Advice for our first Rotty...

[hmeadq]

We have a 5-1/2 month old Rotty pup. We don't know for sure if he is pure breed, but our trainers seem to think he is and he looks the part.

We found him at 4 months tied behind a bar (next to one of my husbands accounts). He had been there 3 days with no food or water. We were able to find the owner, who was living in a room above the bar. She gave him to us, and we left FAST.

When we lost our last dog (14 year old Red Wolf hybrid, also a rescue) in the summer to a heart condition, we began thinking about what type of dog we wanted next.

Our pup is everything we did NOT want in our next dog. He is a male, he's a breed with a bad rep (we have people on our farm often), he is a rescue, and we got him after his most formative puppy stage. That being said, we have done a lot of research on them and the more we do the more we like the breed and our puppy.

We have had him in training sense less then a week after we got him, and he is doing very well for his age. (We also know that we will be in training with him for a while, at least through CGC.) But I have a few questions if you would all endulge me...

I have had several people express concern that we have this "aggressive dog," "breed for fighting." I explain that he was breed to be a working dog, a herder and cart puller. But we are having a problem finding someone with kids who will let us bring our puppy over to play. We want to make sure he gets kid contact, but how can we reassure people? (I even had one idiot tell me that if he ever mauled a child I should be shot... )

He is generally very good, but when he gets upset (doesn't get what he wants...) He'll throw a temper tantrum and start barking. Is this typical breed behavior? I know he is a pup but having a 60 pound tank bark at you can be intimidating.

Our trainers have worked with us to help with his "dominance" issues. And we are doing things like making him stay down until he yawns or licks our hand, when he starts to think he is boss. And he does not get food off our plates or walk through a door first, but what else should we be doing?

If anyone has any other advice on our first Rott I would appreicate it.

Thanks to everyone!

[Denise L.]

Congratulations on your new dog and bless you for taking him out of an awful situation.

I came to Rott.net too before I adopted my dog. Read the "stickies", go back and read through the posts, do searches on specifics and you will find a wealth of information.

I have been lucky in that I have not encountered any negatve feedback about owning a Rottweiler. The best thing to do is to have your dog be an example of this wonderful breed. I am able to bring Cyrus to work with me and I take him on walks thoughout the campus and his good behavior speaks for itself. The same thing in my neighborhood.

[Patty1231]

If it were me, I wouldn't try child socialization until you've got his tantrum issues under control. Once that is done and you have control of his behavior, you might try starting slow on exposure in parks, etc., where children play. They don't have to specifically play with your pup at first, just being around them should start the ball rolling. Firm, fair, consistent corrections will establish the best guidelines for him to follow and place you in a leadership role. Good behavior on his part and confidence on your part will go a long way in establishing a positive response.

[Coleboy]

Originally Posted by hmeadq

We have a 5-1/2 month old Rotty pup. We don't know for sure if he is pure breed, but our trainers seem to think he is and he looks the part.

We found him at 4 months tied behind a bar (next to one of my husbands accounts). He had been there 3 days with no food or water. We were able to find the owner, who was living in a room above the bar. She gave him to us, and we left FAST.

When we lost our last dog (14 year old Red Wolf hybrid, also a rescue) in the summer to a heart condition, we began thinking about what type of dog we wanted next.


Our pup is everything we did NOT want in our next dog. He is a male, he's a breed with a bad rep (we have people on our farm often), he is a rescue, and we got him after his most formative puppy stage. That being said, we have done a lot of research on them and the more we do the more we like the breed and our puppy.

We have had him in training sense less then a week after we got him, and he is doing very well for his age. (We also know that we will be in training with him for a while, at least through CGC.) But I have a few questions if you would all endulge me...

I have had several people express concern that we have this "aggressive dog," "breed for fighting." I explain that he was breed to be a working dog, a herder and cart puller. But we are having a problem finding someone with kids who will let us bring our puppy over to play. We want to make sure he gets kid contact, but how can we reassure people? (I even had one idiot tell me that if he ever mauled a child I should be shot... )

He is generally very good, but when he gets upset (doesn't get what he wants...) He'll throw a temper tantrum and start barking. Is this typical breed behavior? I know he is a pup but having a 60 pound tank bark at you can be intimidating.

Our trainers have worked with us to help with his "dominance" issues. And we are doing things like making him stay down until he yawns or licks our hand, when he starts to think he is boss. And he does not get food off our plates or walk through a door first, but what else should we be doing?

If anyone has any other advice on our first Rott I would appreicate it.

Thanks to everyone!

Sounds to me like you are on the right track....good job

1. Your dog barking at you is a test, you can't let him get away with this behaviour.
2. If he does this as a result of not following a command, you must have him follow the command, or he finds a repercussion. I use a pitch colar...some like some don't
3. Continue to work him, there really isn't a secret formula...just consistant training and training methods

4. As far as the kids; do you feel he has a problem with kids
Is he showing some behaviour that scares you. If you ave any doubts at all I wouldn't risk it.

I came to grips with this at a very young age, any dog that looks at Cole for more then 3 seconds is getting attacked, and young kids that are under 3 feet tall, he has a problem with(they stare, he gets all wound up). So he has never been in the presense of children, I just won't risk it.

[Soulworx]

nice to hear there are people out there willing to recue these great dogs that have just been given a miserable start in life.

Training is an excellent idea, and stick to it, every week or every time the class is on.
The main thing that constantly needs to be put accross to the pup is its position in your "pack". Your dog is always holds the bottom rank. This is where he is happiest, he doesnt have to worry about finding food or worry about everyone else because he knows that they can all do that for themselves.

Socialisation is a necesity as you already know. Take him to busy places when he is ready, and just be silent while he listens, watches and smells what is going on around him. If anything scares him do not be tempted to comfort him, just act like there is nothing to be scared of. And a good way of getting him used to strangers is to have them give him a treat, although make sure he is on his best behaviour when comming into contact with strangers, start off with friends and family members.

Oh and just checking but have you been to your vet to have him checked out. If the previous owner didnt care enough to feed him then they probably didnt care enough to get him his shots.

As for meeting people who feel the need to tell you their opinion on your dog. Dont take it to heart, you know your dog, and you know his character and temperament (or at least you'll get to know it when you've had a bit of time together) so dont take any notice. When your dog has had a few classes you could just put him into a down or a sit and show how obedient he is. His behaviour will speak a thousand words, and like others have said a well behaved dog is the best ambassador for the breed.

Remember he is still only a pup so you will get all the pup behaviour that goes with his age, but get it through to him that when you give a command you mean business and it has to be followed through. Keeping a dog in its place is done through the routines of everyday life like the ones you said about feeding and general manners, all dogs need consistant and fair leadership, and its your job to provide it, as long as that is there you should have a well mannered pup sooner than you think.

Good luck with the wee fella, and hopefully now he'll get a good chance of having a decent life.

One last thing, stay on these pages, read the posts and join in, you learn soo much, i've learn more here than in any book i've bought, and it really is a great place to get specific advice from the experts when and where you need it.

[hmeadq]

Thanks for the great thoughts! Now that I have figured out how to look at posts older then a day I will go through the forum with a fine tooth comb.

Our puppy seems to be good with kids. We do know his previous owner had 2 little girls (should have taken them to!) and when we are in the park and he sees kids he will pull a bit, but not bark and his tail is wagging a mile a minute and he stops when we tell him to. We were looking for someone with 10 year old boys or something like that, but that can wait, we are just concerned about children because we will start having our own in the next couple years.

He gets a bit of socialization with other dogs. At training we will let him play after and today is the second day he's been in daycare. (It's at the same place where we train him so they know him.) Our trainer thinks we are doing good. He passed Basic first time, but they though he was a bit yound and distractable to go on so we are doing Basic a second time to reinforce and socilize him.

We did get a remote training collar for him to use for his barking. But we are a bit scared to use it. It says do not use for aggressive behavior. So is barking when we are eating aggressive or just puppy?

What kind of training beyond obedience and CGC should Rotties get? Our trainer thinks that we should have him evaluated for herding, but he also LOVES running through tubes and thinks he is a Billy Goat (not that we think he would be compition level agility but classes and training might be fun for him.) My faince' was looking into Shutzhund (sp) but we do not think we have enough time to do that because we farm and have jobs so in the summer we have markets on Saturdays and stuff to do on Sundays. We are not sure we want to encourage him in that direction. We do afterall have strangers over.

Thanks again!

[Soulworx]

Originally Posted by hmeadq

We did get a remote training collar for him to use for his barking. But we are a bit scared to use it. It says do not use for aggressive behavior. So is barking when we are eating aggressive or just puppy?

That cant be put down to puppy behaviour, its just plain bad manners and he should be made to stop it right away. He should know that when you are eating he leaves you alone to eat, then he will get his food when it is his turn.

I've never used the training collars, i found a stern "No" was enough for bailey.

[Troy]

As he gets more training, structure and socialization I think a lot of these issues and concerns will smooth.

Remember, he's come from a bad situation where he was taught nothing and he is still very young.

And don't let anyone give you a hard time about owning a rott!

I applaud you for helping this boy.

[Soulworx]

Originally Posted by Troy

As he gets more training, structure and socialization I think a lot of these issues and concerns will smooth.

Remember, he's come from a bad situation where he was taught nothing and he is still very young.

And don't let anyone give you a hard time about owning a rott!

I applaud you for helping this boy.

Yip... the good manners will come with a bit of time and patience... you saved him young enough where what you do now will make a big difference on improving his quality of life and his attitudes towards people and the world around him...
good luck

[Coleboy]

Originally Posted by hmeadq

What kind of training beyond obedience and CGC should Rotties get? Our trainer thinks that we should have him evaluated for herding, but he also LOVES running through tubes and thinks he is a Billy Goat (not that we think he would be compition level agility but classes and training might be fun for him.) My faince' was looking into Shutzhund (sp) but we do not think we have enough time to do that because we farm and have jobs so in the summer we have markets on Saturdays and stuff to do on Sundays. We are not sure we want to encourage him in that direction. We do afterall have strangers over.

Thanks again!

Your basic training , sit, down, down stay, come and heel can be done at three different levels.
1. with food
2. without food
3 off lead

Believe this is a lot of training, and will keep you going for a while.

As far as Schutzhund, very few Rotti's have the desired characteristics for this type of training. You can have your dogs nerve's tested for this type of work.
If your dog has the right temeperment etc...don't be afraid to move him in this direction, Schutzhund dogs are the most sound, most controled dogs you'll ever possess.
Most dog bites are the result of a nervous, scared dog...Schutzund dogs are 180 degree's away from that.

Good luck

[BostonRott]

Barking can be a frustration behaviour too. He will come around as he learns what the rules and expectations are in your house. Just like with any dog or child, fair and consistant rule enforcement will get you the farthest, the fastest.

Agility is WONDERFUL for building a bond between dog/handler and also for instilling confidence in a dog. If he shows interest in it, try out a class. Realize that agility classes can often be places of very high energy (dogs are REALLY rev'd up) and be prepared to handle this with him. Many people respond poorly to Rottweilers who are in drive and barking and hopping at the end of their leash (yet it's cute of a Golden or BC does this..... ).

Taking him to parks, to sports games (I realize most have moved indoors now that it's winter) is a great way to expose him to the noise and sudden movement of kids, without freaking out parents about their children meeting a Rottweiler. You can bring him down with a lot of high value treats and work on just hanging out, being calm while watching, etc. The better behaved he is, the more likely kids are going to be to come meet him. Ask the kids to wait while you have him sit, be sure they know how to properly greet him (no staring at his eyes, no patting over his head)........this will allow him to see kids, be treated properly by them and trust in you that "kids are ok." As he is better with kids, the patting over the head may not be such an issue, but it's always something I instruct kids on when they meet my dogs for the first time. I tell them that while my dogs do not mind it, some dogs don't like people leaning over them. I show them how to present a hand for sniffing, and how to nicely pet a dog.

[dmoniz]

If you decide to go with the remote training collar make sure your trainer shows you how to use it. It is a great tool if used correctly, but can go very wrong if used incorrectly.

[hmeadq]

The remote trainer is sitting on our shelf. I used it on myself and decided that we would only use it up to a setting of 3. But when we tried it didn't work and we have no desire to hurt him.

I am afraid to bring it up to our trainer. It is all about positive reinforcement in class. Heck we are not even supposed to say "no" unless its a "NO!" as in growling or some other very wroing behavior. Otherwise it is "stop it" or some other word we chose to mean no...

The thing is that the barking while eating did not start until the day after we went to our first class. He got a quite command and a treat. He figured it out quick... Step one, bark. Step two, bark until I get command. Step three, person says "Quite." Step four, I obey and get a treat! So we try to use a diffrent command "sit" "watch me" or "Down" and then wait 20-30 seconds of obedience to get a treat. So hopefully he is thinking the treat is for being good, not barking.

I am sorry to go on and on... I am just so happy to find people who can help me learn about my new pup!

[Soulworx]

Originally Posted by hmeadq

The remote trainer is sitting on our shelf. I used it on myself and decided that we would only use it up to a setting of 3. But when we tried it didn't work and we have no desire to hurt him.

I am afraid to bring it up to our trainer. It is all about positive reinforcement in class. Heck we are not even supposed to say "no" unless its a "NO!" as in growling or some other very wroing behavior. Otherwise it is "stop it" or some other word we chose to mean no...

The thing is that the barking while eating did not start until the day after we went to our first class. He got a quite command and a treat. He figured it out quick... Step one, bark. Step two, bark until I get command. Step three, person says "Quite." Step four, I obey and get a treat! So we try to use a diffrent command "sit" "watch me" or "Down" and then wait 20-30 seconds of obedience to get a treat. So hopefully he is thinking the treat is for being good, not barking.

I am sorry to go on and on... I am just so happy to find people who can help me learn about my new pup!

Sounds good....the trick is to think like your dog, and i rekon your startin to do that pretty well. But becareful with the time thing.... somtimes waiting can make them forget what they did right
Wouldnt it be a lot easier if they just took an english class