My Rottie killed my kitten...please help!

[onthedl74]

I'm not sure what "powerful reinforcement" means with respect to training. I will tell you that I have retrained over 25 rotties and other giant breed dogs with the help of a local trainer. I would say consistency and being firm but not abusive or bullying will work. Good luck !

[LavenderRott]

Originally Posted by sunstarr

Thank you all for your input on this situation. I called a dog behaviorist/trainer who is willing to help me with Toefield. He informed me that Rottweilers don't respond as well as other dogs to regular training methods such as "NO!" or using a choker collar. Rottweilers are powerful dogs and need powerful reinforcement when training. So, I will try this and hopefully everything will work out for the best.

Thanks again,
Sabrina

You might want to keep looking for a trainer. In my house, for 8 years, the most "powerful reinforcement" needed was a lowered voice with a stern tone. I can only think of once that more was needed and that was me putting one hand on each side of her snoot to make sure she heard me when I explained to her about growling at another dog over a rawhide.

There aren't many rottweilers out there who are not eager to please their owner. A stern "No" and a collar correction (not a strangling) should be all that is needed. If a trainer has you yanking the dog around on a prong or tries to put an electronic collar on your dog then you are working with someone who does not know what they are doing or is unwilling to put forth the effort to train a dog properly.

[sunstarr]

Originally Posted by onthedl74

I'm not sure what "powerful reinforcement" means with respect to training. I will tell you that I have retrained over 25 rotties and other giant breed dogs with the help of a local trainer. I would say consistency and being firm but not abusive or bullying will work. Good luck !

I'm not sure what the beviorist means either, but I will find out as I am meeting with him on Saturday.

[Seven Hills]

Hello,
If you are serious about keeping him and training him correctly PLEASE look for another trainer. This is a bad situation that is going to get worst if you do not educate yourself. The "trainer" you contacted said all the wrong things! Please research the breed and contact someone else with a more educated understanding of this breed.

[fostermom]

I cannot imagine how I would feel if one of my dogs killed another of my pets....i commend you for trying to prevent this from happening again and not giving up on the dog.
I'm not going to add anything beyond what everyone else has already suggested, just reiterate several points:
1. HUGELY IMPORTANT: step up obedience AND do some major NILF work with this boy....he needs to understand unequivocably that you are alpha and the animals in your house are under your protection.
2. When I had fosters in my house that showed too much interest in my cats, they were LEASHED to me at all times so that I could give an IMMEDIATE correction every time they focused on the cats. They were rewarded when they ignored the cats. Chasing/killing small animals is in it's own way rewarding to the dog....immediate correction prevents the self-rewarding behavior. Dogs were only allowed off leash when they learned to ignore the cats.
3. When my one rotti was catching and killing squirrels in the yard, he was taken to a park which abounded with squirrels....he was put in a down when anywhere near squirrels and given an immediate correction (leash correction and verbal 'NO') for even looking at the squirrels. When the message appears to have sunk in, put him on a long line and if he breaks and goes for a squirrel, give a more severe correction (severe correction does NOT entail hurting the dog....bring him up sharply when he tries to chase and give him a very strong verbal correction along with a hard look right into his eyes).
4. Feed him away from the other animals.
5. Check the yard for any little critters before letting him out.
6. Never, never, never leave him unattended with any smaller animals. My dogs are fine with my cats, but when I'm away, the dogs are crated or shut behind bedroom doors away from the cats.
7. Do NOT buy into anyone telling you rotti's do not respond to normal training methods..that is nonsense...do not let anyone do anything to your dog that you are not completely comfortable with.
Best of luck with this.

[Sharon Marples]

Originally Posted by sunstarr

Thank you all for your input on this situation. I called a dog behaviorist/trainer who is willing to help me with Toefield. He informed me that Rottweilers don't respond as well as other dogs to regular training methods such as "NO!" or using a choker collar. Rottweilers are powerful dogs and need powerful reinforcement when training. So, I will try this and hopefully everything will work out for the best.

Thanks again,
Sabrina

Lots of red flags here! First of all, Rottweilers are a WORKING dog! That means they were bred to work. That being said, they do NOT need POWERFUL reinforcement when training. He is totally off base when he says they will not respond to a "no" or a choke collar!

Meet with this trainer if you want, but if anything is mentioned at this point about shock collars, throwing the dog on its back, muzzling the dog, hitting the dog in any way, leaving the dog with the trainer for him to "train", or using a prong collar, find yourself someone else. Rottweilers are one of the smartest dogs to train, with POSITIVE reinforcement, POSITIVE direction and lots of good POSITIVE motivation, this dog can be trained without being mistreated.

Please be sure your dog does not end up getting pushed around or mistreated by this so-called trainer or you will have more problems at the end than you do now.

And DEFINITELY do not leave this dog with this trainer for training! YOU need to be there for all sessions with the dog and the trainer needs to be training you right along with the dog.

[twomanydogs]

Everyone is correct here. Go to the main forum and read the thread about the trainer killing a dog. Sounds like the trainer you talked to has no idea what they are talking about.

[BradMcLeod]

When Kinzie was confronted with a pup, the pup tried to suckle, and Kinzie jumped like she was on fire.

Everytime we see the pup, it almost seems like Kinzie is scared, and wants to get away. Alarming, but almost funny to watch.

[janinetj]

unfortunately and firstly once an animal has had the taste for 'blood' its very hard to reverse this. one option would be a dog behavior specialist but i would recommend he isn't allowed near other animals, have you had him since a puppy as the first ew months training is the most important!


janine

[Bucky's Mom]

Originally Posted by janinetj

unfortunately and firstly once an animal has had the taste for 'blood' its very hard to reverse this.
janine

Um......nope.

But a dog that successfully catches what it perceives to be "prey" will be encouraged to play that "fun" game again

[Sharon Marples]

Originally Posted by janinetj

unfortunately and firstly once an animal has had the taste for 'blood' its very hard to reverse this.

And just where did you get this information from? I guess that all of us who feed a raw diet (which includes many different raw meats) to our dogs should quit because they will now want to have more of the "taste of blood?" This statement is an untruth, the answer to this problem is positive training and patience!

[janinetj]

Originally Posted by Sharon Marples

And just where did you get this information from? I guess that all of us who feed a raw diet (which includes many different raw meats) to our dogs should quit because they will now want to have more of the "taste of blood?" This statement is an untruth, the answer to this problem is positive training and patience!

meant once has killed as in taste for blood, have seen this first hand and 2 of my pets were victims the bull terrier in question killed everything that crossed its path and no ammount of training discipline ect made any difference its exremely dificult to reverse this. hunting is a natural instinct for a dog and once this behaviour has developed in most cases it ireversable.

[jakesfostermom]

janinetj - I'm commenting on the "taste for blood" - simply because the original OP came here to ask if her dog was basically condemned because it had killed a kitten and previously a sickly puppy who wandered into her yard. The taste for blood is certainly something we all heard growing up (I am in my mid 40's and I heard if often) - like "if that dog ever kills a chicken, you can never trust him around chickens again" - NO - as Bucky's Mom said - it was the prey drive to chase, capture and STOP the prey. I see this as a old tale told by farmer's who understood that high prey dogs would kill their small livestock - but didn't understand that it was high prey drive, and not because their dog was dangerous to all it encountered. Pit Bull's have a maligned reputation just like our rottweilers - and YES - there are some pit bulls who are bred, trained and fought to kill everything that enters the "ring" with them - that is very different than owning a pit bull as a pet, and teaching/training and leading that dog as a family pet. I don't want to see anyone pop into one of these discussions with a myth or half-truth, that someone with little experience, or someone desperate to latch onto news of any kind, will view as the gospel truth. I would venture to say most dogs have the ability to kill small cats, squirrels, lizards, spiders, possums, snakes, mice, etc..........does that mean those same dogs will kill everything they encounter - phhhfftttt - no - so I wish that everyone would please be careful coming to discussions like this and offering a piece of advice without giving your reasons for believing it - it makes it really hard for those of us who sit here day and day out trying to help people keep and train their dogs, to refrain from getting on a soap box (as I have done here ). The OP has gotten good advice - and many more will offer additional thoughts and advice - but I encourage the newer members to state their opinions and advice, then in the SAME post, please give your reasons for that opinion. You are not limited on space - so expand - don't just pop out a one liner that sounds outdated and purely fiction to some of us.

[onthedl74]

Originally Posted by janinetj

meant once has killed as in taste for blood, have seen this first hand and 2 of my pets were victims the bull terrier in question killed everything that crossed its path and no ammount of training discipline ect made any difference its exremely dificult to reverse this. hunting is a natural instinct for a dog and once this behaviour has developed in most cases it ireversable.

Sorry,but this statement couldn't be any further from the truth! One of the more forgiving rescues that I am affiliated takes dogs with moderate to severe animal aggression. I have 2 used to be dog aggressive dogs right in my home that I rescued..they're both on my couch now . I would say changing a learned behavior is relative to the time you are going to spend unlearning that behavior.

[janinetj]

Originally Posted by jakesfostermom

janinetj - I'm commenting on the "taste for blood" - simply because the original OP came here to ask if her dog was basically condemned because it had killed a kitten and previously a sickly puppy who wandered into her yard. The taste for blood is certainly something we all heard growing up (I am in my mid 40's and I heard if often) - like "if that dog ever kills a chicken, you can never trust him around chickens again" - NO - as Bucky's Mom said - it was the prey drive to chase, capture and STOP the prey. I see this as a old tale told by farmer's who understood that high prey dogs would kill their small livestock - but didn't understand that it was high prey drive, and not because their dog was dangerous to all it encountered. Pit Bull's have a maligned reputation just like our rottweilers - and YES - there are some pit bulls who are bred, trained and fought to kill everything that enters the "ring" with them - that is very different than owning a pit bull as a pet, and teaching/training and leading that dog as a family pet. I don't want to see anyone pop into one of these discussions with a myth or half-truth, that someone with little experience, or someone desperate to latch onto news of any kind, will view as the gospel truth. I would venture to say most dogs have the ability to kill small cats, squirrels, lizards, spiders, possums, snakes, mice, etc..........does that mean those same dogs will kill everything they encounter - phhhfftttt - no - so I wish that everyone would please be careful coming to discussions like this and offering a piece of advice without giving your reasons for believing it - it makes it really hard for those of us who sit here day and day out trying to help people keep and train their dogs, to refrain from getting on a soap box (as I have done here ). The OP has gotten good advice - and many more will offer additional thoughts and advice - but I encourage the newer members to state their opinions and advice, then in the SAME post, please give your reasons for that opinion. You are not limited on space - so expand - don't just pop out a one liner that sounds outdated and purely fiction to some of us.

Fistly causing offence wasn't my intention was merely speaking from experience and am aware that in some cases is possible to retrain and iliminate the aggressive beahviour, i dont believe a dog should be condemned for a one off incident but when it happens repeatedly i personally feel that alot of caution should be used regarding the animal in question being socialised with other animals. it is possible to reverse the bahaviour but unfortunately from the experiences i have had this dosent hapen often. i wish the OP every success in retraining.