Given Rott Pup as a Gift...New to the Breed

[bigfig]

I have had all sorts of dogs throughout my life (I'm 30) and years ago my husband had two Rottweilers but I didn't have much to do with their training.
Someone just gave me a female Rottweiler pup as a gift. She is 7 weeks old and I got her yesterday. I am a little concerned because she will not eat or drink. All she wants to do is hide. If you pick her up she wants to burrow under your shoulder and if you put her down she runs under the furniture. I know that when I have gotten a puppy in the past, it may have been shy for a few hours but it eventually got over the shyness.

Can anyone suggest what would be a good way with working with this puppy? The person who gave her to me says she was almost weaned and had been eating dry food. I have tried giving her dry food, canned food and even chicken and dumplings but she just runs away and tries to hide.

[rottcrazed]

It sounds to me like whoever raised this litter had no idea how to socialize their puppies because this puppy is acting like she has not been exposed to ANYTHING at all, not even people.

You need to handle her as much as possible, expose her to noises, however, this said, I have never had a puppy who was so undersocialized as yours sounds, and I would also be worried about doing too much too fast with her.

I am leaving this to the experts. Just know, you have A LOT of work infront of you.

If it were me, I would take that particular puppy back, and if you really want a dog, go and find someone who knows what they are doing when it comes to properly raising a litter of puppies.

Not sure what else to say

Kristi

[Bucky's Mom]

Originally Posted by rottcrazed

If it were me, I would take that particular puppy back, and if you really want a dog, go and find someone who knows what they are doing when it comes to properly raising a litter of puppies.

Not sure what else to say

Kristi

I have to agree - a lifetime commitment is something that no one should "gift" someone with.

This puppy will require years of training - classes - medical care the list is endless.

The fact that you were gifted with this dog at 7 weeks is a red flag to me - most reputable breeders will not release a puppy till 8 weeks AND certainly not to a new owner who had NO idea they were getting a "gift"

[bigfig]

Originally Posted by Bucky's Mom

I have to agree - a lifetime commitment is something that no one should "gift" someone with.

This puppy will require years of training - classes - medical care the list is endless.

The fact that you were gifted with this dog at 7 weeks is a red flag to me - most reputable breeders will not release a puppy till 8 weeks AND certainly not to a new owner who had NO idea they were getting a "gift"

I'm going to take her to PetSmart, I don't know what to do if she doesn't start eating...force feed her with a syringe?

[theoriginalflyingl]

Originally Posted by bigfig

The person who gave her to me says she was almost weaned and had been eating dry food.

ALMOST weaned???? This may be the problem. A puppy should be fully weaned before leaving it's mother.

Originally Posted by bigfig

I'm going to take her to PetSmart, I don't know what to do if she doesn't start eating...force feed her with a syringe?

I am sure others will point this out, but PetSmart is not a recomending training program. Do a few searches here and you will find out some good recomendations.
Can you contact the breeder and get the real age of this pup? Surely they too would be able to help with the eating issue. I hope others can give better advice on feeding the poor thing.

[JoJo]

The first place I take her would be a trip to the vet's office. This pup sounds like stated, never been exposed to anything, including humans so I feel positive this pup has never had her first set of shots. Petsmart is not the place to expose this puppy. Take it slow and easy. Don't overwhelm her with too much at one time. Your vet will also be able to guestamate her age and help you to help her to eat. Personally if it were me, this pup would be back where she came from. Sorry.

JoJo

[bigfig]

I don't know, I don't really feel like I can send her back where she came from. I wasn't going to take her to PetSmart for training...looks to me like they just hire college kids off the street for their training course. I know in the next town there is a *real* dog trainer who trains prison dogs/obedience, etc. I will contact him Monday. My husband is good at training dogs but he is too heavy handed in my opinion so I'm going to insist on finding a trainer to work with me.

I will take her to the vet Monday.

Husband and I have already gotten attached to her, and I have three children ages 4, 7 and 8 who carry her around like a baby. She doesn't seem to mind being handled and even turned over and carried, but put her down and she goes in the corner, perhaps she just has a shy nature.

[Bucky's Mom]

Originally Posted by bigfig

perhaps she just has a shy nature.

However attached you have become in the past few days is NOTHING compared to how attached you will be months from now - your puppy is exhibiting SEVERE shyness which is NOT at all correct for this breed - this is from the AKC Web page about Rottweiler temperment


Temperament
The Rottweiler is basically a calm, confident and courageous dog with a self-assured aloofness that does not lend itself to immediate and indiscriminate friendships. A Rottweiler is self-confident and responds quietly and with a wait-and-see attitude to influences in his environment. He has an inherent desire to protect home and family, and is an intelligent dog of extreme hardness and adaptability with a strong willingness to work, making him especially suited as a companion, guardian and general all-purpose dog.

Without naming names did your puppy come from a pet store or a breeder?

[StephanieandToby]

Please take your puppy to a Vet ASAP...especially if she isn't eating. If you can't get her eating properly, all the other questions are pointless.

Good luck!

[spidey]

perhaps she just has a shy nature.

It sounds like she has a fearful nature (or "weak nerves"). This is not as benign as it seems, and it will not go away. Owning a fearful dog can mean a lifetime commitment to managing their environment, and such dogs can be dangerous if you do not. I'm sorry, but especially with three young kids in the house I would return the puppy. It takes a LOT of work to desensitize and work with a fearful dog to the point where you can even see ANY results, and odds are good you don't have that kind of time available to you with three young children. For most people, owning a dog should not be a "project" and it's very likely that this dog will be a "project" which lasts for a decade, it's not as simple as just taking her to Petsmart a few times. There is also the consideration that fearful dogs can be very quick to snap or bite if they feel threatened, and I feel this is an extremely unsafe situation with children in the house.

If you decide to keep her, please do some serious research into fearfulness in dogs (Ali Brown's book "Scaredy Dog", Patricia McConnell's pamphlet "The Cautious Canine" and Ian Dunbar's pamphlet "Fearfulness" should be considered required reading for owners of fearful or reactive dogs, in my opinion), and take her problem seriously. Fearful dogs do not become normal dogs, they become fearful dogs with learned skills for managing their stress IF they have owners who learn about, and implement, ways to do this. This is not normal behaviour for a puppy, and the earlier you accept this and begin working on it, the more likely you are to see some improvement, while keeping your family safe.

Regardless of what you decide to do (and I really would return her and get a dog with solid nerves and a proper start to socialization), please stop carrying her around like a baby. She is a dog, with legs that work, and she will be a big dog one day, carrying her around and turning her over and that sort of thing is not only disrespectful, it is also not going to help with her fearfulness. At very least your children should not be carrying her around, but really, she should be allowed to walk. I'm really sorry, but I strongly feel that this is a bad situation with serious potential to become a dangerous situation, for your family AND for the dog.

[LUVMYROTTNBOY]

I wish you the best with this situation. I adopted a puppy that was a fearful and he was very unstable. He would turn in a second without warning and land serious bites that drew blood. He was a very, very handsome boy, was going to be quite the large boy according to my vet, who stated upon the first visit that he did NOT approve of this dog. **My vet is fine with Rotties and handles my new dog quite well***

I contacted a dog behavior specialist right away to work with that pup and had him evaluated for temperament issues. I have dog experience; he was to be my second Rottie. Long story short..... I had this puppy in my home 2 weeks, and it was the hardest thing to return him, but I did. He was re-evaluated by the adopting agency and he was put down. Get help ASAP, get the dog to a vet, and get some professional help right away. Remember these dogs grow fast and they learn fast. Think of your kids and your family, and you should have a word or two with the person who gave you this "gift"....They should have given you money twoard the purchase of a dog that would fit your family needs.

[damp]

I don’t think you got a gift but a burden (you didn’t ask for)

I find it rude and outrageous to offer ANY living creature as a “gift”.

Return the “gift”!!!

[keller27]

Had a customer come into the store telling me that they have a rottie puppy that they were given as a gift. She doesn't even want it, so it sits in the backyard. I told her to take it back to where it came from. Talking to her, I know she would never beable to bond with the puppy. She wanted a little dog. I think that she took my advise. It wouldn't be fair for the puppy.

[bigfig]

According to my friend the puppy came from a backyard breeder. The mother was friendly and outgoing but the father was aggressive toward strangers.
The person this friend got the dog from lives over 500 miles away (got her as he was passing through) so I don't think returning the dog is an option.
If this dog is as bad as you all are saying it also wouldn't be fair to pass this burden on to someone else and likely the dog will need to be put to sleep. If that is the case I feel like I should take responsibillity for this.
As far as carrying puppy around like a baby, it is hard to know what to do...I was told by a Doberman breeder once that you should get the puppy used to being turned over and carried around and submissive to you, now people are telling me it's disrespectful (to the dog?) and shouldn't be done and the dog will end up eating one of my children.

I'm not sure what to do. Returning the pup isn't an option. Yes, it is tacky to give someone a living thing as a pet but it has been done now.

Fed her with a syringe and she seemed to enjoy being fed. In my opinion it is possible this little pup doesn't know how to eat properly. My brother's girlfriend used to be a vet tech and says it looks like the pup was torn away from her siblings and mother too abruptly.

[debbiej]

You really should try to take the puppy back to it's mother. If your family is so attached to it, maybe you can get her back after she has spent a few more weeks with her mom and littermates.