mature and an adult, which for a rottie, typically happens between two and three years old - usually closer to three for a male. You may be able to pass the evaluations before this, but then you will be making therapy visits with an adolescent rottweiler, who can be unpredictably bratty and moody. This is not an age at which your dog will be a reliable ambassador for the breed.

I also recommend several years of obedience training before beginning therapy work. You want a dog who is absolutely solid in all the basic commands and who has plenty of experience in working under distractions. This isn't acheived in puppy class, no matter how well the puppy did.

Therapy work is stressful for the dog, even though it seems as though it would be easy. I've seen more than one dog get burned out because their owner was impatient to get them started and began therapy work before the dog was fully mature. The burn-out manifested itself in a reluctance to interact with the people that they were trying to visit. These were previously friendly, sociable dogs.

For a rottie, the ideal therapy dog is a mature adult, fully well trained and mentally mature. This dog will be calm and confident, freindly and sociable, and under control at all times and in all situations. This dog will provide unmeasureable benefits to the people they visit, and will be an outstanding ambassador for the breed.

Please consider waiting a while before putting your rottie in therapy visits. Give him lots more obedience training and give him some time to mature. You sound as if you're very impatient to begin therapy work, but think of what's best for your dog and the people you'll be visiting. I would encourage you to visit the open house and talk to the people there about when they think it is appropriate for a large breed , slow-to-mature working breed to begin therapy work. You might also ask if you can accompany a therapy handler and their dog (without your dog) on some therapy visits. Years ago, this was an eye-opener for me, as I had no idea of the reality of what was expected of the dogs on a therapy visit. Please think about it.