How much interaction?

[Bruce Lanthier]

Originally posted by stavrast
But in case he does get scared, for example, when I don't have time to get him away from a big, rushing dog fast enough, I should just keep out and let him get over it by himself?

I would "address" the big, rushing dog. In a manner of speaking, you are being a role model for your dog. Put yourself between the rushing dog and yours, then "address" the rushing dog by shooing him away or whatever you need to do to prevent him from being rude. Your dog will be watching you and how you act, confident and like a leader. This will have a much bigger impact on your dog than what you may expect. Dogs expect their leaders to take charge of situations, whether it is to protect them or direct them. That way you can be a positive role model and further establish, and improve, your relationship with your dog.

[stavrast]

Thank you very much guys. It all sounds very logical. I'll practice it starting today and come back and post the results. This dog responds so quickly to everything we do together that is amazing! Hopefully, I'll set a good example for him.

[Rott-Wiley]

This is a very important stage in his life now and what he is learning. You need to convey to him that you are in charge of these situations. Later in life he'll still take his lead from you. These are important lessons to be learned for how he is to act later in life.

[Brooke&Ryan]

Originally posted by lblax
everyone has given you good advice but here is the main thing that was wrong...never coddle or tell your dog when he is acting fearful that its ok

This is one of the biggest things that we had to deal with when we were socializing Julius. We didn't want to coddle him but it was just a natural reaction for us. We had to train ourselves not to coddle & now we're pretty darn good at it.

:)
Brooke

[stavrast]

Well guys, thanks again for your great advice. I did take him out to the park today since it was one of the rare sunny (almost warm) days here in NY. We met some smaller dogs that did a lot of barking and I kept him away since he himself didn't even show any interest. Toward the end of our walk we came up to a leashed boxer female that I had been avoiding for about 10 minutes since I wanted to concentrate on commands.
She was about his size and he didn't seem intimidated so I let them sniff each other, talked a little with her owner and went our own ways. In other words, I let him experience contact with a dog his size and when I decided it was time to go I just said Come and we ran along.
I think I was doing the right thing. From your advice, I assume that the best time to step between my dog and another one is when either one of them is threatening or scaring the other one.

Again, he listened to my every command. I have him on one of those retractable leashes (a 15 footer) so he gets enough freedom of movement without me having to interfere too much, unless I want to.
I also use a dog whistle. To confess a little, last week I had him off the leash a couple of times when we were all alone. Whenever he got far away I whistled and he came running since he associates the whistle with a treat.

As for dog/human associations I have observed that some people are, unfortunately, more afraid of him, a 3 1/2 month old puppy, than he is of them.
Does that have to do with the Rottweiler reputation? Whenever we go close to people and see that someone is not scared of him I let them pet him if they want to. I tell him Good Boy and he lets them pet him. Actually he goes up to people all the time.
Is that OK?

Thank you all.

[Carina43]

I'd still be careful about letting him offleash...there's safe places to let a dog offleash, but I don't think any public park is such a place. Better than a flexi, get a 30" cotton long line. That will give him room to explore, you can work on "come" and you can reel him in if you need to!

Yep - you will get people being nervous about him just because he's a Rottweiler! You'll start getting dumb comments too, like hearing about someone's brother/uncle/neighbor with the 180lb Rockwilder. Or the ever popular "Is he German or American?" I personally think it's great to let a pup have calm, friendly interactions with other people though. That will go a long way in making him confident and trusting.

[stavrast]

You are right about not letting him loose in a public park, Carina43. I did it just to see if the whistle was working. I'll also see into getting that 30 footer line. That would definitely give him more freedom.

Somebody asked me where he was from already. I told them "College Point." Ha! But seriously, some people have no fear of him and ask me if they can pet him. I allow them because I want them to spread the word that Rottweilers are not at all mean or dangerous but they are just like other dogs. I've seen some Labrador mixes that are way larger than a Rottweiler and I don't hear anything bad said about them.
I guess, you more experienced Rottie owners have been dealing with this for years.

Thanks for the advice