Is my rotty Pup ok

[Caesar]

Hi guys,
Yesterday i bought a 6 week old male rottweiler puppy. I have loved the breed for ages so i got one.
I have a few questions to anyone who can answer them.
Firstly he had his vaccination shots yesterday and it was yesterday when i picked him out of the litter and brang him home. He seems very timid and scared sort of. Like if theres a load noise he gets scared and doesnt seem to be playing lots but more just chilling out. IS THIS NORMAL?
Given his age, first time away from the litter, new house and new owners i think its normal and will pass but am i correct?

Secondly i work from 8-3pm mon-fri and whilst im at work the puppy will be at home alone. IS THIS A PROBLEM IS HE TOO YOUNG? I figure it should be ok he will get used to it being his house. It makes toilet training harder but its our only option.
As for toilet training my plan is to put down some newspaper down i our laundry and get him to do his business on the paper until he is old enough to be left outside by himself.
A fast reply would be appreciated.

[Mary Bouchard]

Hi, Congratulations on the baby first. And second 6 weeks is very young, usually they go at 8 weeks of age.

And I can't wait to read the coming weeks as he turns your house upside down while you are at work, they hate to be left alone and are very people needy. ;)

A good tip for future is pick up your puppy on a Friday so you have the weekend with him and can adequately puppy proof your house, and you may feel silly but get down on his level and look around for anything he can get to just like a baby.

Did you get a crate? My male puppy destroyed walls, and chairs and ate the exterior door on the house all in one afternoon at 6 months.

Don't take him outside to public parks etc. until he is FULLY vacinated as he can pick up Parvo and other nasty things animals leave behind. And your vet can tell you when this is safe. I'd get a good rottweiler book at the library or book store.

And my three rotties love KONGS the nearly indestuctable chew toys cause he is going to chew.

And welcome to the forum.

[Mick Trainer]

Ok you have raised a few pointsand I will try to answer them.

Yesterday i bought a 6 week old male rottweiler puppy

1) 6 Wekks really is too young to be away from his mother. 8 weeks is the normally required minimum. I doubt the breeder will exactlywant you to take him back for 2 weeks so little that can be done about this now.

He seems very timid and scared sort of

2)Certainly a proportion of his timidness can be attributed to his age but this still should not be considered normal nor though is it uncommon. Timidness or fear can certainly be due to a lack of maturity and there is little you can do about this (he matures when he matures) but more often than not fear is induced through the higher nerve system of the dog based on his genetics. A fearful puppy will generally be a fearful adult. The real problem with this is that fear is the stimulus for aggression in an adult dog. Thankfully however this is much you can do about this. The most important being early socialisation. This is were you take the pup out into the outside world and teach it how to deal with the stresses it will come across in the future. The peak period that this will achieve results is between 4 and 12-16 weeks of age. So doing it early is a must. This early socialsation will teach the dog to be more confident and able to handle stress at a higher level. Too learn more about this do a search on the forum under "early socialisation" and "confidence building". There is a huge amount of info on the forums regarding this issue.

There is however a down side in that as the pup is not fully vacincated (he still has more shots as he gets older) there is a potential for such thinsg as parvo virus etc. However if you are smart and keep him away from other dogs you do not know, other dogs waste, long grass where waste can be and go into well sun lite areas (were Parvo cannot survive) the risk is small and if the pup is already showing fear I feel a risk you must take as in all likelhood not fixing it now will create much larger problems later.

playing lots but more just chilling out

3)The fact tat he is tired and just "chills out" can be normal but he should be active at times. He will be getting tired if he is timid as fear is stressful and stress makes us tired. But it would be worth getting a vet to check him out if it continues. If by 8 weeks of age he has not made drastic improvments we have a problem.

new house and new owners i think its normal and will pass but am i correct?

4)Like I said not unheard of but really not the best.

Secondly i work from 8-3pm mon-fri and whilst im at work the puppy will be at home alone

5) Once again this is not ideal but as long as you do not expect the pup to not go to the toilet etc not a huge drama. Many people do it but it could be better. Lots of chew toys and time with you when you are home including outings ect will minimise this problem.

I figure it should be ok he will get used to it being his house

6) If you are going to have him in the house durin the day he is going to toilet and wreck things. This is of course expensive but can also be dangerous if he chews an electrical cord etc. Better to create a safe area where it can go to the toilet and not get into too much trouble. If he learns to destroy things now he will in likelhood continue them in adulthood.

As for toilet training my plan is to put down some newspaper down i our laundry

In all likelyhood this will work for now. Once again there are plenty of threads dealing with this issue in the forums. Do a search and you will gets heaps of responces.

left outside by himself

Many people here will not like this and often with good reason however if you dohave secure fences etc were the dog can be safe from threats (other dogs, being stolen, kids teasing him etc) this the risk is small and you should be ok. But if you plan to leave the dog outside were it is easily veiwed by people or tied up etc then this is a bad idea (I am only covering all bases here) as this will be placing the dog at high risk and creating many problems that you will be needing to fix in adulthood.

You may also want to do a search here on "crate training" as this may be something you wish to look at.

I hope that this helps,

Good luck with your new pup.

Mick.

[Greg_1111]

The toughest part of leaving him alone at this age is the house trianing. They can't hold it for very long at this age and you won't be able to see when he is about to go, so expect to clean up a lot. create a fenced off zone for him somewhere in the house where you can contain him. Just make sure he can't get at anyhting that could harm him, and don't leave him with any things like rope or string that he could get tangled in while you are away. If he is timid, he might have been the runt of the litter, but maybe not, he's a puppy, a baby really. Read a lot on this forum, there is a lot of knowledge here about all stages. In fact, Samantha C just posted a really excellent article, and a very important one. good luck

[SABELLESMOM]

Well toilet training is going to take a lot of time and patience on your part. At this time he should still ideally be with his mother. However, if you plan to use paper and a laundry room, I have some thoughts.

Make sure there are no electrical cords, loose (laundry) clothing, shoelaces, etc that he can chew or get tangled up in. You'd be surprised how fast they can get tangled up in a shirt waiting to be washed, or how fast they find that electric cord to chew on.

Make sure he has an area, ideally his crate, that will be his dry, potty area...his den, in other words. If the house is warm enough, I'd avoid giving him a blanket. He'll likely chew it or tangle himself in it.

The paper, or better yet wee-wee pads, can go in the room. Once he establishes a spot he seems to use most often, if you can tell, start leaving papers in that spot only.

Get a few indestructable chew toys. Avoid toys with squeakers...we recently had a member almost lost her dog due to a squeaker ingestion.

Water will have to be in an untipable bowl or a bucket attatched to the crate, maybe. He's small, so he will need access to food thru out the day.

Expect papers to be chewed and scattered to the four winds. Expect him to need to be cleaned up almost daily.

Basically, SAFETY! SAFETY! SAFETY!
And a lot of pateince. Good luck. :)

[Brooke&Ryan]

This was a post written by one of our members regarding puppies that are taken away from the litter too early. There are some wonderful links & book suggestions that I think you should take a look at. I actually just posted this for someone else last night :)

Originally Posted by DNeff

Much of the whining and crying behavior you are seeing is due to this puppy being separated from her litter much too soon. There are many critical skills that the puppy needs to learn from it's mother and litter mates during this period. Since she is no longer with them, you will have to work extra hard to make sure to teach her appropriate behavior.

It's going to be extremely important to socialize your puppy with as many people as possible. Make sure all interactions are short and upbeat. Never pressure your puppy to meet anyone they are not interested in visiting. Ask visitors to give your puppy a small treat if she approaches or shows interest. Try to invite as many new people over to your house for puppy visits as often as possible.

Another important aspect will be teaching bite inhibition. This something that would normally be learned while the puppy was still with it's mother and the rest of the litter. Since your puppy was removed early, it will be especially important for you to help her understand how to inhibit her bite in a gentle and consistent way. The first article in the links below has some excellent information about this.

If at all possible see if you can locate a few well vaccinated dogs that your puppy can socialize with. The dogs you use are of critical importance. They must be friendly with puppies, tolerant of normal puppy behavior, but willing to appropriately correct bad behavior from the puppy. These dogs, should be friendly and have good dog to dog communication skills. It may be necessary to find a skilled trainer to help you find these types of dogs, but it will be well worth your time. If your puppy does not get some quality (and quality here is important not quantity) dog to dog interactions during the critical socialization window, they are more likely to have a harder time communicating and dealing with other dogs in an acceptable manner. You can look for a trainer by searching here: http://www.apdt.com/trainers-and-own...-a-trainer.htm

Last but not least, it is critical to get your puppy in to a quality puppy class as soon as she is allowed to attend. Be sure to observe a few classes verify that the instructor uses appropriate methods and that the puppies are having LOTS of fun!

Here's a list of excellent puppy training books:
**After You Get Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar
**Positive Puppy Training Works by Joel Walton
**Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
**The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller
**Your Outta Control Pup by Teoti Anderson
Purely Positive Training by Sheila Booth
Toolbox For Remodeling Your Problem Dog by Terry Ryan
Dog Friendly Dog Training by Andrea Arden

Books listed with ** are MUST haves.
All these books can be purchased from www.dogwise.com

Below are a list of articles about puppy development and tips on raising a puppy correctly.
http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIP...Inhibition.php
http://www.doberman.org/articles/puppy.htm
http://www.flyingdogpress.com/puppack.html
http://www.k9chops.com/articles/personality.html
http://www.canadawestieclub.ca/breeding/lonepup.html

Good Luck!

Dawn + Osa
U-CD Cammcastle's Mystic Riven CDX OAC OJC OGC OAJ NA TT CGC
http://members.aol.com/dplantier
http://members.aol.com/rottweilerworld

[Carina43]

Hi Caesar - here's an excellent piece on toilet training puppies that Mick Trainer wrote:
http://rottweiler.net/forums/showthread.php?t=25409

Hope that helps too. Also if you go to the very bottom of your thread there is a few other threads listed addressing similar questions to yours you might find useful.
Good luck with your pup!

[pbach]

Originally Posted by Caesar

...As for toilet training my plan is to put down some newspaper down i our laundry

If you keep him in your laundry room make sure that items such a laundry detergents, bleaches, etc are out of his reach - preferably off the floor. MMGY posted in the forums about the dangers of laundry detergent.

Patty

P.S. Congratulations on your new puppy - have you given him a name yet?

P.S. I found the link http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/sho...ndry+detergent

[Caesar]

thanks guys u have answered my question perfectlly.
Well today is another day for my dog, and yes i have named him Caesar, cause he is tough but a lil gay. hehe
Anyways he is much much better today he is playing pretty much all the time now so he must have needed to get uesd to his surroundings. What i feel as the most important bonding stage is happening now he has realised his mum and his brothers are gone and is getting used to me being his master.
He isnt scared or gunshy as i call it dont know why just seems suitable yesterday he was and today he is 100 times better so this will pass as he get older.
I always thought 6 weeks was to young but its almost 7 then it be 8 and he should be cool.
As for toilet training i printed out the article one of u helpfull people showed me and ill read that. at the moment he is inside all day and then just comes outside with me etc. He preffers to ????/piss on the carpet so i just follow him around and show him where to poo for now.
My lil two year old girl seems to be sneezing a little too im wondering if she will become acustomed to his fur.
Ah well alls good and i love my Puppy. He be my best friend for ever.
Thanks heaps guys

[Caesar]

i been reading about this crating but what crate does it mean. I heard the word crate and though milk crate. Then i looked at someones picture and there crate was like a big cage. What should i use for my crate.

[danyp1]

Originally Posted by Caesar

i been reading about this crating but what crate does it mean. I heard the word crate and though milk crate. Then i looked at someones picture and there crate was like a big cage. What should i use for my crate.

Do a search on yahoo or google for "dog crate" they have pics of them.. also petco or petsmarts website have pictures of dog crates.

[lovearottie]

Hi everyone, I wanted to chime in. We got our first rottie at 10 weeks and lost him at 8 yrs :( ...then we got our current rottie at 6 wks...boy, were we unprepared..he was soooo tiny that my husband and I held him all the time (also because the loss of the first was so tramatic for us). Now, at 16 months and 120 lbs, he still thinks he is a lap dog! Only his head fits in my lap now, but it doesn't stop him from trying! Lucky for us, my husband was home recuperating from knee replacement when we got Butkus and was able to be there to train him and give him lots of loving. He (Butkus, not my husband) is a singing rottie, sings with us and the TV, and loves to watch the dog shows and animal planet.
Good luck and have fun with your new baby.

[mellie137]

I'm a huge fan of crating. I have two dogs, a 15-year old eskimo and a 1 1/2 year old rottie. My eskie has a plastic sided crate with "windows." We used it for our rottie until she outgrew it. Then we bought a folding wire cage type crate. It even came with a partition to make the space smaller if necessary. She LOVES it. Sometimes we can't find her, and we find that she's gone to her room to take a nap. It's great for travelling because she is always at home in her crate. I think the wire cage type is less confining, but still offers emotional security. Some lessons learned:

Rotties are very social and want to be near the action, so keep the crate near family traffic. Reina suffered from separation anxiety for a while, so we had to move the crate into the bedroom at night for a while.

Never crate as punishment, but "time out" to calm down can be helpful, and sometimes necessary to maintain your sanity;

Leave indestructible chew toys (anything made by Kong or Sun Toys is great)in the crate, but not anything that can be pulled apart or consumed while you're not present to supervise;

Pillow type dog beds are a waste of money (Reina pulled out and ate all the stuffing and pooped fluff and fabric shreds for days)--we use old comforters we bought at Goodwill;

Good luck.