Will I have to give up my Rottie

[saya1]

About 4 weeks ago my 8 year old german shepard mix bit my one year old daughter. So I gave her to my brother since he loves her to death and has no children. My 3 year old Rottie was raised with my shepard and always known her and she defantly domanated him and kept him in check. Well since we gave up my shepard my Rott has started growling and lifting his lip at my daugher every time she walks up to him. He never displayed this behavior before we gave up Saya. ( my shepard) My daughter is very respectful of him and doesnt hurt him in anyway.. all she wants to do is stand net to him and touch and pat him. ( it is very sweet and scary at the same time because he is growling at her)

Certainly we dont want to wait till he bits her to do something. What should I do? I thought maybe if I adopted another dog to take the babys attention away from the rott and give him someone to play with it would help. But when we went to the adoption place to introduce him to the other dog he acted very agressive and bit at her. So bringing another dog into the house is out of the picture..
Will I have to give up my Rottie.. Certainly my baby and my family is most important. But because of his strange behavior I wouldnt feel comfortable giving him to someone that has kids or other dogs.
Any advise would be most apreciated please.
Michelle
You can also E-mail me at michelle@cybertrails.com
He is very friendly and loving towards adults. Very playful too.

[AngelBunny]

saya1:

How much obedience training does your Rottie have?

IMMEDIATELY put a stop to your daughter patting your Rottie's head--the dog's growling is a clear signal that may well escalate into a bite. Until you figure out what your dog needs in terms of training, you're asking for trouble by letting your daughter and your dog interact.

[saya1]

My rottie went though basic obidience at 6 months old. And advanced Obidience at 2 years old. She doesnt pat his head. She stands next to him and pats his side and back. But I will stop there interaction until I make a decision about the situation.

[AngelBunny]

saya1:

Sounds as tho your Rottie has basic obedience, but what do you do to reinforce obedience with him? Do you work him? Does he have to sit stay or down stay or do some other work for his meals, treats, or other good things, or do you just give him things w/o asking him to do anything to earn what he's getting?

Is he permitted up on the furniture? Does he sleep in anybody's bed? Can you take anything--positively *anything* away from him whenever you wish? Does he protest at all if you try to do so?

The other dog at the adoption place--this was a female? What did you do when your dog displayed such bad manners?

[Soapie&Buddy'sMom]

What were the circumstances around the 8 yr old german shepherd biting your one year old child?

[saya1]

Because he had food aggression we had to really work with him on feeding time and do every day that we feed him. We make him sit , down , sit and stay I put the food down and he has to wait for my ok to begin eating. As far as taking things from him, we dont allow him to have bones because of his food agression but if we tell him to sit , after he has begun eating he will listen and I can then take the food away from him. He has to sit and stay for treats and he always does his comands without hesitation. He was permitted on the furniture until Saya bit the baby while she was on the couch and the baby was on the floor. So we tell him to get down when ever he even tries to get up and he complies immediatly. He does not sleep in bed with anyone he sleep at the foot of our bed.
I had picked a female at the adoption place because I heard that male female combos are best. When he snapped at her I immedialy told him no and he went into a 'down'position.

He is really well behaved and everyone that comes over says that he is the best behaved dog they have ever seen. I have worked with him alot on obidiance training and behavior because with a 95 pound dog you cant have an out of control dog. He loves attention and playing with his ball... I use that to make him sit and stay and down for.. but I really dont need a treat or a toy for him to listen to me. His growling is the only problem I have with him. Other then the food aggression. Which with a moble and active baby I now feed him outside. And the aggressive behavior towards other dogs. Off leash he behaves really well with other dogs in a dog park situation. He plays and listens to me really well.
Hope this helps clerify the situation.

[saya1]

What were the circumstances around the 8 yr old german shepherd biting your one year old child?


The dog was on the couch and the baby walked up to the couch and touched her foot. The shepard bit her in the lip. My 8 year old shepard has never been tolerant of children and we were prepared for the eventuallity. But this behavior from my Rottie is totally out of his nature. He would follow us around while we carried her , check in on her before we went to bed. He has always been gentle with her, greeting her when we come home from the store. But the entire situation changed once Saya left the house. But Saya was tolerant of the baby until she started walking...

Michelle

[saya1]

Also wanted to add that the shepard bit without warning..

and I was sitting right there.

[Soapie&Buddy'sMom]

Well, you definitely don't want to wait until another bite, that is for sure. My only suggestion, and you might not find it too helpful, is to keep dog and baby separate. I mean, really separate. Even more than baby on floor, dog on couch. I guess I'm thinking along the lines of - when my nephews visit, they are allowed to touch the dogs only when an adult is right there within one foot of reach.
I wish I had more experience or help or suggestions.

[Sharon Marples]

Either I missed it or no one else has asked yet.....is your male rottie neutered or intact?

Sharon

[saya1]

He is Neutered. He was fixed right at 5 and half months.
But as I was thinking about his food agression I remembered one of the things that really helped us get him over that was a water bottle.

So I just pulled one out and had my husband pet im while the baby was petting him and as soon as he growled I sprayed him. Only had to do it twice. I will continue to work with him with the water bottle when ever he growls at her and see if that stops the behavior. He really does not like being sprayed with water.. we got his food aggression under control with in days when we started using a water bottle.

The only time she shows any intrest in the dog is when we are petting him. She is never left alone with him. But as I found out with my shepard mix you can be right there and still have a bite happen.

Michelle

[MybabyZeus]

Immediatly if not sooner, this dog needs to be reminded that he is the dog! He established his role in the old pack with the shepard. Now he is trying to revise pack order with your child. He sees her as an equal. Put him in check! Make him stay off of the furniture for now. That is where she sits. Don't allow him to step foot in her bedroom for ANY reason. When he so much as looks at the girl wrong immediatly scold him and remove him from the room. He needs to realize that the child is 1. Human and 2. not to be messed with. He is trying to dominate her. You absolutly have to step in and rienforce this with the dog. Whatever you do, don't leave him and the child alone for months even after you feel the problem has been corrected. Rottweiler never forget anything so this may be something he just keeps on trying.

[saya1]

Thanks for the advice and that is kind of what I suspected. I have already begun making him stay off the furniture. And he has never been allowed in her bedroom. Niether of the dogs were ever allowed in her bedroom. I wanted one room that she could play in without dog hair everywhere:) Even though now it is really just her play room. She sleeps in our room and so does he.

[MybabyZeus]

I hope everything turns out ok!!!
;)