5 week old male showing signs of anger

[lbraxton]

There's definitely hope. I have a really close friend that took in a pitt bull 2 years ago at the ripe age of 3 1/2 weeks and it was her first dog. The dog is a little over 2 now and has showed no signs of aggression and is really good w/her children. I take my girls over to visit from time to time and have never been concerned. She did a really good job and I know that she's glad she has her.

I know that every case is different but I'm sure you'll do the right thing by your dog. If you see that the dog is aggressive and will cause your family harm, I'm sure you will not hesitate to do what's necessary.

Sometimes in life we can't just walk away. You have a big heart and I wish you the best of luck w/your new addition. Stay positive but keep a watchful eye! :)

Breezie's mom!

[thenewpup]

Safire, I have raised a Rat Terrier pup from 3-4 weeks all the way up to 4 years old. However, this was only a partial success story. Not once in her life did this dog ever act similar to the breed standard.

Weaning her was a problem and due to my ignorance, she had become constipated. That wasn't a pleasant experience for either of us. After that she developed bronchitis and nearly died. From then on, her bark was deep and throaty.

She was a nervous dog and formed an exclusive bond with me. No amount of socializing would greatly improve her weariness of strangers. The intelligence of the breed shone through, in that she quickly learned commands. However, her lack of socialization made her oversensitive to slight changes in the dynamics of the household. Everything had to be just right, or she'd pace frantically (sometimes refusing to eat).

She'd bark at strangers and strange noises (made for a good watchdog later on). For whatever reason, she never whined or whimpered, and aside from barking, she wasn't very vocal. There was quite a bit lacking in this dog's personality.

I and my family loved her very much, but I would never take a dog away from its mother this early ever again. In the case of this pup, she was a product of BYB. The mother had died due to complications (some kind of inflammation of the uterus) and this left four pups in the hands of an ignorant breeder. The lady offered the pups to anyone who would take them. I took pity on a little black and white pup, and took her home. I don't know what happened to her litter mates.

In retrospect, it may have been better to have left the "breeder" alone and let nature take its course. Neither the dam or sire were good quality dogs. At 3-4 years of age, the Rat Terrier showed signs of bone deterioration. When you take a pup like this into your home, you have to wonder how many good quality pups are in shelters because there aren't enough homes.

Best of luck to you, but don't be surprised if the dog is far from either of the breed standards and even develops health problems along the way. These are the risks you take when you take a pup from BYB.

[goforit]

Just joined today, so maybe this response is too late for anyone to read but this situation sure does sound famliar. Many years ago I went on a stormy New Year's Eve to get a Cocker that I believed to be older. When I arrived this family was dirt poor, with two little kids. After hearing that the puppy was only 4 weeks old, I did not want to take it at that time. Then I over heard this little boy ask dad "If this lady buys a puppy does that mean we can have a New Year's dinner tomorrow?" Knowing better I payed for the puppy and took him home. As a youngster he did tend to growl, but only if threatened. He did have the advantage to a very gentle female Molly, who allowed him to cuddle. However, he developed something called seperation anxiety, and was hyperactive as well. After about two years I finally realized that there was no way I could give him what he needed. So I gave him to a young family with three very active boys. They got along great and all was well in the end.

[sage138]

When I got Zero at 6 weeks he would growl and try to bite my face when I hugged and kissed him. I would tell him NO and just keep showing him love. Today he is 17 months old 120 pound love bug. I can hug and kiss him and no growling. Alot of obedience and sociolization with people and other dogs is very important.

[hkjj]

Just throwing this out there, but what about taking turns with sleepovers? Maybe that is a stupid idea but maybe it would be better than meeting once a week. Something is better than nothing.
What do ya'll think?

[lbraxton]

Originally Posted by hkjj

Just throwing this out there, but what about taking turns with sleepovers? Maybe that is a stupid idea but maybe it would be better than meeting once a week. Something is better than nothing.
What do ya'll think?

I think that's a great idea.

[poohbearsmom]

Originally Posted by safire

Hey everyone! I am a new Rott owner and want to start out right. We have a 5 week old male Rottie. We have had him since 3 weeks of age as his mom stopped feeding her pups and had ignored them. He is a good eater.

The dam quit feeding her pups because that is the normal time that mothers start to wean their babes. The pups get their milk teeth in (ironic name), and it starts to hurt the mother to continue nursing too much. This is when your pup's -air quote- BREEDER -end air quote - should have taken over feeding/cleaning of the pups. Since this so-called breeder chose not to educate him/herself prior to breeding/whelping (notice, i did not add "rearing") of this litter, not only have these pups missed out on a HUGE part of necessary imprinting/socialization, because they will now not know how to be a polite dog, they also likely (most definitely) missed out on the necessary daily human handling that is so very important in the rearing of pups.

Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, you have decided to take this pup on. I'm guessing you're not considering at this time to take this pup back to the "breeder", and therefore make this person take responsibility for his/her ignorant choices, in other words, you've given this person the 'easy out'....

This means that you have a LOT of homework to do, so I suggest looking in your area for a trainer that is involved in dogsport in some capacity. Your pup is going through critical periods of development as we discuss this and he's going to need every bit of help you can give him.

Call your vet - see if any of his clients have litters on the ground that are roughly the same age as your pup. If so, find out if the breeder will allow your pup to integrate into the litter for a few weeks, given your pup is healthy and cleared by your vet to do so. This would be your best option for the immediate future.

After that, check out puppy kindergarten classes, which focus on socialization, stimuli / reaction/ recovery assistance (i.e. confidence building), and teaching you how to integrate the pup easily into your home, teaching you the skills you need to teach him the ropes.

Many pups who leave the litter too soon end up with real issues regarding dog aggression, bite inhibition, etc... so make sure that you understand the implications of this, and research things like 'singleton litters', 'early socialization', etc... you can find tons of info in the archives here by using the search function above.

Read this: http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/pup...velopment.html

We have noticed that when you touch him on his face or neck he will growl and try to bite. He is not playing either, it really ticks him off. What can we do to get him to tolerate his face being touched? I do not want what is bothering him now to be a real problem when he grows up. I have 3 kids ages of 13, 9, and 3, they are all real good with him and my youngest knows not to pick him up unless mommy is around. I am not into the "bad rot" thing. I have known many and all were wonderful dogs, that is why I know he can be a wonderful pet if we can get over just this one quirk so far. Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

The problem is, with a pup who's been torn from his litter too young, as explained above, he's missed out on a lot developmentally. He's not learning bite inhibition - he's not figuring out 'who' he is in the pack, which tells a lot who he'll be when he's grown. If he is not guided properly, he will not learn how to play nice. This is VERY important to think about. In addition, you really know nothing about how the temperaments run in this pup's lines, and I doubt your "breeder" really knows, either. You're gambling big by keeping this pup. You see, you really DON'T know that this particular pup can make a great pet, and judging by his lack of proper upbringing, the odds are NOT in his or your favor. In addition, you have 3 children. Something to think about very seriously.

I would attempt to persuade you to take the pup back to the breeder. If you choose not to, I wish you luck.

I just glanced at some of the later posts in this discussion before submitting my reply, so I will add this;
By no means should YOU take the other pup to alleviate the breeder from any more work - if ANYTHING, this breeder should step up to bat and do the right thing - either do his/her job, or euthenize the pups him/herself. This may seem a bit harsh, but this "breeder" and others like him/her are much of the reason that rottweilers are a targeted breed and accused of being aggressive, untrustworthy, etc!!!!! If people who wish to breed would educate themselves about the process, and what it takes to make healthy pups - body AND mind - and if people who buy / take pups would educate themselves before they bring a pup home, there would be a LOT less dog bites...a lot fewer dogs in shelters.....and I'd have an easier time getting homeowner's insurance.

[safire]

Diesel has been staying with his brother for the past week, we will get him and his brother for this next week and so forth for the next couple more weeks. He is doing better. We have also noticed that the only time he does bite or growl at us is when we hold him in our arms and have him on his back ( insecurity) we try not to do that too much, but we still love on him and pet around his face to get him use to it. Also he gets mad when we take stuff away he is not aloud to have ie.. socks, shoes,pants, or dropped food. I have had that with other pups I have had as well. We have told him no bite and no growl and have yelled owww loudly and walked away. I went to see him yesterday and when he went outside he was eating a large clump of grass, I took it from him told him no, and picked him up to take him in the house.. He started throwing his usual fit and I said ..Diesel No.. He turned and bit my arm..luckily I had on a heavy sweater or he would have drawn blood. My point is..after he bit me, he turned his head and put his ears back like.... OH ???? .. i wasn't supposed to do that. I told him no bite and put him in his kennal and left. I hope what I am doing is correct. Please let me know if what I did was fine (which I know you will) That is why I am still here.

[safire]

Question with number 37 if anybody is still reading this post.

[lovemypuppies]

Oh dear i just saw this. The forums are so slow right now it is frustrating. I am so glad you are still here and I am sure you will get an answer soon.

[poohbearsmom]

Originally Posted by safire

Question with number 37 if anybody is still reading this post.

What's your question?

[observer]

I'm not sure what you mean about post 37, which isn't yours. I think you mean 38, where you do ask questions. It's unfortunate that he bit you again as he did, but that is part of the problem your "breeder" created by not understanding why the dam stopped feeding them (which IS explained in post 37). Whether you can get him through this is a serious question. As was pointed out, you don't know what kind of temperament the parents had, so this pup may have had problems in that area from birth.

In any event, for one thing (or two) I don't see the need for turning him over on his back while "loving on him" or picking him up to take him from one place to another in the house/yard. He's got four good legs, even at his young age.

[Shelby427]

I agree with Observer on not picking up the pup to move from one area to another. I am not an expert by any means, but we always made Shelby walk away from whatever it was we didn't want her near. We'd make something else interesting to her so she'd want to play with said toy, versus playing with something that could be harmful. She also didn't like being picked up - if we did it because she was doing something wrong...she'd squirm all over the place...so we'd attach a leash or get a treat. I think she wanted it even more if we picked her up and took her away from it.

[safire]

Thank You! My question basiclly was, Is it o.k to put him in the kennal and for how long? Yes ,I meant post 38...sorry. " on his back" I mean, when I hold him ..kind of like cradling a baby. He loves to be held like that after a bath and he's wrapped in a towel. He will fall immediately asleep. It is just after a minute or two that he gets irritated and I will always put him down right away. Also, i will get a leash and start using that to get him around. Thank you for your advice, it is always welcome. I get Diesel and his brother all next week. Should be fun. Any advice on how I should "rear" the two of them... Should I let them sleep together, I have a huge box yet. Is there anything I should or shouldn't do when they are together.

[observer]

How often are you bathing this pup? It's got nothing to do with the issue at hand, but since you brought it up, they really don't need frequent baths, as pups or adults.

I'll let the others chime in on your questions about the two pups.