[aldelgreco]

Hey everyone, I have been lurking on this board for some time while mulling over the decision to get a new rot puppy, and even more so since I brought home Miss Precious, a beautiful 7-week old female that I picked up out of pure serendipity from a crappy house with a "Rotweiller Puppies" sign that i subsequently called in and reported for having the worst conditions I have ever seen. The mother and the father were both chained to trees and unapproachable, the litter was staying a shanty of a doghouse and looked to have fleas, etc.

I know that the worst thing you can do is buy from one of these guys, and I went in thinking..."OK, Alex...don't get a dog here. Just look at them and get some experience with actually checking these dogs out." Of course, I saw Miss Precious and all I wanted to do was get her out of there and go to Animal Trustees immediately to make sure everything was cool with her health. So, that is how I ended up with my baby Rot.

I am a musician and I "work" from home. lol. By "work" I mean, spend some time writing music, but mainly observing and working with my dogs. My girlfriend and I have a nice-sized place with a total of 4 dogs now. Of the three males 2 are very small breeds (dachshund and chiuhaha) one is an akita-chow mix. the akita choow mix is getting on in age, and I wanted to be able to have a "guardian dog" to succeed him once he passes on for protection of the house and girlfriend when I am on tour, and decided on a female rot since he is not good at all with other large males. I thought now would be the best time since who knows how long I will be in a situation like now where going into work is not a part of my life.

Anyway...I feel like Miss Precious is doing a great job so far, and I love her little personality. she is at about 8 weeks now, and it took a while for her to warm up to us, but now is most definitely part of the clan. Here are my questions:

1) Her best friend is her brother, Charles (1-y.o.dachshund) they play and play and play and play and play. sometimes until she just drops. Am I right in thinking that I am fortunate in having another guy to kind of "help me" with all her energy? I feel like stopping them from just playing like pups would be unnatural but maybe I am wrong.

2) Food: she gets 1/2 cup of Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy 3 times daily. Any thoughts on this food/ration would be appreciated. she seems like a hungry girl.

3) Crate: she has gotten to where she sleeps through the night in the crate next to me with one potty break around 2AM and needs to get up when the others do around 730AM. Should I wait until she can make it through the whole night until I move her crate downstairs with the others?

4) Training: (IMPORTANT) what sort of training is even feasible right now for this little girl? She seems so intelligent (only one accident in over a week and sometimes she puts her paw on the door and whines. I was flabbergasted) but, her attention span is so damn short. I feel like she isn't really learning when I am playing the games with her. Like the recall game- all she really wants to do is chew on the leash, lol. Sit and Stay are like a joke. I have no experience with puppies this young, and was wondering whether it is just a matter of time when maybe things will start to click as long as you're consistent with the brief little stints of training throughout the day every day.

5) Last one, sorry.
Socialization: she has only had her backyard breeder shots and does not get her first round until Saturday 4/19 by vet instructions. I cannot let her leave our property for fear of her catching anything. She has 3 other dogs here and many humans, including interesting smelling bandmates : ) and friends to help her with socialization, but how soon can I get her out into the "real world" after that first roud of shots? I would like to start obedience as soon as possible, but if I have to wait until after the 2nd round of shots, and i cant get the first round until this weekend, would that make it too late?


I TRULY APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S FEEDBACK. Hopefully, one day, I can be a veteran advisor on these forums like some of you.

peace and love
alex