HELP! I don't want to put my Rott to sleep!!

[MontanaRott]

Bruce, Bucky, Pooh, and others have given quite good advice.

[Judi W]

It really doesn't matter at what age or where they got this dog. He is five years old for Pete's sake! He is not and never has been a good and friendly family dog. He doesn't follow instructions and when a family member takes him by the collar because he won't follow instructions or they touch him other than in a perscribed manner he bites! This is nor more a family pet than you would also consider the neighborhood child abuser a friendly uncle.

It appears this dog's behavior was acceptable until he started biting non-family members who are likely to sue (and probably should sue as the owner knows the dog bites) and the law is likely or again should become involved.

Put the dog down.

[RottyMom]

Originally Posted by Judi W

It really doesn't matter at what age or where they got this dog. He is five years old for Pete's sake! He is not and never has been a good and friendly family dog. He doesn't follow instructions and when a family member takes him by the collar because he won't follow instructions or they touch him other than in a perscribed manner he bites! This is nor more a family pet than you would also consider the neighborhood child abuser a friendly uncle.

It appears this dog's behavior was acceptable until he started biting non-family members who are likely to sue (and probably should sue as the owner knows the dog bites) and the law is likely or again should become involved.

Put the dog down.

and for God's sake don't ever get another dog!

[Burnsway]

Originally Posted by RottyMom

and for God's sake don't ever get another dog!

Thats not true. Some people can learn and have made mistakes and become better owners over it. I can't say this family has or will learn from these mistakes or not but telling them they never ever should own another dog doesn't seem fair at this point. Although I wouldn't suggest another Rottweiler at this point........


stollett

Your second post just confirms what I meant about your first post. It is one word after another that you are not understanding who is really at fault. What it takes to keep a dog alive like this and what kind of danger you are placing people in over this situation.

I also agree with poohbearsmom that it really disturbs me that your children are being scolded and disciplined for doing what most of us do everyday with family dogs.

They are not taking his food or hitting him....they are merely letting him outside and saying good bye to friends. Tapping the dog on the nose?????????????? If my daughter did that my dog would hate it maybe grumble....(I doubt it) but she would run off and away........or would get a ball to play.

It is not an insult on you personally as much as it is just a fact that your family is not as Bruce said skilled and equipped to keep this dog alive in your home. If you do not get that way as in yesterday or put this dog down you are asking for a huge tragedy.

[RottyMom]

Originally Posted by Burnsway

Thats not true. Some people can learn and have made mistakes and become better owners over it. I cant say this family will learn from these mistake or not but telling them they never ever should own another dog doesn't seem fair at this point. Although I wouldn't suggest another Rottweiler at this point........

Ok...if the dog kills someone would if be fair then?

This is a serious as it gets! This is not some minor jumping up on company cuz we're really excited to see them kind of thing. There seems to be a TOTAL lack of dog knowledge and Rottweiler or not...their ignorance will kill this dog out of no fault of his own one way or another and possibly take a person with him...maybe they can practice on the next one? I'm totally shocked and flabbergasted by what I've read here today...maybe the senior members are more used to it I don't know...

[samanthac]

Originally Posted by tatanka rott

dont put him down ,its never to late.giving up is to easy.putting a dog down is a quick answer to a problem or possible solution.

You are dead wrong. Some dogs cannot be fixed. One unprovoked bite is too many and now you have two. There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for an unprovoked bite. This animal, ITS AN ANIMAL, has sent TWO people to the HOSPITAL now. That is TWO too many. Next time it could be a death.

Jesus what is wrong with people that would put a dog over the safety of the people around them. Where the hell have our priorities gone? I love my dogs and I love this breed, but I love humans MORE and that is how it should be. And ANY dog, no matter how much you love them, that puts the people around me in danger needlessly is done...period, end of story. People must ALWAYS come first.

You are completely out of line to say that putting a dog down is the easy way out. How dare you. That is an insult to any of us who have had to hold our beloved best friend on the way out of this world. Poor people like Holyterror who did everything they could to rehabilitate an animal that just could not be rehabilitated. My friend here who lives near me who just went through this with a dog that could not be rehabilitated. The people in rescue, including myself, who have to help an animal out of this world that they invested a lot of time in that could not be rehabilitated. IT is a humane act, an act of faith and strength and love and there is NO stigma in doing what is right for the ANIMAL if it needs to be helped out of this world.

I apologize for my causticity, but this thread has me beyond furious. I find it very difficult to be diplomatic when I am this angered. And when someone's irresponsible actions endanger human lives and my right to own this breed it makes me VERY, VERY angry.

[Burnsway]

Originally Posted by RottyMom

Ok...if the dog kills someone would if be fair then?

We are in agreement that this dog should be put down so where you get off asking me would it be fair if he kills someone is way off. What I said is at this point with 2 whole post it is not fair to automatically assume this family should never ever own a dog again.

This dog is for sure way to much dog for them. And in my opinion from what I have read only, needs to be PTS..........

I'm totally shocked and flabbergasted by what I've read here today...maybe the senior members are more used to it I don't know...

This is a problem we see often. Alot of people own Black and Tan marshmallows. So when this happens they automatically think the owners are losers that shouldn't own a dog. Not true. What happened is they did not land a marshmallow. They were not equipped or skilled for this dog and it took numerous bites for them to see this and ask for help.

Also a question for you RottyMom is none of us have been labeled Senior members in darn near a year. Are you a previous member under a different name??????????

[RottyMom]

Originally Posted by Burnsway

and it took numerous bites for them to see this and ask for help.

I guess it's me but I just cannot wrap my head around this kind of thinking..."numerous bites" to see there is a problem? Too me it would seem that if I had a "marshmellow" in the past that it would be MORE obvious that I now had dog with a different type of temperment and would need to do things differently. Infact believe it or not after reading the original two posts I did think that maybe this was a hoax to get people going...that's how much I couldn't believe what I was reading hence my comment about members who have been here a long time (but not senior) being more used to it than I.

Also a question for you is none of us have been labeled Senior members in darn near a year. Are you a previous member under a different name??????????

No I am not a previous member under a different name. I'm sorry to have used the word Senior incorrectly. I also belong to a hockey forum where they have junior/senior members. I'm just an opinionated upstart junior member.

[Luvs]

Originally Posted by stollett

WHAT was done to the dog to provoke it , at first. About 2 years ago, my daughter had a friend stay the night and she was trying to put him out back so they could watch a movie, the friend was a little leary. My daughter put him in another room, he started scratching on the door, so she decided to put him out back, now the dog knows she wants him out and he didn't want to go, so she grabbed his collar, he turned his head and snapped, his tooth went through her hand. Nothing broke, she understood she had done something we had told her not to. We talked about putting him down, she cried and said no. The kids DO NOT grab his collar anymore.

WOW! I am sorry but it is not fair to your kids to blame them for the dog deciding he does not want them to grab his collar. As a part of your family they should be able to interact with him in normal everday instances. Grabbing his collar is a very normal somewhat necessary everyday activity. You kids should be able to grab his collar when needed. I don't understand how you can blame your daughter for this.

Originally Posted by stollett

Another time, with one of the twins, about 1 year ago, my son was telling his Dad on the phone that he wanted to live with us and he was nervous. Scooby was standing beside him and my son was lightly tapping him on his nose and Scooby snapped a little and caught his fingers. My son said afterwards he didn't realize he was doing that in his nervousness.

Again how can you blame your son? Maybe he shouldn't have been tapping Scooby on the nose but that is not something he should have been bitten for.

Originally Posted by stollett

Now we have taught our kids not to roughhouse around him, and for the most part they are good about it, but kids being kids, they get excited sometimes. The last time he got my daughter was really MY fault. My son was standing outside the front door, it was opened and my daughter was stealing his candy...she's a candy HOG! So I jokingly said Evan you better get in here, she's getting your candy. I was kinda loud. So Evan ran in and over to her, Scooby was there and jumped up on them, she turned and he got her arm. No medical, but she does have a scar.

WOW! Again how can you blame your kids for doing normal everday things that caused your dog to bite them?!?!?!? And your daughter has a scar as a result of this incident? I totally agree that you need to put Scooby down ASAP! If you don't someone, very possibly one of your kids is going to end up seriously injured! I am surprised that you have waited this long.

I am really sorry that you are having to go thru this. It is not easy for anyone no matter how long the dog has been with you. The best thing you can do for EVERYONE involved (especially your kids) is put your dog down.

Originally Posted by stollett

No, he has had no professional training, that's what I want to know ...will it help my dog?

Our whole family loves the bejesus out of this dog and we feel like other than this issue, he is a good, well-behaved dog and minds us well. We didn't blindly get this dog, we knew their temperament and felt we could handle it.

I personally feel that it is way too late for professional training at this point. How can you say that he is a good well behaved dog and minds you well when he has bitten numerous times? You have a very dangerous dog on your hands. PLEASE do NOT wait for him to bite again before doing something.

[Jennabud]

Hello. I am new here. I've read your post, Stollett, and I am sorry to say that I agree with the other posters on this. I have 2 Rottweilers, a male (age 2) and a female (age 3). I got them both thru a rescue organization. Neither dog was neutered/spayed when we got them, and the first thing we did at our first vet appointment was schedule their neuter/spay. The second thing we did was sign them up for training. These dogs NEED socialization with other dogs in addition to proper training. Prior to looking into adopting or rescuing one of these great dogs, my husband and I read every book, article, magazine we could. We read every piece of information on the web regarding Rottweilers, to be sure we understood not only the breed, but the major responsibility that comes with owning this breed. We researched for over a year before we began to search for a dog. We felt comfortable with our ability to give a home to one of these wonderful dogs -- while making sure the dog would have the proper training to be a great representative of the breed, which I am proud to say he is. But not only did I take the time to learn about the breed and the responsibility attached, I also took alot of time to instruct my 3 children, ages 4, 7 and 13 about the care of dogs in general, and Rottweiler specifics. At this point, my 2 Rotts think they are kids, not dogs. They follow my children around, sleep with them, play with them. My children can take food and bones out of their mouths without so much as a grimace from my dogs. While I wouldn't say my dogs are perfect, I do think they are fine representatives of Rottweilers and I think that their training, and the research that we did and put to use is the reason they are such great pets. But I have to say that even after having them for 2 years +, and even though we love them dearly, if they EVER bit a human being, especially a child, I would have to seriously consider whether my love for them was as important as the safety of the people around me, and the consequences I would be facing if my dogs bit again. I know it's a tough decision to make, but unless your vet can find some medical reason for your dog's behavior, I would have to say that the kindest thing you can do is have him put to sleep, before his aggressiveness becomes worse, even deadly. I'm sorry. Take care.

[stollett]

WEEELLLLL. We just got back from checking out a behavior class...I'll try that before I put him down.And yes, I wish I'd done that when he was younger, but that's water under the bridge now, I have to go forward.

What you people don't seem to understand is that this has been an excellent dog up until the past 2 years! We were shocked when it happened to the kids after they had been raised with him for 3 years prior to that. And they were young, then, now they're older! Every thing I've read and what I know about these dogs says you have to raise them AND your kids to respect one another. You people make us sound like a bunch of rednecks who don't know how to treat a dog. I've raised dogs all my life and NEVER had this problem!

As for the breeding of him, we THOUGHT we might want to breed him(if you'll READ my first post, you will see this), and yes he is papered with parents whose bloodline carry five champions!! He is as beautiful a marked mahogny and black Rottweiler as I've ever seen in Show books, or at shows I watch on TV. He may be a little fat, but he lives in the house and is, frankly a little overweight, BUT His food IS premium. We only wanted to breed him once and keep a pup, and NEVER to anything OTHER than a female of his quality, then neuter him. We didn't think we'd have these biting problems either.

Other than these incidences I've (unfortunately) described to you, this dog is a valuable member of our family and I have to try to fight for him. If my daughter or son committed murder, I would still have to help them in ANY way I could, not tell the authorities to just "put him down"!!

As to him being taken too young, I DO agree with that, but we decided to take him because we were getting pick of the litter, he was the biggest and his mother had a large litter of 15 pups, none died! Her milk was low and the breeder was supplementing with bottles, and he asked us if we wanted to go ahead and take him, only, to allow more of mom's milk for the others. I didn't see anything wrong with that. We crated, we bottle-fed, I know we weren't his mom, but we thought everything went well. We REALLY thought we were being responsible owners, and he IS the most happy dog you could find.

He's great on his walks and rides, and yes he does love to meet new people, but something has changed as he's gotten older and we GOT to try to help him so I'm sorry if my story upset you guys, I'm just trying to help my pet, thought ya'll might have some GOOD advise for helping him, not destroying him.

[LavenderRott]

Just remember that ALL the members of your family have to be just as committed to this plan as you are. You have chosen a hard road and you have to be dedicated to it. Keep your safeguards in place. Keep him crated when there are no adults around. And be prepared to make the tough decision if he should bite again.

[Bucky's Mom]

Originally Posted by stollett

I'm just trying to help my pet, thought ya'll might have some GOOD advise for helping him, not destroying him.

No - you ALREADY DID that by the way you raised him - we were trying to save your heart

Your dog is who he is because of YOUR mistakes - we WERE trying to be kind

[moondog]

Well, since you can't see the forest for the tree, I can only suggest that you arm your children and warn your neighbors. I am not kidding.

You should listen to your husband. Put the dog down before HE commits murder, for god's sake.

[debbiej]

Heaven forbid, If your son or your daughter committed murder, they would be tried and sentenced. Judge and jury. Your dog IS NOT your son or your daughter. 5 years is perhaps a good half of this dog's life. You may love the dog, but it would be better to love the breed as a whole, better to be a responsible dog owner, better to be realistic about what on earth you are doing by not facing what you have on your hands. And that is a dog who is old enough to be firmly set in his ways. In his mind, he is pack leader and his behavior is justified, dosen't matter whether you think it is good or bad. You most likely cannot with training change this dog's mind about his position or his rights. When he is a good dog, it is just because you are being good members of his pack. If you cross him, he WILL correct you.