New (overwhelmed)Rott owner has questions!!

[robbievalentine]

it is 10:30 at night and i should be in bed. but valentine is barking barking barking. my neighborhood is filled with dogs and the two across the way are barking. so she is barking back. and won't stop.
today i threatened to take her to Rottie Rescue! she is just not responding well to our commands! Sure, if we have a hot dog in our hand she will come, sit, stay, etc. But otherwise, if i'm walking her and she wants to sniff something she'll ignore me.
one of my big problems now is "drop." she just won't do it. So she has taken to grabbing her leash while we walk and tugging. And she won't even drop it for food. So there were are standing in the middle of the street! and i cannot let go because she'll be loose. I try giving her a treat and that rarely works. I've tried distraction. I've tried yelling. I've tried getting her to sit. It is a complete struggle.
Add to that, she bit me today!! I was training her with leftover chicken. She was doing great. back and forth between me and my dad. Sit, stay, everything. I was working on something - maybe fetch - and she was very excited. I had the package of chicken in my left hand and she came running at me. I turned to the side to brace myself against her possible jumping. Well, she jumped at me to get the food. I must have held up my right arm as i turned because she bit my elbow. Through two layers of clothing including a fleece jacket. I'll have a very nice bruise tomorrow with teeth marks.
It was not a nip. Not "mouthing." it was a real bite. I'm glad i had the layers of clothing on!
So I get that from her point of view it probably looked like i was teasing her. And i get that at 1 1/2 years old she is probably still a puppy. And when other puppies jump and bite they are just being "puppies." But she is 110 pounds. And strong. And the bite scared me.
I can't imagine what would've happened if she didn't let go.
So, that is where i'm at tonight.
Frustrated. Scared. Worried that this might be a mistake. To answer your questions - yes, she is still a good girl 95% of the time. Very cuddly, loving. But what about the biting???

[brunie's mom]

You need to get some professional help with this dog. You have no history or background with her...and have to start at the beginning in basic obedience with this dog.
See if you can get a obedience instructor that knows working breeds...if not...anyone that is knowledgeable about aggressive dogs.

What kind of collar are you walking her with?
You've had this dog since February, she should have been in classes right from the time you decided to keep her. Training is essential, and you need someone to teach you how to teach the dog.

Gina

[Weily4Life]

[quote=robbievalentine;823699]

So she has taken to grabbing her leash while we walk and tugging. And she won't even drop it for food. So there were are standing in the middle of the street! and i cannot let go because she'll be loose.

When she grabs the leash stop walking. She needs to learn that this is unacceptable. If she doesn't release the leash from her mouth pull up on the leash. Mouthing and tugging on the leash will stop the walk. The other thing you can do when tugging is start walking the other way. You need to take charge and let her know that she needs to follow your lead, not the other way around.

I try giving her a treat and that rarely works. I've tried distraction. I've tried yelling. I've tried getting her to sit. It is a complete struggle.

What training have you taken her to. It is so important to have the training to help with these things and to socialize her. I have never known yelling to work. Training will help you with techniques to use to get her to sit when she doesn't follow command as well as other issues like the tugging or pulling on leash, etc.

Add to that, she bit me today!! ... I had the package of chicken in my left hand and she came running at me. I turned to the side to brace myself against her possible jumping. Well, she jumped at me to get the food. I must have held up my right arm as i turned because she bit my elbow.

When she is running toward you hold your arms out in front of you with palms of hands facing her at about waist height to give her a target, so to speak, and slow her down. When she reaches you give her the hand signal to sit and only treat when she does.

Couple other thoughts...

If you have food in your raised arm you are inviting her to jump. You don't want her to jump, but you invite it, so you are sending her mixed signals. How can she succeed? Keep your arms low.

Raising your arm may be a scary experience for her and she was just protecting herself. I say this because of our Greta whom we got when she was about 14 months old. In the early months with her one of her issues was with people that raised an arm or hand with palm facing her. It made her nervous, resulting warning yip, lunge and nipped a few individuals. We always have to make sure with her that no one raises their hand. We guess that her previous owner abused her but will never know for sure. Not saying this is the case with your girl. We never know the history of an animal we rescue. We just need to move forward and treat them like a puppy so to speak with training.

That said...training is important--enroll her and yourself in beginning obedience class and get whatever help you can to assist you in training your girl.

[robbievalentine]

this is so helpful. we had such a bad weekend and it is sad because she is such a sweet, sweet girl.
does anyone have any thoughts on spraying water in a dog's face to stop barking? i have not done it, yet i hear it over and over again.

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by robbievalentine

this is so helpful. we had such a bad weekend and it is sad because she is such a sweet, sweet girl.
does anyone have any thoughts on spraying water in a dog's face to stop barking? i have not done it, yet i hear it over and over again.

What do you do when she barks? Start yelling? Corrections? Is she barking outside? inside the house?
If she is outside, bring her in...nothing more annoying then your neighbors having to listen to a barking dog.

You need to get some professional help...none of us have seen the dog, or how you interact with the dog...very hard to help in the internet.

In once obedience class we had a very barky goldendoodle....the instructor had the owner put the dogs snout in between her knees.
Grab the dog by the collar...place dog in between knees...and then praise when dog is quiet. It worked very well. The dog by the 6th week did no silly barking at all.

Gina

[Moosemom]

My girl rottie rescued me when she was 2 also. I think at first she knew we were a little skiddish about her so she gently worked her way into our hearts. She and the dog next door got into a few scuffles until they knew each other and then were good buddies. After she came, 3 more rescues found me! So in addition to the one chihuahua I already had, came a rottie, jack russel, boxer and beagle. I guess the vacancy light burned out because no more came. In less than a month we all got used to each other and 8 1/2 years later I still have my rottie angel. I think that all things happen for a reason so just hang in there and she will show you why she picked you. Mine just came up and laid at my feet while I've been emailing. God bless-you are lucky!

[debbiej]

I can understand your feelings. you have a smart, untrained teenager on your hands and you don't know her background. rotties are a lot of work, but so worth it. I have skimmed the answers to your posts, and have only a few suggestions.

get a crate. keep the dog in the crate unless she is out on a lead. she has way too much freedom right now for her level of understanding. gaining control of a smart, independent dog is a subtle thing, usually better accomplished by never letting her get in a situation where she has the "upper hand". so she should be under some kind of control all the time-kenneled, crated or leashed. an example is; she won't come when called? she never has a chance to refuse because she is on a line or lead and you can reel her in, and praise her for coming. as far as only doing things for treats, at this time, you are not her leader yet. it takes a lot of calm, consistent and fair training to convince a smart dog that you are wise enough to be the leader. so at this time, she obeys when she figures there is something in it for her. don't lavish attention on her, in fact be a little aloof to the point of ignoring her. make her sit before she gets any attention at all. she may surprise you by her reaction to this.

don't be afraid of your dog, so far the bites you have described are not of a vicious dog, but one who has not been taught manners, who is used to being the boss.

do lots and lots of obedience walks. on lead, no pulling, frequent sits. you must get yourself and this dog into some obedience classes. you need to learn how to teach the dog what you expect, and once she knows this you must learn how to correct her for not doing what you ask. but the order has to be right.

and limit her time out of her crate to time spent working or training. avoid any action that would make her feel she can't look up to you. yelling, hitting etc. work on a list of commands she must learn. and do every time she is asked. make sure you use the same word every time. sometimes dogs aren't disobeying, they just don't know what you are asking of them.

my dogs aren't barkers, I think it is unusual for rotts to be mindless barkers.

sorry this is rambling, I've been in your shoes, I'm just trying to pass along some of the information I've gleaned here myself.