normal rottie puppy behavior?????????????

[nursy2]

I just got an 8wk old female Rottie puppy. I have some concerns over her behavior. If she is playing and jumping around and you try to touch her, she growls and snaps. My 13 year old daughter picked her up today to give her a kiss and she did the same to her. Is this normal? This is my first Rottie, so I am not sure. No other breed of puppy that I have ever had has done this. I am concerned because I have 4 children ranging from 4-13. Is she testing her boundaries already or should I be concerned. She came from a reputable breeder who doen not seem to be concerned. She lets you flip her on her back, rub her belly, touch her ears, feet. She has no food aggression either. I' m a little confused at this behavior.

[hokisteph5]

It sounds normal to me. You might want to check out the puppy development forum - there are lots of other threads about puppy behavior in there. In terms of the flipping her on her back, if it was my dog I would stop doing that.

[JemarsSerena]

My pup didn't like to be physically moved either and to a point now at 1 yr old still doesn't. I would stop trying to pick her up or physically manipulate her. If she growls though, give a firm verbal correction to let her know that growling at you is not acceptable.

[winniecnm]

Tell the kids no kisses for right now till she gets over this wild stage. A needly puppy toothed bite to the nose sure hurts.

Is there a reason you guys are flipping her on her back? That can really rev her up as it is putting her in a submissive posture.

Regarding the food agression, might want to feed her in a quiet place like her crate. Bugging her right now about her food will perpetuate food agression issues later on. You have quite the busy household! Make sure puppy is supervised at all times when with your kids. If you cannot be there to supervise the interactions then put her up in a room with a babygate or into her crate until you are available to chapperone.

Pups this age are full of vinegar. She is doing normal pup things. Do you have training classes scheduled? Have any rottweiler books?

As for the biting and growling, gently reprimand her verbally. If she persists with the biting give a loud "ouch!" and tell her no bite. If she is a real pill tone the situation down by either escorting her to a quiet babygated room or by ignoring her.

Make sure she has time to get her excess energy out. Tug or fetch, some appropriate toys to keep her teeth working and her mind happy.

Lots of good reading here about pup rearing. If you have not already done so, check out the stickies in the pup development area.

Congats on your puppy.

[DaveS]

Our Pup did the same thing at 8 weeks. To be honest the first three or four weeks were not happy times. Our male chewed everything in sight (including us), was rough with my 9 year old son, on and on. I did a lot of reading here on this site, ask a lot of questions and got him in to a puppy class as soon as we could. Around 16 weeks he woke up and was a totally different dog. He is almost 6 months now and is a joy to be around, most of the time........
Do your homework, be consistant and patient. We found that short walks twice a day burned off some of the obnoxious energy. We still walk daily. In fact we have only missed our walks two times since we got our pup. The walks really help and it is good bonding time.

[sebastianvoneli]

Originally Posted by nursy2

INo other breed of puppy that I have ever had has done this.

That quote worries me a bit. I have to ask: When you say reputable breeder, by what standards???? You have 4 kids and are a first time rott owner/ why a rottie???? All puppies I know bite growl and go through chewing on the house phases. How long have you had this pup? I am not trying to be mean but it sounds like you have a predisposed thought that rotties are, by nature, mean because other puppies you have had did not bark and growl. As for reputable breeder/ it surprise me that one would give you a pup with 4 children in the house and never having had a rottie. My advice find a very good obedience instructer through your states rottie club if you have one. Puppy classess start at 8-12 weeks, then continue to beginner class and intermediate. An obedience instructer who specializes in rotties or massive breeds would be a great resource person. I still call on my instructer from time to time. Have fun with your new pup and dont let the kids drive him nuts. Remember the rotti may see your kids as littermates.

[nursy2]

Thanks for the info. She does not have any food aggression. She eats fine amongst all the busyness.As far as flipping her on her back. I guess I used the wrong words. At times when you approach her, she rolls on her back. We do not physically put her on her back. We will be taking her to obedience classes and have done much research before getting her. Our good friends have a Rottweiler, so we have learned about the breed.

[nursy2]

Originally Posted by sebastianvoneli

That quote worries me a bit. I have to ask: When you say reputable breeder, by what standards???? You have 4 kids and are a first time rott owner/ why a rottie???? All puppies I know bite growl and go through chewing on the house phases. How long have you had this pup? I am not trying to be mean but it sounds like you have a predisposed thought that rotties are, by nature, mean because other puppies you have had did not bark and growl. As for reputable breeder/ it surprise me that one would give you a pup with 4 children in the house and never having had a rottie. My advice find a very good obedience instructer through your states rottie club if you have one. Puppy classess start at 8-12 weeks, then continue to beginner class and intermediate. An obedience instructer who specializes in rotties or massive breeds would be a great resource person. I still call on my instructer from time to time. Have fun with your new pup and dont let the kids drive him nuts. Remember the rotti may see your kids as littermates.

I don't understand what you mean. Of course all puppies bite and chew, but I have never had a puppy that acted in this manner. I have had German Sheps, Boxers, Labs, St Bernards and none have acted as I am describing. The breeder that I bought from is a Code of Ethics breeder and belongs to the American Rottweiler club and Colonial Rottweiler club. I did much research before getting her. I do not believe Rotties are mean by nature. If I thought that, would I bring one in my home?????? I don't think so.

[nursy2]

Originally Posted by DaveS

Our Pup did the same thing at 8 weeks. To be honest the first three or four weeks were not happy times. Our male chewed everything in sight (including us), was rough with my 9 year old son, on and on. I did a lot of reading here on this site, ask a lot of questions and got him in to a puppy class as soon as we could. Around 16 weeks he woke up and was a totally different dog. He is almost 6 months now and is a joy to be around, most of the time........
Do your homework, be consistant and patient. We found that short walks twice a day burned off some of the obnoxious energy. We still walk daily. In fact we have only missed our walks two times since we got our pup. The walks really help and it is good bonding time.

Thank you for your info. I will keep all of this in mind.

[Sharon Marples]

I too am a bit nervous about some of your remarks. Exactly why did you get a rottie and how are you supervising the puppy with your children? Please be sure to never leave them alone together. The children are not old enough to know how to respect and not tease a puppy and the puppy does not know that the kids are not its littermates and there to bite, play with, growl at and in general, treat them like other dogs.

Please read this thread: http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/pup...nance-etc.html

The breeder is not concerned? How do you figure that? Is she/he telling you what to do? To NOT let the kids pick her up? To crate-train her and teach the kids how to respect her? To feed her in her crate? What type of feedback are you getting from the breeder?

In all realilty, what you are experiencing is NORMAL puppy behavior that needs to be redirected, worked with, trained and supervised. You cannot expect to just let the pup have the run of the place with the kids. A puppy takes every bit of time as a young child does and needs constant supervision.

Good luck, read through many other threads regarding this same subject in the Puppy Development forum and I think you will find lots of information to educate you and help you through the different puppy phases of a Rottweiler.

[Gunsey'sMom]

Please read this thread: http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/pup...nance-etc.html

The breeder is not concerned? How do you figure that? Is she/he telling you what to do? To NOT let the kids pick her up? To crate-train her and teach the kids how to respect her? To feed her in her crate? What type of feedback are you getting from the breeder?

In all realilty, what you are experiencing is NORMAL puppy behavior that needs to be redirected, worked with, trained and supervised. You cannot expect to just let the pup have the run of the place with the kids. A puppy takes every bit of time as a young child does and needs constant supervision.

This is very true. Puppies are very time and energy consuming. Please also make sure you never leave you puppy alone with your children. Remember too that dogs generally take offense to face to face and frontal contact-ie kissing and hugging-so it is perfectly natural for your puppy to be put off by a kiss or hug. I would respect the dogs space and not kiss or hug it. Rolling it on its back is also a bad idea as already stated in an above post.

Do read through the Puppy Development posts and Stickys, there is a lot of really helpful info to put to use during this critical stage in your young puppy's life!

[nursy2]

I am not rolling her on her back. She is doing this on her own. I did not mean for it to sound like we were rolling her. I am not an irresponsible parent. I have the intelligence to know not to leave my children unsupervised, far less with a new puppy. We are teaching our children how to behave around the puppy and never leave them alone together. As I have stated before, this is not my first puppy. I have experiece with puppy behavior as does my husband. We are aware of the amount of time it takes to raise a puppy. All I said what that I have never had a puppy that has exhibited the behavior I have mentioned. I wanted a Rottweiler because I have come to love the breed. We have many friends with Rottweilers and think that they are a great breed. We hope to train her to be a therapy dog in the future. The breeder has given me much of the same feedback as I am reading. Just wanted opinions from others as well. Figured it couldn't hurt.

[sebastianvoneli]

I was under the impression all 8 wk puppies nipped and growled, at least all the ones I've ever had. Why would a rottie puppy be any different? Enjoy the puppy! Rotties are a great breed.

[damp]

http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/pup...=socialisation