Six week old puppy???

[dutches'sMom]

she did say she might have longer hair like her father and ihad no idea there were longer haired rottweilers cooper is beautifull! i have no idea what kind of coat my hermione wil have (wechanged it from dutchess to hermione) but right now shes only six weeks and wants to be with me all the time :) im okay with that

[Shea & Kona's Mom]

Uh oh, you've just opened a whole new bag of worms. 6 weeks old? You do know that a pup should be seperated from the mother before 8 weeks right? I won't get into it here since this is the Nutrition and Grooming section, but this is a concern for you. Also long hair is a fault meaning that the sire probably should not have been used for stud in the first place.

[dutches'sMom]

i thought it was weeks...........how bad is this????

[Shea & Kona's Mom]

Relax, it's okay, it just means some more responsibilty for you. Do a search on '6 weeks old' or you can post in the Behavior or Breeding section asking the experts what to expect. As long as you go into this with your eyes open and are aware of what your pups needs are you should be fine. You're certainly not the first one to bring home a pup at 6 weeks.

[dutches'sMom]

alright

[Shea & Kona's Mom]

Hey, I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you, it's not that bad. It's just something you need to be aware of, ask the experts they'll tell you what you need to do.

[Shea & Kona's Mom]

Great, now that we've got this in an area where we can discuss this issue can some of the more expert people help her out with this? It sounds like dutches'sMom could use some advice on properly raising a 6 week old puppy.

[Shea & Kona's Mom]

Okay, I'm sure you'll get some good advice from some others on this forum, for now I went out and grabbed this site for you that should explain the various puppy stages. This author suggests that pups not be placed until 10 - 12 weeks.

http://westwingsess.com/critical_stages.htm

[DNeff]

Here's some helpful info on raising a young pup correctly.

http://www.doberman.org/articles/puppy.htm

http://www.canadawestieclub.ca/breeding/lonepup.html

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIP...Inhibition.php

http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/bitestop.htm

http://www.flyingdogpress.com/puppack.html

http://www.k9chops.com/articles/personality.html

When raising your puppy I would ensure that you place fair and firm limits on his behavior. Coddling and babying a puppy will only back fire on you later, especially for a puppy who is separated from it's litter and mother too soon. During the six, seven and eight week period, the puppy will be learning pack dynamics, bite inhibition, dog language and cues and respecting limits. That being said, many many people mistake totally normal puppy behavior as being out of control or aggressive. I would take the time to get several outstanding books on raising puppies and read them front to back ASAP. This will give you a good idea of what you can expect for normal puppy behavior.

I would suggest finding several older dogs that have outstanding dog-dog skills. Meaning they offer; good calming signals and cues and read other dog's cues and signals well, deliver well timed and the proper level of correction for inappropriate behavior, and tolerate small puppies extremely well. Ask for assistance from a skilled dog trainer or behaviorist in selecting this type of dog that you can very frequently socialize your puppy with.

Here are a few articles I've written on puppy issues and leadership issues. All of which will be helpful for a pup seperated too soon from the litter.
http://members.aol.com/dplantier/puppy_training.htm
http://members.aol.com/dplantier/relationship.htm
http://members.aol.com/dplantier/nilif.htm
http://members.aol.com/dplantier/living.htm

Here's a list of books I recommend:

Before You Get Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar
After You Get Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar
Positive Puppy Training Works by Joel Walton
Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson
The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller
Toolbox For Remodeling Your Problem Dog by Terry Ryan

Good Luck!

Dawn + Osa
U-CD Cammcastle's Mystic Riven CDX OAC OJC OGC OAJ NA TT CGC
http://members.aol.com/dplantier
http://members.aol.com/rottweilerworld

[brunie's mom]

You mentioned that the father of your pup had long hair??
This pup was sold to you at 6 weeks of age???

I have to say that it sounds like your "breeder" was not informed about dog breeding. Long hair on a Rottweiler is a fault.

A good breeder would never have sold you a pup this young

Sounds like you bought the pup from a back yard breeder

Enjoy your pup, train your pup and love your pup.....but please have her spayed at 5-6 months of age....and do not breed her.

Gina

[K-9Girl]

Don't worry, dutches'sMom, this only means that you will have more of a responsibility (you would have had a huge responsibiliy anyway, no matter what age...) A puppy learns SO much from its mother and littermates during this age period, that is why it is so important to wait until 8 weeks of age to find a home for a puppy. Learn as much as you can, read all of the websites that were posted and look into reading the books too. Also ask lots of questions if you are not sure....that is what this forum is for...;)

I too got Kodi from a horrible breeder when he was only 6 weeks old. He is now almost 3 years old. He turned out to be a wonderful dog. He has been through *many* obedience and agility classes and has earned his CGC. He is now getting ready to compete in open obedience trials. It took a lot of work on my part, but just because your puppy is a little young, don't get discouraged.

Sara:)

[Carina43]

My very first Rottie pup was six weeks old when I got him in the 80s. And I didn't know NEARLY what I do now about dogs & puppy rearing...although I tried hard to learn and do it right. He was an absolutely fabulous, well balanced & stable dog.
I took him to work with me every single day from bringing him home, I am sure that helped greatly in training and bonding and such.

So getting a younger-than-ideal puppy isn't a tragedy! Until fairly recedntly, six weeks old was the recommended age to take a pup from the litter. I collect vintage dog care books and this is the general recommendation up to about the 1970s. FWIW.

Get a copy of "Rottweiler For Dummies." Stay connected to these forums, the knowlege base is amazing. Read through the links Dawn posted. Take her to puppy kindergarden classes and then keep going with fun obedience classes.

I love the name Hermione! :) Will she be called "Hermy" for short?

[gingereebs2]

We got our Hannah when she was just 5 weeks old. I had no idea that we were not "doing it right". I trusted what the breeder told us, and she assured me that Hannah was ready to be on her own.

So far, we haven't had any real problems with her. She is a big ole sweetheart. Then again, she's only 5 months old, so is there something we should be watching out for that might crop up in the future?

She is extremely gentle with children and smaller dogs. She has only in the last couple of weeks started barking at passerbys. And she does that rarely. She has never growled at anyone, except she used to "grumble" at me when I'd try and love up on her, but she's stopped that since about 3 months old.

All in all, she's a pretty good girl. Can you tell I'm awful proud of her?

[Carina43]

Hi gingereebs2!
Your "breeder" is an ignorant nincompoop who was probably eager to get some money for her puppies so she didn't have to keep paying for pesky stuff like food and care.

Now that I've got that off my chest...

Hannah sounds lovely. However, she has yet to hit her Terrible Teens. Some dogs turn from sweet, biddable puppies to challenging, snotty teenagers practically overnight. And a challenging, snotty teenage Rottweiler is no fun. If she has no foundation in impeccable manners & respect by now, you could be in a ton of trouble.
GET HER INTO FORMAL OBEDIENCE NOW!!!
I'm serious. Group classes are inexpensive, tons of fun, and invaluable. Dogs of any age can do beginner ob classes. Even experienced Rottweiler owners have their dogs in classes from puppyhood.
If you want to see a perhaps extreme example of what can happen if an untrained, unsocialised Rottweiler can become, read this thread:
http://rottweiler.net/forums/showthr...threadid=29975
This is not an unusual situation by any means.
Continue to be proud of your Hannah! And make both of you even prouder by starting some serious work with her. She deserves it.

[gingereebs2]

Thanks for the reply, Carrina. I am going to look into getting her into a class. My breeder (Ha ha) has "puppy classes" at her so-called back yard kennel, but I think she charges $50 a class. Then there is the PetSmart thing. Do you think we should enroll her in a regular Kennel Club beginner class? Is she old enough?

I have taught her to sit, lie down, shake a paw, speak and stay. She won't do anything without a "treat". She does reasonably well walking on her leash, since we bought the prong collar. She used to drag us down the street to the point of almost pulling me down!

I can see how these dogs could become unmanageable in a heartbeat!