pup or rescue?

[wannarottie]

We are looking at adding a new family member to our family. We have three young children 6, 4, and 2. I have been doing a lot of reading and investigating of rottweilers. Would anyone be willing to put in their two cents as to whether i should go with a pup considering my young family or is rescue a reasonable alternative? I have the time to work with our new "child", this will be our first rottie, and i haven't owned a dog in over 10 years!!! I am committed to the responsiblity of owning this breed but i am interested to see what you guys suggest! I have been reading these msg boards and have gotten a lot of valuable info so far, so i am ready get some more!!!

[RottiMomCT]

Well, if you are considering a pup - apply to adopt a pup from a rescue group - if you are open to adopting an older dog, note that on the application...most have a place where you can note the age you are interested in.

A rescue will be able to match you up with a dog tat is right for your family and your lifestyle...you may fall in love with the idea of raising a pup, but I encourage you to meet dogs of all ages you are considering...you'll be pleasantly surprised that the right dog will find YOU...

Welcome to the groups!!

[LavenderRott]

Welcome to the forum. This is a wonderful place to learn about the breed.

I have a girl that I got from animal control. She is wonderful and she was great with my son when he was born six months after I got her.

There are advantages to both. I would suggest that if you decide to get a rescue, you go through a reputable rescue organization. These dogs have been around people and the group should be better able to "fit" you with a dog that will be good with your children.

If you get a pup, be sure to look into the breeder carefully. Make sure all of the health checks are done and the breeder stands behind the puppy. Don't buy from a pet store, a newspaper ad, or a mass production kennel.

Before you get your new addition, make sure you put as much care into your choice of a vet and a trainer. You want both with Rottweiler experience. If they tell you that these are viscious dogs that turn on their owners and only understand brute force, run.

[Samantha_2816]

Hi and 1st off welcome to the site.
If you are going to get a Rottie then I think you shoud get a puppy and if it is going to be a rescue still try and get a puppy or no older then 6 months old because of the ages of your kids but I could be wrong and the nice peopel here will let you know if i'm wrong.

[wannarottie]

Thanks guys for you input! As i keep reading and looking i am leaning more towards the rescue avenue as well. I still have more learning to do! Also, as far as trainers go, is a goup puppy/dog obedience class sufficient or is more required (beyond my saily interactions and working with our dog)??? Thanks again in advance!!!

[JD102175]

Most of the time a group setting is just fine for training. But it can depend on the dog. Some do better with one-on-one training and others do great in a group. In a group setting it is also a good way for socializing both with people and other dogs of all shapes and sizes.

We were lucky to find a trainer that has been breeding and showing Rottweilers for quite a long time and has also been involved with doing obedience for almost 40 years.


Jaime

[RottiMomCT]

Originally posted by wannarottie
Also, as far as trainers go, is a goup puppy/dog obedience class sufficient or is more required (beyond my saily interactions and working with our dog)??? Thanks again in advance!!!

Training is a lifelong thing - going beyond beyond basic obedience is up to you - as long as you work with the dog daily and keep them busy, you'll be fine.

My 4 1/2 yr old rescue boy and I are back into classes again, he's been in classes for about 2 1/2 yrs. Not because he needs them, but because he and I like them...he has fun, and we do well. He's a better behaved dog if he's got a job (and his job is our little training sessions every night). We're also working towards getting a CD title by Spring 2004.

[SABELLESMOM]

Welcome to the forum! And good luck finding just the right dog to fit into your family.

My initial thought with your young family was a young puppy. However you would need to spend a good deal of time and energy training both kids and the pup. Children need to know, for instance, how to play safely. Pups like to play chase games and children often behave in ways to encourage that. Once chasing is begun, nibbling often comes next. You don't want that in any breed.

On the other hand, an older dog may already know how to behave around small children. Ask, it can't hurt. A really good rescue organization, especially one that understands rotties, should be able to match you up with a good dog.

Training, is lifelong. You don't just take one set of classes and think they've absorbed everything they need to know. You have to keep working.

[LJSmith]

Also, as far as trainers go, is a goup puppy/dog obedience class sufficient or is more required (beyond my saily interactions and working with our dog)??? Thanks again in advance!!!

We have been trainining w/ our 5 month old rottie pup, our first dog, with an trainer one on one. That has been going very well, but we also enrolled in a group class starting Oct 1st. Our main reasons were to solidfy and bbuild upon what Oscar is already learning, but mainly the socialization element. Now that he is fully vaccinated it will be nice to have him around a lot of dogs so he can develop the social skills he will neeed as he matures. It is also great to train in group so that the dog learns to focus on you and tune out distractions. I will let you know how it works out,

[tugger5000]

Because you have young children, I would say go with the pup that you can raise and train properly. Adopting a rescue can be very rewarding, but there could be issues that you don't see in the first couple of weeks. We lucked out with Aedia in that she doesn't have any people issues, but we're still cautious and any visits with other people are supervised.

[KateG]

I will confess to bing a great fan of "second hand dogs." All four of the dogs in my life have been previously owned, including both rotties and they have all been splendid dogs.

When I was a kid, my mother picked out the only dog in our local shelter that wasn't barking. She was a fuzzy black mop of a mutt, with a wonderful disposition, and she became my inseparable companion.

I used "the quiet in the shelter" test when I was looking for my first rottie and when we added his not-weiler sister to our household. It's not as rigorous as the tests done by the best rescue groups, but it's a good start, since any dog that can stand the stress of shelter life quietly is apt to be fairly laid back. Both of them were wonderful dogs, although I was very glad to have professional guidance training Calvin, my rottie. He was a big, sweet mushball of a dog, but he was also an adolescent male rottweiler....a far cry from a cocker-poodle mutt in terms of submissiveness.

When I began the search for Calvin's successor, i worked with two rescue groups, and they helped me find exactly what I was looking for: a non-alph rottie girl who would be good at agility and therapy. She had been in foster care for about six weeks, so here foster mom had time to really get to know her and be able to describe her personality very accurately.

All of my dogs were in the 12-18 month range when I adopted them, young enough to be easily trained and playful, but old enough to be potty trained and over the worst of puppy silies like mouthyness and chewing.

[RottiMomCT]

Originally posted by tugger5000
Because you have young children, I would say go with the pup that you can raise and train properly. Adopting a rescue can be very rewarding, but there could be issues that you don't see in the first couple of weeks.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but....with three children under the age of 10, where will one find the time to raise a pup? Adding a very young pup is basically like adding another child - one with as many demands as a 2 year old, if not more!

Since most reputable rescues have their dogs in foster homes, and many dogs stay with foster 'parents' for a minimum of two weeks, that foster home has had a fairly good chance to see that dogs personality, and is able to give potential adopters a better idea of what type of home will best suit that dog.

A puppy is like a lump of clay - YOU are the one to make it what it is - and that takes alot of time. A rescue dog is basically the same thing - but a bigger lump, and some come with a few hard spots. The rescue should responsibly tell you about the 'hard spots' (Alpha female/male, no cats, no small kids, etc...) when you are inquiring about the dog.

If you are looking for a puppy, I would, again, recommend a rescue group. While you may not get a very young pup, the rescue will be able to assist you in finding the right dog for your family - the rescue groups foster homes know their foster dogs better than anyone, and will point you in the right direction.

Obviously any and all interactions with any and all people should be supervised, for the life of the dog, not just 'in the beginning'.

I wish you the best of luck in your search for a four legged family member - and commend you 1000% for researching first and asking many questions (AND being open to all answers and sugggestions!). :D :D :D

[Mavides]

Hi, I just thought I'd put in my two cents worth - in the end, you're going to have to go with your gut instinct...but my vote would be for the older rescue dog. As I sit here looking at my 7 month old, 85-90 lbs Rottie boy...there is no way I would want to be working with him AND a two year old child! He is great with kids, and my friend brings over his one year old and two year old daughters to visit...but it's SO stressful for me! Legend loves the little girls....but he is just so big and still SUCH a puppy, he has no idea of his size and/or strength. I think it's much easier to work with a 2-3 year old adult Rottie that has been around children, rather than trying to train a young LARGE puppy. JMHO of course!

[wannarottie]

thanks again for all the input!!! I definetly am taking into account size of the dog vs size of my kids. Also, i am coming from the perspective that our future dog will be another child. I have time for all three of my kids now and will have time for another- not saying that i am supermom or anything, but i do have the privlege of staying home with my kids (including my future dog!). Also this is why i am doing my research now, so i can havea an accurate picture of what i am getting myself into!!!! Thanks again guys for your input, i really appreciate it and look forward to keeping you posted on what happens and coming back for more advice!!! Its great to know that this is available!!!! Also, i am a very slow decistion maker so this will be a process!!! (ugh!!!!)

[RottieGirl86]

My 5 year old step-nephew orders around their 85 lbs rescue 3 yrs old rott quite well! He's been working with the doggie since he was 3 yrs old! Never unsupervised though.

Train the dog and train the kid(s), you'll be fine!

About puppy vs. rescue, I've done both. The clean the crate, etc. vs. a semi-trained dog, the rescue wins, lol.