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Originally Posted by sweetlee  At 145 your dog is probably overweight. I know his personality is to be grouchy, but have you had him in for a vet check lately? He may have underactive thyroid, which certainly can contribute to grumpy dogs. I would definately get this ruled out. Has he always been overweight, or has this come on recently?
It sounds like other than that you have done what you can, and I applaud you for realizing he isn't trustworthy around people, especially kids.
Keep working with him, keep loving him, and keep him in training.
You can teach old dogs new tricks.
I am so sorry that you had this happen to you. My boy is no doubt from a puppy mill also, but I am lucky from what I have read on here. His temperament is wonderful, especially around kids, he is a big love. The only problems I have had with Dodge healthwise is that his anal glands need to be emptied by the vet quite often.
You are doing right by your dog. If there is another in the future, check breeders very carefully, but don't discount rescuing, it's the best thing I have ever done.
Bless you for your patience.
Sharon |
The first thing that I did was check the thyroid, and have checked it a couple of time to make sure it was normal. It was. Also had his blood sugar check, before and after he ate. He tends to get grumpy when he wasn't getting enough food. Not so much at feeding time, but having something more often in the day. His blood sugar went weird after he ate.
His highest weight was 150 lbs. The last weight was at 145 lbs. But I think he is under that now. Right now he looks good. He's always been a big boy even as a puppy. They said that he was the largest in the litter. The vet said to have him stay around 140 lbs. So I will feed him in the morning, and then in the afternoon, I will use his food when we are working on the clicker, then I feed him in the evening, and anytime he goes into his kennel, he gets a small hand full of food. He started to put on the weight when he was with his trainer and she was feeding him on when and how much to feed him. We were feeding him yet late at night too. He woke up in much better mood in the morning.
The rescuing is what concerns me if I get another rottie. Because I would be afraid again to getting one with temperament problems. I tease people and say that after this, I am going to get a Chihuahua. :) But my neighbors have two of the meanest little chihuahua on the face of the earth!
Thanks for everyones support. I really need to hear it right now.