Am I giving him too much? Just right?

[hmeadq]

Originally Posted by Wally31

I am not mad at him at all, in fact when he did it I could tell he didn't know why I was mad. I was just not sure what to do to prevent this from happening again.

I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression. I know you are not mad. But if your behavior changed towards him very quickly my though was the dog could think you were.

Sounds to me like you are doing great with a bad situtation.

[Tucksmom]

Judi - We are continuing with his training. We're seeing a behaviorist starting Friday. When we're through with that, we're going to set him up with his second round of obedience training. We may just go with the behaviorist for that also. Unfortunately, neither of us were happy with the trainer from his first set of obedience classes. She said that she believed there was no such thing as dominance in dogs and no such thing as the Alpha. However, she owned and has only owned Golden Retrievers. We'd like to find someone who has had more experience with the Rottweiler.

[MOKASMOM]

Hey Tucksmom,

I use a trainer in Oak Creek who has a Rottweiler. If you would like to know more info just PM me.

[Vista]

A trainer recommendation and contact info may be posted publicly.

[MOKASMOM]

Originally Posted by Vista

A trainer recommendation and contact info may be posted publicly.

Thanks Vista. I did not know if I could post trainers name.

Anyways, Tucksmom the trainer we use is :

www.pawsitivlyk9s.com

I hope this helps.

[Tucksmom]

Thanks much Mokasmom! We will definitely look into that.

[wynne]

I think there are a lot of good things said here. I'd like to make some suggestions and personal obervations. I have 3 rotties and one mixed breed right now. All are rescues. I have been taking one of my female rotties to class for 3 years now and we have gotten our CGC (Canine Good Cititzen), and TDI (Therapy Dog International) certificates. This one female has been dog aggressive, and has a high prey drive.

With my female and my male, I notice that corrective jerks with the nylon choke only insight the dog and the dog does not respond to me. When a dog is around, I tell my girl to 'leave it' and praised her and gave her a treat (I use string cheese). I had missed training class for a month, but when I got back, the trainer was amazed and thrilled at how my girl was doing.

I think from my own experience, you need to praise the daylights out of all the great things your boy does. It's easier to train a good thing than it is to untrain a bad thing.

As for bones and dogs, whatever kind of bone, be it marrow, rawhide, they are high value items to a dog. Sometimes food can be too. What I do with my male is call him over to me with bone in his mouth, tell him 'mine' and he will give it to me. Now granted he is growling, but he is complying. I don't do this all the time either. Bones are his, and he should be left to eat in peace. When I do walk by him at a distance, when he does not growl, I praise him and keep walking. I decrease the distance, and always praise.

Now my feeling about children as young as yours...they are small and can be considered prey or even more threating to the dog as they are at the same height level. I would keep children away from dogs that have bones or even meals. If you have crate trained your boy, it's safer for him and your child to crate him during meals and bone eating. It's not cruel.

Do continue with his training...and every day. And a dog that has had exercise, be it a long walk/run, will be less likely to have issues. These dogs need jobs. There are also some great reads out there. Two that I really enjoyed were "The Other End of The Leash" by Patricia McConnell, and "If Bones Could Rain From The Sky" by Suzanne Clothier. Check them out.

[Tucksmom]

We are, he goes to training tonight at 6PM. We are going to keep him in training for a long time to come, I really want to have a good dog who is happy and a good companion.