Introduction

[bogbash]

Hello all. I am new to the site and rottweilers in general. My wife daughter and I brought home a male pup at 10 weeks old. He was a b-day gift for our daughter she will be 4 in June. He has been great and is now 4 months old and 40lbs. He is getting the house breaking down and is just a great family companion. We all work on training him and will be doing classes at about 6 months old. He will be big I'm thinking about 125lbs of so. His mom and dad are both huge. We feed him a mix of Innova large breed puppy, EVO and about a tbl spoon of Nutro Max mixed together twice a day. Any advice would be great. We plan on working had hard to make sure he is the best dog possible. Thanks all.

[hokisteph5]

Welcome. You've come to the right place to learn about Rottweilers.

His weight sounds like it's on target. You may want to research the different foods - I thought EVO was too high in protein and not recommended for puppies. The key is to ensure his growth is slow and steady. You might want to also look around for a Puppy Kindergarten class. He's at the right age that he and your family would benefit from a Puppy K class.

[brunie's mom]

He sounds right on target weight wise. You really want slow steady growth with Rottweiler puppies. I would not be feeding him EVO yet, the makers of EVO do not recommend it for large breed puppies. The calcium/phosphorus ratio is too high and may cause problems with the growth of bones. The Evo can be fed when most of the growth is finished around 12 months of age. I would take him off of the Large Breed Innova, and just put him on the Adult Innova (green bag)....it's high enough in fat and protein for a growing pup and is considered an All-Life -Stages food.

As far as waiting till your pup is 6 months old, not a good idea. Please enroll him in a Puppy Kindergarten class ASAP! He should be socializing and training right now...if you wait till he is older...it will be much harder.

Rottweilers are a breed that thrive on training and MUST be socialized....a group obedience class is a great place for them. They usually shine as the best pupils.

Gina

[Mavides]

Originally Posted by brunie's mom

As far as waiting till your pup is 6 months old, not a good idea. Please enroll him in a Puppy Kindergarten class ASAP! He should be socializing and training right now...if you wait till he is older...it will be much harder.

I agree!!! Get going with training now! If you're not comfortable in a group setting, you can always start with private lessons - provided they are from a trainer experienced with Rottweilers. Training should start NOW and continue throughout his life.

One other thing -- it concerns me that he was a "present" for your 4 year old daughter....I'm sure you realize that he will be YOUR responsibility, not your daughter's...right? She's MUCH too young to care for any dog....and especially one as powerful as a Rottweiler. Please make sure that you are responsibility for his training and for ALWAYS supervising him with your daughter.

Best of luck and enjoy your "new addition" -- personally, I feel they are the best dogs around --- but, a LOT of work!!! :)

[elihim]

Hello bogbash!!! We r in the same boat. I also recently got my first rottie pup. She is a wonderful girl. GOOD LUCK with ur new boy. Alot of work but well worth it, right .

[bogbash]

Thanks for the info all. Kind of funny with my daughter, while my wife and I take care of Oldie my daughter helps alot. Aside from playing with him she will take treats and make him sit stay and lay down. Oldie is being crate trained so when he is out an adult is always with him. He is never left alone with Eowynn (my daughter). I will have to double check on the food. We went with what our breeder advised. Oldie is cleaning his bowl and seems to be doing 4-7 lbs per week. He was 4 monts yesterday and is 41.5lbs. My wife and I (and daughter) work with him on simple training. We plan on getting him into a class soon. Thanks again all

[bogbash]

The funny thing about Eowynn (my daughter) is she is in on training Oldie (our pup). She will hold treats and go over sit,stay and down with him all the time. Now ofcourse my wife and I take care of him but we all work with our pup every day. Oldie is being crate trained so he is never left alone without my wife or I around. Never ever left alone with our daughter.

We decided to follow the advice or our breeder with his food. He is 4 months and 41.5lbs. He is lean and in great shape. I will however look into the food again to make sure he is getting the best of what he needs.

We do basic training with Oldie at home and plan on getting him into a class very soon.

Thanks for all the advice.