rottie great house dogs

[Orville Story]

I have rotties because I love them. I have a total of 11 all are pampered, but two more than the rest they are my house dogs. Saba and Chicco follow me from room to room to make sure I OK. They don't have tails that could knock off my wifes do-dads. And they kept the couch warm for me. I don't understand why my friends are surprised when they realize these two live in the house. I was just wandering how many rottie owners kept their dogs in the house.

[Lady B]

Orville: I have two Rotts and love them dearly but only because my house could not support more than that (it's quite small but with a large backyard)! They are house dogs as well. Exceedingly spoiled and are allowed on the beds and couch. I was raised with dogs, but my Dad always felt they belonged outside in a kennel (probably because Mom was a cleaning freak) Every time the dog was allowed in I would sneak him or her into my bedroom and, of course, onto my bed! And, as could be expected, I caught the dickens for it. But now that I'm all grown up (he he he) I can do what I want!

Mine follow me every where as well. Sometimes it gets pretty frustrating when you have two big shadows and you're trying to make the bed or move quickly. These big ones create more housecleaning as they shed and bring in alot of extra dirt but I wouldn't have it any other way. They are my companions and have brought much joy to my life. As well as exceptionally good health. Having to exercise and train them daily has given me the best immune system ever!! I find I want to be outside most of the time now, even when it's windy and raining. Because of the exercise requirements for them I have gotten to see so many wonderful things on the beach. It makes me wonder how long I was "asleep" before Lady and Baron came into my life!

[nick teifke]

our puppy also lives in the house. and if we ever get another and another and another, they will all live in the house too. im sure people have good reasons for having an outside dog, granted they are well cared for and provided shelter, food, and love. but i just couldnt bring myself to keep my dog outside all the time. every time my dog goes outside, i go outside until she's ready to come in. when im cold, i assume shes cold too and we go in. i guess she is just spoiled rotten

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nick teifke
nteifke@kcc.com
www.angelfire.com/wi/1strottie

[Liz]

Ascan, Janni and Molly live in the house, and if I had my way, everyone would live in the house, unfortunately, matters of upbringing and temperament intrude.

Perry lives outside because he has *horrible* house manners!!!! Perry was born during a time when I was told by various international competitors that in order to raise a good SchH dog, you had to put them out in a kennel when they were four months old, so he's missed out on a lot. He is pretty good with the kids (wouldn't dream of attacking them, but wouldn't hesitate to knock 'em over if they're in his way), does not chase the cats, but he really doesn't seem to recognize furniture as an obstacle in his path. He doesn't chew things, he's crate trained, but he's not quite housebroken. He also does not get along with Ascan, and at this point Ascan takes priority. BTW - I would NEVER recommend raising a rottweiler in this fashion to anyone!!

Tessi is still in a kennel. Tessi came to us just a few months ago, and I like to intro a new bitch over a period of at least six months to give the older girls a chance to adjust to her. Also, she cannot be in the house when she goes into heat as Ascan will lose all of his little tiny brain for the duration and we do not plan to breed her till late next year. Tessi has met the girls through fencing, she's been in the house and intro'd through a crate and over a babygate - all went well. She does not appear to have lived in a house before, so we have housebreaking and manners to teach in addition to making sure all the girls get along over the winter.

Luckily, neither Molly or Janni is same sex aggressive and Janni, even though she's an alpha bitch is willing to let other bitches *think* they're alpha as long as it doesn't interfere with her absentee rulership

Molly and Janni have survived the introduction of several bitches to their household, including some long term rescue fosters and have never had a serious problem. Tessi is not dog aggressive, nor is she a true alpha, so we don't anticipate problems integrating her.

Liz
http://www.inxpress.net/~harkon/


[This message has been edited by Liz (edited December 06, 1998).]

[CALandry]

Kahlo laughs at the idea that a dog should go outside. She thinks she is human, and humans belong inside. My Bed is her bed, my chair is her chair, and so on. She is underfoot at all times. My other dog Sophie, a German Pinscher, will spend the day out in the yard, but when she is ready to come in she's ready. She would never dream of sleeping outside. People think I'm a little crazy for having both of them inside. They say that the girls are too big to be inside, but that is nonsense. 2 dogs and a cat inside is a lot calmer than when there were 3 dogs and 3 cats inside. I don't mind cleaning up after them it's other people's messes that I don't want to clean. So I love having my girls inside.

[German Vanegas]

Orville, my house has a "dog door" access for my dogs, so they can go out and come in at will. It works out just terrific! They spend time in the yard, and at will come back inside the house.

[Goose]

I'm so glad to hear that a lot of other owners keep thier Rott's inside. My pup just hit 11 weeks and almost everyone we know thinks that we are crazy for raising him in the house. But after having him as a family member for only 3-4 weeks, I could not stand leaving him outside. He sleeps beside the bed in his crate and is doing better with housebreaking. I like the fact that I can roll over and watch him sleep. Of course, he thinks that every rug, blanket, and towel in the house belong to him. Now, if I could only get him to get along with my two cats.

[Jen]

Orville -

My rottie is a house pup too. My friends were a little surprised at first, but now when they come over the first thing they do is ask where the dog is. Sometimes when I have a group of guests over I will put him in the spare bedroom to help conserve space. Usually within the first 1/2 hour my guests have broken him free from his "jail".

Another nice thing (besides the obvious companionship) is that when repairmen come in the house they see that I have a large dog. Of course, I don't think he would hurt a flea, but they don't know that. If I am home alone, I do not like letting people I do not know into my house.

Here is a funny one: Once a guy came to repair the furnace. My dog has been taught that he can go part way down the stairs but not actually go in the basement. We taught him this when he was a puppy. He would go along and chew/eat everything in his path. The basement was not exactly "puppy-proofed". My dog will only come all the way down the stairs if you say "OK." Well back to the repairman. He started working on the furnance. My dog promptly sat himself on the stairway (paws on one stair, butt on the stair above) and watched him work. The poor repair guy, I don't think he could see my dog's wagger going. I am sure he didn't recognise his smile either (probably looked like a mouth full of teeth). I made my puppy come back up the stairs and lay next to me. He also has the habit of puppy bowing and backing up the stairs while play growling and tossing his head when you try to climb up the stairs. I figured that would be too much for the repair guy.

So yes, I agree that it is extra work keeping the house clean but rotts are a riot in the house. They are such clowns.

[Killfactor]

Jade to is a house pup, as a matter of fact
it is 15 degrees out and when I try to let her out, she turns around once outside and looks at me with those eyes then turns and walks to do her business with her head down. also we showed her the flashlight which she chases the light.....what a mistake, now she hunts shadows hours and hours every night, I cant even open the refridgerator without her attacking the floor. I wouldn't have it any other way, inside is the way to go, plus I dont like it when she's not at my feet, My wife and I would get lonely if she wasn't right there everytime we want to even hug.

[Jen]

Killfactor -
How long has Jade chased shadows? My friend's dog chases shadows. We thought it was cute at first. Over time it has ruined her show career and my friend's house and lawn. She kills trees digging at the shadows underneath them. Tears out the lawn trying to get shadows. Inside the house she has torn at the carpet, knocked things over, ripped wall coverings. She is obsessed with shadow chasing. My dog will chase a flashlight, but only if we tell him it is a game. When we need to use the flashlight to see, we say "enough" and he is serious. If Jade can turn her shadow chasing on & off that is good, but be careful she doesn't become too obsessed.

[Hellothere]

Loved to read all those all so recognisable stories. We have the three dogs: two rotties, one belgium shepherd and a cat and of course they live IN our house.
Both the girls (rottie and shepherd) hate bad weather (cold and rainy) as much as I do and come in as quickly as possible. Laika our male Rottie loves it outside, but for sleeping he prefers our couch of course!
It's really worth it, and friends and family change their opinion when they've met them.
The only one who does't like having them in the house is our cat. She was there before they came and sees her house overtaken by all these dogs.

[Killfactor]

Jade will only chase moving shadows, I haven't asked her to stop but if I ask her to do something else she will still listen, One great thing is that she is very aware of her suroundings and doesn't knock into things, and strange enough, I was worried about the x-mas tree, but she hasn't really even noticed it except that it is in her favorite spot, but she seems to be dealing with it.

[frontierrots]

I have 12 dogs, 6 of which are rotts. I have a dog room with crates and in the summer the dogs are out in the pens all night and in their air conditioned dog room all day. During the winter they are in their pens all day and in their heated dog room all night.
I alternate the rotts each night so every night a different rott gets to sleep in my room and they all get 1 night a week in the house
The young ones come to work at the kennel with me daily to be socialized and used to other dogs

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Diane
Frontier Rottweilers & Shiba Inu
www.w3-sales.com/frontierrots/main.htm

[fersh]

So good to hear you are all as "mad" as we are. My 5 Rotties all live inside, Jedda the only naughty one, as Alpha she does not like the 2 girls, but we work around that. Three sleep in my room at night and they all share the favourite comfy spots around the house. Wouldn't have it any other way

[Lady B]

Yes, we are all quite mad as hatters about our Rotten children. We just had our first snow fall of the season (Seattle doesn't get too many, you know) and the big indoor rugs suddenly became outdoor snowplows!! They were really enjoying themselves trying to find those familiar scents which had suddenly been buried under this very cold, wet, white stuff. Baron especially liked hunting up the tennis balls that had been left laying around. Lady, on the other hand, could not quite figure out what had happened to HER pond. It had frozen over with a large ball in the middle. While I was busy doing the usual "yard duty" I looked up and there she was, laying on top of the ice pack, one paw on the ball, as though to say, "Well! Here I am, the Queen of Everything. Now, what do you think of that!" It would have made a great photo, but sadly I never think of taking the camera along and miss the greatest shots! We all played for quite a while out there, in the still whiteness, finding joy in the moment.