what happened

[mijpa]

moto who is 17 months old and has been an excellent dog thus far had a problem today.we have 2 human boys 4years old & the 2nd one is almost 2 years old.the younger one was getting stared at my moto while they were both on the floor and i heard moto growling real low i said hey what is that about he never did that before the 2nd time iwatched more closely and i definently heard him growling and he looked different then normal his ears were straight back and he growled i then jumped all over him.after that i brought my son over to him while i was holding my son and told him in a firm voice around 20 x's no bite and to give him kiss he then gave him and myself kisses he had the scared look on his face like man i just sc rewed up big times. he has never acted this way to anyone.i am very concerned.any input would be of great importance and thanks.

[Hope]

I am not a trainer and would not pretend to be - but a few things stand out. One, your pup is young, 17 months, and if he has not yet started, will probably begin pushing for status. Two, your kids were on the floor, placing them in a situation whereby your dog may have felt challenged. This may have prompted him into returning the challenge with growls, to put the boys in place so to speak.

You certainly do not want your dog to "win" such challenges because it will only frustrate things for your family in the long term. I know that in "my" situation with my growing male, I only allowed myself to be on the ground with him when he was a pup. But, as he grew, and I mean even by age 8 months, I no longer placed myself on his "level" so to speak, he was always expected to be on the ground and humans up top. This prevented confusion as he aged, so he knew his place in the house.

But, you have the situation of having children and I will admit that this is not something I have had to compete with. I definitely feel your dog felt challenged, and he needs to learn his place, but I will step back for suggestions on curtailing this behavior because I have not had to deal with children and rottweilers on this level. Hopefully many experienced folks will give you sound advice you can use, I know they will.

Has your dog undergone training with you? How many levels if so?

[mijpa]

yes we have gone through 2- 6 week sessions.he listens very well.this is the first time he has done this to anyone especailly my children

[RottieGirl86]

OK, but what DID happen?

Dog growled while on floor, but what else was going on?

any toys - dogs or child's involved?

what trainnig has the child(ren) had to be around the dog?

My step-nephew is constantly being told how to behave with their 2 dogs. He's 5 years old and only 40 lbs. Both the mix & rott are over 50 lbs.

IMHO, sounds like something else was going on.


babygate or crate the dog, if you are not in the room with them, if you wish to avoid any further issues.

I'd need more info before saying anything else. Usually rotts are very protective of kids, like they are of sheep. I'd watch out for that more than anything.

[mijpa]

the first time moto did it their was a rawhide bone in front of him that he doesn't like anyways.2nd time thier was nothing in front of him.and as far as i'm concerned it doesn't matter whats in front of him when we come up or reach for something thier should never be any growling

[Judy Chrusch]

Hi Mijpa, any dog I've ever owned I trained my children as well as my dogs. Think about it, both your dog and your child were on the floor, now they get into a staring match, NOT good!!! Though the child doesn't know this but now one will feed off the other and a fight could break out bc they are challenging each other. The dog definately looks at it as a challenge for attack. I've seen children stare down a dog and depending on the dog it could be a disaster waiting to happen. Though both are entitled to be on the floor, ground rules have to be layed out immediately and they can NEVER be unsupervised. A rottie that age must be in training continually until the age of 3. You are entering the worse years and if he's not kept under close supervision and kept in consistent training, I worry down the road where this will go. Sit both your children down and tell them the do's and don'ts and if you do your part then all should be o.k. Forget the kisses for now, IMO the worse thing you could do is make the dog and or child give kisses when the dog is in that frame of mind, PLEASE no kisses for awhile and besides the dog has to earn them, and your putting your child and yourself in great danger by doing that . And yes with ANY bad behavior, correct immediately and add caution with the children. Your dog is at a very testy age and will use his authority to his advantage. Get him back in training, get yourself a good experienced trainer to work with you as well, work with him each and everyday, at home or in a class. I wish you the best and remember to NOT give good attention usless the dog deserves it and don't do the kisses, especially when he's in a mode as he was when he growled at your son, that scares me! Let us know how things are going from time to time. Please understand that I am not yelling, just a concerned dog owner who sees potential problems and I want you as the owner to realize the seriousness of this behavior. I know you will do the right thing. Take care my friend.

Judy :)

[Judi W]

Well, you've been on this board long enough to know that two 6-week training sessions are not nearly enough. Formal training needs to continue without breaks through adolosence and well into adulthood. It is through that training that the dog learns his place in the world and skipping it during adolesence is a big mistake. The training is not just so the dog can sit and down and walk nicely on a leash, it is so the dog gets hard wired in his head for respect towards people. People in general as well as children will look at dogs. A trained and socialized dog does not mistake this for an excuse to issue threats without a hostile and aggressive overt action on the part of the person.

I agree, I certainly wouldn't have a dog that has been issuing threats get in anyone's face. You are just plain dumb lucky there wasn't a bite.

Call this a clear message from the dog to you that your work is not done as far as raising him is concerned.

[Judy Chrusch]

This is the very reason we do nails and ears, whatever, weekly, NOT bc it needs to be done but for the behavior part of it. Doing nails weekly or bi-weekly takes alot less time too bc their nails weren't left go therefore less stress for everyone. Yesterday, Czar had the works, nails ears and even a full bath, did he need all that this week, NO, but it sure does help mold a well behaved dog, trust me we know, and thanks to Judi W. is why we do the nails on a regular basis. It is especially good when you have a tough dog . So please take Judi's advice, continue the training and if you don't do grooming weekly or bi-weekly I STRONGLY suggest you start bc that too is part of training a dog to be a good pet that lives in your home. By the way, just curious, how does he behave when you do nails?

Judy

[mijpa]

he does just fine when i cut his nails,he sometimes tries to pull his paws away but my voice gets alittle firmer and that's the end of it ,he just sits thier and is like hurry please i don't like this.the only reason why he hasn't been in anymore training is my work schedule is constantly changing so the only thing we've been working on is the same stuff that was originally taught