New owner of a rotti pup.

[spawn207]

I am a new owner of a rotti pup for a week now, he's 9 weeks old. His name is Spawn.
He is the sweetest thing ever, he has such a great temperment. I've been crate training him and is doing very well with that. I just have a few questions whoever is experienced with rotti's.

1. How do I make him stop barking at my 8 year old son?
2. When is a good time for him to start puppy classes?
3. How can get him to eat from his stainless steel bowls, instead of his plastic bowls that
came with the crate. Everytime I put his food in the stainless steel bowls, he gets
frightened and will not eat it.
4. Can keeping him in the crate too long make him agressive?
5. How early can I start walking him?

Thanks,

Mayra

[moondog]

Congratulations on your new puppy! When raising a puppy with children, it's important to train BOTH on how to interact with each other. An 8 year old boy is a Rottie puppie's dream come true, LOL. I'm sure one is as rambuctious as the other, so teaching them both is very important.

1. First of all, supervision by you is an absolute necessity when the puppy and your son interact. Teach your son to play "teaching" games with the puppy instead of allowing play with reckless abandon (which they both would LOVE, but is not wise to allow). Pick up a book on dog training for children and you will get lots of ideas of how he can help with training the puppy. He can help teach the puppy many basic behaviors (sit, down, come, stay, leave it, get it, find me) and use structured play and treats as rewards for good behavior.

2. Look for a puppy class NOW. As soon as the second set of vaccinations are done, puppy class should be started. This is very important, as a puppy class will teach your puppy how to learn and you how to teach. Bring your son to the classes, too, and ask the instructor if he can participate some of the time in the class, so he gets some instruction as well.

3. If the metal bowl is making noise on the floor when he eats, the noise may be bothering him. Put a folded up towel under the bowl and see if that helps. Try dropping something especially delicious in it (a bit of cooked chicken, a bit of cheese, a bit of hot dog) to give him some motivation to get what's in the bowl, and praise him when he does. You can hold the bowl at first if he's hesitant and let him eat out of it while you're holding it.

4. How long in the crate are you talking about? I like a puppy to be out and about with me as much as possible...how else will they learn the ropes about living with me? My dog was crated at night and for a couple fairly lengthy naps each day and the rest of the time she was out with me. Puppies are a LOT of work, there's no doubt about it, and they can't learn anything by being crated more than needed. I do think that a certain amount of crating is a good thing, because they learn how to be comfortable when alone. A crate is for resting. As long as your puppy is getting enough exercise and training during the day, a rest in the crate is a good thing.

5. He can go for short walks now. At this young age, make sure you do not walk him where other dogs frequent. Out in the neighborhood, take him for a walk around the block in the STREET, not on the sidewalk where most others dogs go. No sniffing on street corners where other dogs tend to pee and poop. Take him to a children's playground (on a leash) and let him meet the kids. Take him to banks, stores, to the vet's office only to get a cookie from the staff, to meet dogs known to you that are vaccinated, healthy, and puppy friendly. Each new day should bring a new adventure in socialization for him, especially for the next few months.

[brunie's mom]

Welcome to the forums!
Most of your questions have probably been answered in threads. Click on the blue bar near the top of the pack on the "Search"...and do some looking.

Your puppy can start Puppy Kindergarten soon...around here they can start when they've had their second set of vaccinations. Start looking for classes now...and avoid the Petsmart big box stores for classes. An obedience club or training club is the best.

Puppy not eating from stainless steel bowl probably because it's on the bare floor? Put a towel under it..so it does not vibrate or move around. Take the plastic bowl out of the crate, so then he has no choice. He will eat when he is hungry from any type of bowl.

For barking...just re-direct. Get his attention on something else...get a squeeky toy and start playing with it, call him over and start doing something with him. When he is quiet praise. Classes will help you learn how to teach him things.

As for walking, he should be good to go now. Make sure they are short walks, and in safe places. Don't take him to a park or places there is dog feces or urine. He should be out and about socializing , meeting new people and see different places. He should be meeting other well behaved, vaccinated dogs too.

How many hours is he in the crate? He should not be crated for more then 3-4 hours at a time....even at night he should be going out for a potty break.

Gina

[spawn207]

Thank you for your quick response.
I have been teaching my son not to run away when he tries to bite him, that's just enticing him even more. I am will continue to work with him on that. He needs to be a strong and firm pack leader in order for the pup to know who's in charge.

As for the crate I really don't keep him in there too long. He goes everywhere we go and interacts with everyone. I'm trying to keep him away from any other dogs until he gets his second set of shots. When he is crated it's when he's there for napping or when I have to take care of my 5 year old and I can't have him running around having an accident on the carpet, and also at night during bedtime. Usually, he's out playing and I'm keeping a constant eye on him when playing with the kids, then he's in his crate when I have to cook dinner, do laundry, cleaning or whatever household regimen needs to be done. I really can't trust my 8 year old watching him since he is a little afraid of him because of the biting. But I will continue to work on that with him.

It is really hard raising a pup with kids around and tyring to give both equal amount of attention, but I hope it pays off in the end. I really want a sociable and pleasant dog.