Rescued 6 year old boy

[calmeida2]

I'm so glad I found this forum! Hope you can give me some input.
I rescued a 5-6 year old rottweiler from a shelter here in NY last year. He is the most wonderful sweet boy in the world with the members of the family, especially with me, (I guess because I brought him home), gets along with my other rott, a 5 year old female I"ve had since a pup and my two cats.

Not sure why he was given away, his file said the usual bs, allergies, no time, etc...but at some point he was given some training as he knows basic commands.

My question is this: As time goes by, it's been a little over a year since we've had him, he's becoming a little more protective of the house and of us, and instead of more relaxed on the leash, he is now more aggressive when he sees other dogs, often lunging at them, and he gets startled by loud squealing kids and I can tell he'd give them a good chase if let go.

We live in the city right now, but thankfully just bought a house with a fenced yard, so it won't be a problem, but I wanted to try to get him to soften up a little with other dogs and not be so jumpy with kids - Do you t hink it's just who he is, higher prey drive (he does not bothe the cats AT ALL though) or what?

This is not really a problem, but more of a quality of life thing - I adore this dog and just wanted to be able to bring him to Central Park, Bear Mountain etc, where I can bring my other dog and have a fun walk. At this point I think it would be more stressful than fun for us to go. He's 130lbs and people don't take it well when he lunges after their small dogs even if it was their dog who started barking in the first place. Not to mention that if a little kid runs by screaming, their parents would freak if he jumped at them...(and I don't blame them)

This post is making him sound mean and he isn't, I wish you could see him...

Any ideas?

Thank you so much

Claudia

[Judi W]

As he has become more comfortable, he is assuming control of "his" world. In the year that you have had him, he has decided that he will be the in-charge guy as he preceives a vacancy on the throne. You need to become a proactive owner and leader and demand some respect for your decisions about who/what/when and where........ Get him in some formal obedience classes. You might need a few private lessons up front so you can get a handle on him before attempting to work in a group. I too would be dismayed to see a lunging large dog walking down the street. He must learn to listen and respond to you. You must learn to tell him before he is all worked up that he is to mind his own business. You must mean it and cannot feel any helplessness regarding his misbehavior.

Please remember that it is not being protective when there is no danger. It is being bossy and a bully which is quite a different kettle of fish.

Take charge of him. It is too easy to become permissive when he is such a good boy in so many respects, but you must start requiring him to behave. This starts with little things around the house as well.

[Rocky's_mom]

Welcome to the forum!!!

Judi's advice is always right. Listen to her and do what she says...

And it does sound like the dog is taking rank-and that is over you-which isn't good at all. he needs to know that what you say goes and that you mean it.

As I am learning, there is not a limit on how many times you take the dog to training classes. I always thought once is good, but it's not! :)

Good luck!!!!

[Ocean]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I recued a 7 year old boy about a month ago, and it is as if he were always with us... He is intact )former show dog) and has one entropian eye which we plan to have fixed when he is neutered. He gets along fine with my 1 year old Rottie girl, they hav the occasional screaming yelling snarling thingy when one just irritates the other a tad too much, but all in all they are fine.

It's hard to be stern with Blaze because he is SO timid, if you raise a finger to him he yelps in fear and leaps away. But I have made sure that the rule he understands is "It's mom's way or NO way." He is an affection hog and VERY jealous, if I try to pet and cuddle my girl he comes running and shoves her away to get the pats for himself. I finally have started tapping his shoulder lightly and saying NO when he does this (that is akin to a beating to him).

I am starting to teach him basic commands, as he knew NOTHING at all. He was a show dog, and knows how to set up and stand but that's about it. Amazing, I would have thought he would know a bit more than that, but maybe he's just forgotten it over the years.

Good luck with your boy, and bless you for taking him in- Rotts are hard enough to place, but OLDer Rotts are darn near impossible to find loving homes for! They can be devoted loving companions, though. They seem to show gratitude in a way that the younger set does not. Best of luck with him!

[SABELLESMOM]

Well bless you for taking him into your home. He sounds like a pretty stable guy who's beginning to take more on (what he sees as his "job") than he should. You need to take control back like Judi said.

I used to get a bit embarassed if I had to correct my dog in front of others. Once, a long time ago, I corrected my dog as we enterred the building for a dog show. She was dragging me in her excitement. A busy-body-know-it-all actually shouted at me, "OH! Don't treat your dog that way!" Thus blowing my fairly mild leash correction totally out of proportion.

I'd worked (even prior to the incident)on "LEAVE IT!" for a long time. In fact, I've recently changed the words I use for that to "RIGHT HERE!" I find it's easier to get the voice tone and emphasis I was looking for.

Back to the issue, correcting my dog in front of people. If your dog is lunging, it's OK to say "Right here!" or "Stop!" or "Leave it!" and give a correction. What is not OK is for my dog to yank my arm out of the socket. Be kind with your dog but still firm. And take no nonsense, even if people look at you.

[calmeida2]

So much for all the great advice.

I also wanted to clarify that since I noticed his new attitude when we walk, I have been walking on a much shorter lead with the choke collar in position to give him a pop. And I also keep an eagle eye out to spot the dogs on the street before he does so I can tell him a resounding NO before he gets worked up. It works and he does listen to me. The times he lunged were the times that I was not aware of this new behavior and he saw them before I did. So he does listen to me, it's just that it's not a la-di-da :) walk anymore, as I have to keep my eyes and ears open...

Also, here in Queens, unlike in Manhattan, people are terrified of dogs and many of the older people who live here hate dogs because they poop on "their" sidewalk, regardless of how many plastic bags you bring or how much you clean. I lived in NYC with my daughter and my female rott before moving here to Queens last year (got married and moved to my husband's "slightly" larger apt. while we looked for a house) so it was a big change. He was really great around other dogs when he was at the shelter, and it was one of the reasons I felt comfortable about bringing him home, but I also think that the fact that my female likes to bark out the window a the dog in the neighbors back yard got him going with this new attitude. Had we been in NYC I would have taken him to Central Park every day and he would have seen so many dogs and the people there are so animal friendly (most part) that I believe he would have not behaved like this.

Anyway, once we move, my neighbors all have dogs, so hopefully they can all meet and this will pass - he's wonderful at home, only more bullish, if protective is not the correct word : ) when men come in the house. He loves all my women friends, he just likes to sit by my feet and keep a close watch when the men come over. But he's respectful and listens when I tell him to back off. He has never challenged me in any shape or form, and usually even defers to my female when she gives him a growl once in a while.

He is a doll and I love him with all my heart and soul.

I'm not sure where many of you are from, but if anyone lives in the Rockland county area in NY and would like to do some dog romping I'd love to hear from you.

Thank you again for all your expert advice and for welcoming me to the list!
Claudia
PS: Sorry so long!

[Carina43]

He sounds like a lovely dog! Glad you found these forums, it's a wonderful resource.

Two little things I'll add - a prong/pinch collar may give you a much more effective correction on the lunging thing. It's not for every dog - and it's a tool, not a substitute for actually relating to your dog. But I have a very hard-headed rescue adult Rottie, and it's been wonderfully effective with him. My other male just shuts down and gets grumpy & unresponsive with it - but he really does not need harsh corrections, he's a softer dog. You can do a search on prong/pinch collars here, there's been plenty of discussions.

Also - you are doing the absolutely correct thing in reminding him to mind his manners BEFORE he goes into stupid mode. :) I find that using a low, growly and very emphatic voice (The Voice of She Who Must Be Obeyed) is quite effective.