Wrestling?

[Skuly]

We welcomed a 3 year old rottie into our family about a month ago. She is well trained, very athletic and very gentle. My husband and skuly play on the floor every evening. Typically, they start with tug-of-war. They always end up with him on all fours with his head down where he approaches her. She nudges him a couple of times and then rolls on her back to be rubbed. This last week, though, she has barked at him when he tries to do this. The first two times, it was just one quick bark which we took to mean "no thanks". Last night, it was more of a " I SAID I"M NOT DOING THAT". She even nipped at him (no skin broken). As soon at he sat up, she rolled on her back to be rubbed.
This is my first rottie. I had a husky before her. My husband has always had pit bulls which he could wrestle with. He says nothing about what she did was troubling to him, more of her trying to tell him to quit.
I've seen really great advice here and was wondering what your take on this is.
*this is my first post here. i have a million questions and this seemed a good one to start with.

[jbach]

Welcome to the forum!!!
Since you've only had this dog for a month, the interaction you described is a disaster waiting to happen. This behavior needs to stop immediately before someone gets hurt. Until you know this dog completely , being on the same level physically with this dog is a BIG no-no. You didn't mention where this dog came from. They are usually on their best behavior for a few months until they settle in. Establish rules now that exclude any version of the "in your face" games. Games of fetch are a good start. There will be many more posts to this, so please check back often.

[Judi W]

It really is very simple. He was acting like a dog instead of a master so she treated him like he was a dog. Put this kind of play aside for at least 6 months (maybe forever) until you all know each better and certainly until she has a relationship with you that is dog is dog and people are master/mistress. Start some obedience training and have some rules.

[flyballmom]

You were in what I call "dog zone"...meaning you'd put yourself on the same "level" as Skuly, and therefore could be treated like another dog. I play with both my Rott and my Pit in "dog zone" but I've raised them both from pups and know what to expect from them. They both know when to stop and so do I. I agree with the others that the games your husband are playing could be an accident waiting to happen. Lots of short bit of obedience, hide and seek, find the toy, fetch, are good safe and fun things to do.

[wilko]

On a slightly different track I wonder whether your hubby's other dogs were males? None of the bitches of any breed we have had have really wanted to engage in rough and tumble beyond puppyhood but the males never seem to grow out of it!

I have wrestling games with my male Rotty all the time and he obviously loves it - but maybe your girl just doesn't like this sort of thing and is getting mixed signals. By rolling over she is in a very submissive position and may be "asking" for the game to stop then feeling she has to reinforce this when it doesn't. I am certainly no expert (self proclaimed or genuine) so this is just a theory! :)

[Skuly]

jbach-thank you for your response. We came to the conclusion, last night, that this is not a game we should be playing with her. Thank you for your explanation of what happened. We got her from a breeder. The owner had a stroke and is paralyzed on one side so she needed to find a new home for Skuly. She's a beautiful dog, an AKC champion and very obediant. Skuly was going to be bred but she is mildly dysplastic(sp?) and will be spayed this week. We have her strictly as a family pet.

Judi-You are right. We don't really know each other even though things seem to be going well. The lady that co-owned her has offfered to come to the house to go over a few things with us. I also have the phone number of a trainer that worked with her. She did have quite a bit of training as she was competing before her dysplasia was discovered.

flyballmom-my husband did say that he had played with his pittbulls in that way and wasn't worried about her barking. BUT, he also raised them from puppies. Of course, Skuly is still trying to figure us out. Great point. We do play other games with her like like fetch, short obeidence and some hide and seek.

[jbach]

Originally Posted by Skuly

jbach-thank you for your response. We came to the conclusion, last night, that this is not a game we should be playing with her. Thank you for your explanation of what happened. We got her from a breeder. The owner had a stroke and is paralyzed on one side so she needed to find a new home for Skuly. She's a beautiful dog, an AKC champion and very obediant. Skuly was going to be bred but she is mildly dysplastic(sp?) and will be spayed this week. We have her strictly as a family pet.

Judi-You are right. We don't really know each other even though things seem to be going well. The lady that co-owned her has offfered to come to the house to go over a few things with us. I also have the phone number of a trainer that worked with her. She did have quite a bit of training as she was competing before her dysplasia was discovered.

flyballmom-my husband did say that he had played with his pittbulls in that way and wasn't worried about her barking. BUT, he also raised them from puppies. Of course, Skuly is still trying to figure us out. Great point. We do play other games with her like like fetch, short obeidence and some hide and seek.

Outstanding. You're off to a great start. There's always room for another family member here. Keep us posted and best of luck with your new friend.

[Skuly]

Wilko,

I believe I was responding to the others while you were posting. :)

All his other dogs were male. Neither of us has ever had a female, so it's quite possible what you are saying is the case. She always did roll over immediately after bumping him in the shoulder one or two times. She definitely got her message across last night!

[Skuly]

Thanks Jbach!
I have learned so much from this site in the last week or so. I'm so glad that I found such a great resource.

[wildnsyko]

I'm kind of nervous when my husband wrestles with Max. He loves it, but I don't want him to think he can wrestle all the time and play that way with the kids. He's bigger and weighs more than they do and I don't think he realizes that what he may think is a little bite may do more damage than good. We stick with chasing him around, tug 'o war, and throwing a tennis ball.