Not protective

[VON KIRCHER]

This may be a common thing but I thought I would ask the experts. I know not to encourage aggressive behavior, but right now Zeus, who is 17 weeks, seems almost intimidated by people and strangers.
When he sees members of the family he gets extremely excited, but when strangers approach he looks like he's scared. I figured its probably just puppy behavior.
He's an extremely Happy Pup, with confidence except in this scenario. As musch info would be appreciated.
Before I forget, he comes from great breeders with a great Rep., they were very gentle, and good people, so I don't think his behavior could be due to any people doing harm to him.
I've had him since he was 8.5 weeks old.

I am not trying to have a aggressive dog by any means.

[Carol Burke]

He's a baby!!! He needs to be socialized and get familiar with all kinds of strange people, animals, sounds, etc. Don't expect any kind of protective attitude until he is a lot older.

[LORHEL]

Pups go through what they call two different "fear stages"... do a search on this and it will give you a good idea, at what weeks/months, you can expect this to occur and how to deal with it....:D


Also, when he/she does get scared, you go up to something first, say "AH, no big deal"

in your most animated voice.... then let the pup so the same.

For example, if you have a broom outside, or something out of place... some pups may even hesitate at a leaf, or statue, etc...
;)

[Rott-Wiley]

He's just a baby now and needs to be socialized and into puppy classes. He'll mature eventually. I wouldn't be concerned from what you've said.

[damp]

Carol is right… he is still a pup and will still be a pup for many many months. Keep on socialization and give him time to develop confidence in his own pace (neither puss him nor bay him)

By the way just to avoid confusion of languages:
A confident pup will approaches and approves strangers and protection is not equal to aggressiveness.

[VON KIRCHER]

He is in puppy class right now, and is the only pup to go and check everybody out, see the other pup and owners. This is when he displays his confidence. Around larger dogs, intimidating dog he will go into a sit position and give that Rottie turn of the head and just look at them.
This is really because a repair man came over and Zeus (male pup) saw him and looked frightened.
Other than this, he shows confidence in all other areas.

But I figured it was just puppy fear. Thanks for the feedback. He is constantly being socialized, and I am trying to show him all sort of stimuli.

[moondog]

If you think about it from the puppy's perspective, the repairman probably looked as big and strange as Godzilla! Smart puppy to show caution when faced with a much larger and more powerful being. He'll gain confidence as he goes along. :)

[Greg_1111]

17 weeks,,,that's only four months old. you are thinking,,hmmm, she's a rottweiler, isn't she supposed to be a guard dog automatically? first of all, she is definitely a puppy, still learning about her new world, secondly, ask yourself this question; how do I want her general personality to be as an adult . Do I want a dog that is friendly with other dogs and people, or do i want a dog that I will have to worry about in social situations. Not all dogs will develop an inherent desire to protect you or your property. Often times those traits develop over time with the bond that develops between the dog and it's family (you). The fierce rotties that you see guarding car lots. etc. are just that, trained guard dogs, not the ideal family pet. Over time your dog will instinctively take on a desire to defend what is within it's percieved territory. As a person in another forum often says (Amigo) " be prepared to defned your rottweiler, not the rottweiler defend you"

[VON KIRCHER]

No, No, No. I don't want some fierce jsunk yard dog. Zeus, my male pup, will be around children, alot of people and other dogs. It just seemed as though he was frightened, and I wanted to know why. He must be going through stages of fear, because he shows glimpses of courage, like my past Rotts. He's great exactly how he is, and my only question is why he was acting scared, but all the replies seem to be right on. He's just a baby. Thanks for all the replies.