Protective Rotti

[Prevet]

Shortly after turning a year old, my unaltered male Rotti, Winston, began to show agression towards new visitors (unfamillior to Winston). This agression comes in the form of, after sniffing out and discovering the stranger, posturing himself heavily onto the ground with his back legs and agressivly barking (as if he were keeping a criminal at bay). I have yet to figure out how to teach Winston that this is innapropriate, or how to set up a safe word that will tell him that this visitor is OK. I have tried disciplinning (ranging from "NO", to grabbing his muzzel and looking him in the eyes, to making him get i into a down stay...) but he just continues to eye the "intruder" and the next time he gets a chance, challenge him again. A couple key points: A) He has never bitten, and always seems to back away while barking (as if it is merely to scare them off, or alert me), B) of the people that he is already socialized with, I am sure that he would never even attempt to hurt any of them, and trust him fully around my two year old neice... this is a dog that you can take food right out of his mouth, push on him, pull his ears... whatever, and get no aggressive response... IF he knows you. C) The people that he has barked at include young children and finally D) He has exhibited this behavior away from the home, his property.
Winston is an amazingly smart, loyal, and loving dog, but this needs to stop before Im writing for leagal advice, because either he god forbid hurts someone, or is hurt himself (PPL that hes barked at have threatened his life... tough crowd).
Basically what im asking is.... HELP! Thanx,
Dov

[Rottlva]

I can't get a good picture of your dogs body language, but you said he backs up while barking. It sounds as if he is trying to gain some distance between himself and whatever is greeting him, as if he is unsure. It doesn't sound as if he is being protective at all.... but even if he were, that is your job as his caregiver. Has Winston been to obedience classes?

[Prevet]

Thanx for the fast response. He does back up, but he will approach the "intruder" and then back up (so it isnt a situation that he is being approached, and therefore fearful). It is more like he is trying to get them away while avoiding a true confrontation. The strange thing about Winston, is that he is both very well trained and very well socialized, but one day he just responded strangly to a stranger, and from there it became more and more frequent as I was left trying anything possible to stop the behaviour.

[Luvs]

Are you in obedience classes with your boy? If not then you need to start ASAP! It is not up to him to say who is allowed in your house and who is not. He needs to know in no uncertain terms that his behavior is unacceptable! How exactly are you correcting him when he displays this behavior towards your guests?

[Brooke&Ryan]

Originally Posted by Prevet

and trust him fully around my two year old neice

Originally Posted by Prevet

The people that he has barked at include young children

Maybe it's just me but I wouldn't trust this dog completely around my two year old niece when he's done this behavior to young children. It just makes me too nervous.

When you say that Winston is well trained, how many years of training has that been???

[Judi W]

This is an unsocialized, fearful and untrained dog who does not trust his owner to decide who should and should not be in the home. Yes, fearful dogs can and do bite so you are right to be concerned. If you haven't been formally obedience training him, he has no history to defer to you and your decisions, so that is your first step. I know in your area there are more than a few places to sign him up for classes. He might very well also have inherited weak nerves that makes him more inclined to fearful behavior. You can help him with this and teach him to trust your decisions but it will take concentrated work. You should also contact your breeder for assistance and advice.

[moondog]

I can visualize his posture and I have no doubt he's scaring the bejeezus out of people! Since when does he get to decide who's allowed in your home or on the planet, for that matter?

Just because he is not being approached does not translate into meaning his behavior is not fearful. It sure sounds fearful to me. If he perceives such a threat when he isn't even being approached, God forbid he should feel cornered by anyone, that will certainly push him into a bite.

Training, training, training and more training....starting yesterday.

[German Vanegas]

Fear due to lack of socialization may be changed, although not an easy task, it may be corrected. Fear due to inherited weak nerves is very hard to change, if not impossible. A combination of both is a disaster.

[Greg_1111]

As you have recognized. It's your responisbility to make sure you have full control over your dog. With that said. I believe that these ogs have an uncanny ability to pick out or sense potential trouble or threats. As long as he isn't acting on this or ignoring you, but just alerting you to his perceptions, I don't see a problem. You need to train him how to understand your approval of a person. Teach him an "OK, friend" command. From what you have posted, he already seems to have an idea of that. He recognizes familiar and accepted people as OK. I think there has to be some acceptance of the fact that these dogs have a natural apptitude for being watch dogs. Some might feel that supressing that completely is the way to go, and some might wish to retain some of it. The choice is completely subjective.

[German Vanegas]

Originally Posted by Greg_1111

As you have recognized. It's your responisbility to make sure you have full control over your dog. With that said. I believe that these ogs have an uncanny ability to pick out or sense potential trouble or threats. .

I am sorry but there is no one threat described. The behavior demonstrated appears to be fear-based more than anything (including barking at children!). This dog is not being protective at all, and he is not sensing any "potential trouble", but simply displaying fearful behavior.

[Judi W]

Yep, that is pure balderdash. Seeing danger where there is none is weak and fearful not extra perception. The Rottweiler as a breed is supposed to be of medium suspecion level. This is however a great way to limit guests. If indeed this dog is well-trained and well-socialized, then you are truly looking at inherent weakness and I totally agree that you cannot "fix" this. You can however assume control of your dog. Are you talking about self-training, or formal training? What does the well-socialized mean to you? Even a fearful dog, if highly trained, should respond when instructed by its owner. sooo, reevaluate the dog's experience in both training and socialization and do so honestly. At a year of age, his perceptions of people as dangerous is only going to increase without great attention and his self-gratification in frightening them will also increase this activity. As far as your sig line goes, those 100 comments probably come from people who have met your dog and they are simply hoping it mauls you and not them.

Yes, there are legal and moral obligations to owning a dog that shows inappropriate aggression. It requires the utmost in attention and security with no room for relaxing or mistakes.

So, evaluate, and then decide if you are equipped to work with the dog to the extent necessary to make him reliable in following your instructions and to adopt a lifestyle that will take into consideration that he is not safe to make his own decisions.

[jakesfostermom]

Prevet, your Winston sounds like my Jake....although it sounds like you've had Winston as a pup, which is a luxury I didn't have with Jake. I came here to this forum in October last year, because we found Jake as an adult stray, never owned a rottie, and wanted to understand his behavior, which was so VERY different from any other dog we had ever owned (we wondered if this was a "typical" rottie).....what we found, through careful evaluation and research, is we have a very weak nerved, fearful dog. The fact that he is a Rottweiler isn't necessarily a factor, other than it affords Jake the size, strength, predisposed public opinion, and set of teeth that can and will be harmful if I don't manage him properly. Given the opportunity, Jake will also sound off to our guests, because of his fear.....so please don't misunderstand weak nerves & fear as his natural tendencies to protect or warn you. He is looking out for himself - because HE'S the one afraid. Judi gave me sound advice back then, and she is giving you sound advice as well, as are the others who have posted. I just wanted you to know that if your Winston has weak nerves and fear aggression, it will take careful diligence and professional training with him on your part to work him through this, if it can be achieved. Trust me when I say - It is very hard having a dog who is a social misfit because of genetic makeup.....(which also makes me wonder why you are keeping him intact?) Good luck...

[German Vanegas]

Originally Posted by Judi W

...Yes, there are legal and moral obligations to owning a dog that shows inappropriate aggression. It requires the utmost in attention and security with no room for relaxing or mistakes.

So, evaluate, and then decide if you are equipped to work with the dog to the extent necessary to make him reliable in following your instructions and to adopt a lifestyle that will take into consideration that he is not safe to make his own decisions.

Absolutely. Do not ignore the problem because it will get worse rather than better.

[AngelBunny]

Prevet:

I have one of those weak nerved dogs several people have referenced. Tula is a private rescue and came from a pet store. The poor thing is everything you DON'T want in a Rottie. On top of her hi-strung, fearful nature, her conformation is terrible. People have complimented on us on what a fantastic watch dog she is because she barks at the slightest sound. The reality is Tula is an awful watchdog because she'll bark if a feather drops. Like the boy who cried Wolf! we don't pay attention when Tula barks, other than to bring her into the house so her barking doesn't distrub the neighbors.

On the other hand, when our other Rottie, Moxie, barks, it's all hands to the fore.

Tula has been extensively socialized; there is no way even she would take it upon herself to act anything but politely to guests. And she certainly behaves around children.

Based on what I've read of your dog, Winston is undersocialized and poorly trained. Since you say you're interested in avoiding having to request legal advice, sign yourself and Winston up for obedience classes yesterday. The trainer won't train your dog--the trainer will train you on what to do, how to correct your dog, and how to reward the behavior you want. From your post, this is clearly something you need--"I have yet to figure out how to teach Winston that this is innapropriate, or how to set up a safe word that will tell him that this visitor is OK."

Are you planning on neutering him?

[German Vanegas]

Originally Posted by AngelBunny

Are you planning on neutering him?

I am sorry but fearful behavior, due to weak nerves, cannot be cured with castration. The latter will prevent unwanted dog mating, which in this particular case is a good thing.