How to raise a confident dog?

[jazzie23]

I understand the importance of raising a good confident dog. How can you achieve that other than training and socialization?

I know Jazmin is a puppy but I've noticed her ears are back often, she slacks when sitting (head down). Outside her reactions are different everytime, when she hears something she'll either stand and want to investigate or put her ears down and coward. It seems as if she loves being outside. I don't want her to be a fearful dog, can you actually prevent a dog from becoming fearful or are they born with that trait?

[Judi W]

Character is inherited and then influenced by the upbringing. A good dog can be ruined, but a dog born with poor character can only be modified in its responses.

In your specific case, I believe you are doing what you can and she seems to be turning out decently. My only correction would be to quit analyzing every breath she takes and relax more about her.

[kutiee25]

Hi

Just Wanted To Say Our F Rottie Had The Same Issues! But What It Was She Was Immature And Not Ready Yet!
But Now Since We Have Been Taking Her To Ob School She Is Seeing That She Needs To Be A Dog With Confident And She Has Shown Us That She Is Gettin There! She Is Still Little Nerves Around Crowds But She Wont Let Nobody Near Us, Only When We Let Her Know They Are Cool!

But It Just Takes Time And She Will Show You!
Take Care

[Judi W]

You let your dog decide who can be near you? That would last about 5 seconds at my house and not be repeated.

[kutiee25]

I Really Dont Have Time To Get Into It With You Judiw! As Long As We Know What We Are Doing With Our Rottie Then Thats All We Need To Know! No Comments From You ! Thank You!

[LunaBell]

Originally Posted by kutiee25

I Really Dont Have Time To Get Into It With You Judiw! As Long As We Know What We Are Doing With Our Rottie Then Thats All We Need To Know! No Comments From You ! Thank You!

The entire point of a message board is posted comments.

[MontanaRott]

Originally Posted by kutiee25

I Really Dont Have Time To Get Into It With You Judiw! As Long As We Know What We Are Doing With Our Rottie Then Thats All We Need To Know! No Comments From You ! Thank You!

That is just the point, you do not know what you are doing, OTHERWISE your dog would NOT be making decisions for you. You are in charge not your dog. I hope you rethink what message you are sending to your dog and get on top of that behavior asap. Otherwise you are raising a dog that is going to be another nail in the coffin for our breed and our right to own it.
It is not cool, cute or clever, what your dog is doing, is it nasty, rude and downright dangerous. Exactly what Jazzie is trying to avoid.

[Judi W]

Jazzie wants to raise a dog that has a high enough level of self confidence so that she does not see danger where none exists. I believe that she is doing the right things in order to achieve her goal.

Dogs that see danger where there is none usually do so out of weak nerves, whether genetic or induced.

[damp]

As Judi said, she is what she is, you can’t change that, but you can spoil her with all your concerns.

Relax and enjoy her and give her room to develop and overcome her by herself, what ever scares her and don’t feel sorry for her. That will develop confidence.

It’s not a problem if a pup feels the world is a bit overwhelming now and then. That’s not abnormal. It’s much more important how fast she recovers from what scares her and then wiggles when she by her own finds out… ah that mailbox is not scary, these people are great fun and it’s a big game to chase the vacuum etc. etc. what ever cause her to be insecure.

Ps. Just out of curiosity, are you a new moderator kutiee25????

[miccmill]

Originally Posted by damp

As Judi said, she is what she is, you can’t change that, but you can spoil her with all your concerns.

Relax and enjoy her and give her room to develop and overcome her by herself, what ever scares her and don’t feel sorry for her. That will develop confidence.

It’s not a problem if a pup feels the world is a bit overwhelming now and then. That’s not abnormal. It’s much more important how fast she recovers from what scares her and then wiggles when she by her own finds out… ah that mailbox is not scary, these people are great fun and it’s a big game to chase the vacuum etc. etc. what ever cause her to be insecure.

Yes, we followed this advice with Hannah as we thought she was fearful of everything. She's actually NOT fearful of everything and this type of approach can help you sort that out better.

I do believe if we hadn't adopted this approach, we couldv'e made a fearful dog a real wreck.

And no, she's not going to decide who we can talk to, approach or otherwise interact with. That's just plain wrong.

[jazzie23]

Thank you guys, I read some of these posts about fearful dogs/weak nerves and I just get a little nervous and like to check back with you to make sure I'm taking the right steps in raising

a dog that has a high enough level of self confidence so that she does not see danger where none exists

.

As far as

She Wont Let Nobody Near Us, Only When We Let Her Know They Are Cool

, I don't want a guard dog, I want a companion. It my job to protect my dog not the other way around.

[RottieMom51503]

She Is Still Little Nerves Around Crowds But She Wont Let Nobody Near Us, Only When We Let Her Know They Are Cool!

Your dog is nervous and won't let anyone around you because she thinks she is in charge of your pack. That is extremely dangerous. This is not a world she understands nor is it a world where she can become leader. She knows this and that is why she is nervous in crowds. You need to do the responsible thing and relieve her of that duty and step up to the plate to be the Alpha yourself. Admit it or not she believes you are counting on her to make decisions for the pack. Since she does not understand this world she thinks everything is a threat.

If she feels a threat to her pack, make no mistake about it, she will use her teeth to defend. Making a huge legal bill for you and a nasty mark for the Rottweiler breed.

Judi is right, this wouldn't last five minutes in my house. I refuse to allow my dogs to dictate whom I can associate with.

I Really Don't Have Time To Get Into It With You Judiw! As Long As We Know What We Are Doing With Our Rottie Then Thats All We Need To Know! No Comments From You ! Thank You!

It's a shame, you don't have the time to listen to Judi, for your dogs sake. You obviously don't know what you are doing otherwise, your dog wouldn't be making decisions for you.

Just like your dog shouldn't be making decision for you, It is not your job to tell Judi, where she can and can't make her comments. This is a message board and she is free to make her comments anywhere she chooses. So I will suggest to you, that if you don't want her comments, to simply not post.

Also, please turn the cap locks off, it makes your post hard to read. I believe you were asked to do that in another post already.

[anthony450]

The growling / barking towards strangers is not necessarly a protective / pack leader attitude I believe, it can also be just an alert. If it continues while the dog knows you noticed the new comer then that is something to take care of.

[SABELLESMOM]

Great advice, here. Not much to add, and it's actually minor in comparision to the other advice given.

I, had a tendency to loom over the dog. It wasn't deliberate. I've had a lot of knee surgeries so I tend to bend at the hip. So, even adjusting a collar (looming) it helps to simply step back first = not looming.

While corrections are necessary, I tend to look for the most positive way to teach that I can think of. Targeting behavior thru a sound or well timed word is like, "oh butt touched floor, (click, or YAY!) must be this is what she wants." And the dog repeats the action. And I'm sure your dog knows these things already!

[TrishB]

There are a few things you can to do encourage a confident dog:

1) Purchase from an experienced COE breeder who has raised confident dogs in the past.

2) Purchase a pup that has confident parents.

3) Socialize, Socialize, Socialize

4) When new situations are encountered that you know are safe for your puppy, let them figure it out! A new toy that makes noise is a great thing to let them experience and deal with.

5) When there's a reaction from your dog that you don't like, don't continue the reaction my reacting. You need to act confident. They'll look to you for guidance and if you're freaking out then they will too (If Mom is scared, it must be REALLY scarey!! )

6) When they investigate new things, don't intervene until they're done. Make sure they get every chance to go through the experience themselves.

7) Don't try to "reassure" your dog. When you pat your dog and say "It's okay" in a soft tone, you're actually ENCOURAGING your dog to overreact. The perfect example is when dogs go to the vets. The dog is crying, barking, straining on the leash, carrying on.... The owners are patting them, cooing "It's okay, It's okay." The next time they're twice as nuts - and being encouraged for that too. There's no danger, there's no reason to "reassure" anyone or anything. Give them a job to do, a chew to redirect to and expect good, confident behaviour.

Your job is to set them up for success. Safe situations where you can set the tone by being confident - your puppy will adapt and learn.