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Old January 22nd, 2004, 06:35 PM
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rotti04 rotti04 is offline
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Question Rotti Behaviour

Don't get me wrong, I love my Diesel, but I have several questions about his behaviour. First of all, he is almost 1 yr old, and 110 lbs...very large....and beautiful I might add.

Anyways...to start off with, he was very sick as a puppy with parvo....near death. The vets kept telling us nothing was wrong...and finally we made an emergency stop and the one vet said if we would have waited one more day...he would have died.

Since he healed (the miracle puppy), and we paid the massive vet bills, I think we might have spoiled him too much at first, just for the sheer pleasure of knowing that he was alive.

Anyways, many people told us at first to put him in school, and socialize him, and we did immediately. As soon as he was able to be around other dogs, and he did great, passed everything and got along well with the other dogs. Now (a few months later), he gets upset and aggresive with almost every dog he meets, and people think that we are doing things wrong, but we did everything we were told to do......so, is this just their temperment? Is it impossible to control? One time a dog ran on our property, and tried to fight with Diesel...could this have initiated it?

Also, I was wondering about methods of discipline (not physical of course). At puppy school, they told us to give him "time outs" in his kennel, and we do, but it doesn't seem to matter to him...its almost like having the time out is worth the fun of getting into trouble. Along the same lines, he is beginnig to stand up for himself more and more, and he only weighs like 40 lbs less than I do....sometimes making things difficult.

Any suggestions would help a lot!

Thanks
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Old January 22nd, 2004, 07:57 PM
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LavenderRott LavenderRott is offline
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No, it is not just their temperment and it is possible to control.

First off, if you stopped his training at just one class, it is time to find another.

Time outs mean nothing to a dog. They mean next to nothing to my son and he speaks English like me.

Dogs understand way more then what you say to them. Your body language has much more meaning to your dog then your words do.

You need to find a trainer that knows how to deal with large dogs and you need to go to class.
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Old January 22nd, 2004, 09:15 PM
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mona_b mona_b is offline
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Did you continue the training when he was done?

Alot of times people think they are all trained just because the classes are over.They also think that ok,they are fine with other dogs so now I don't need to socialize them anymore.And they keep them away from other dogs.WRONG.That is the worse thing to do.They need to continue being with other dogs.

It's one thing to give them a time out once you catch them in the wrong.But if you are taking your dog for a walk,he gets aggressive with the other dogs,you take him home and give him a time out.He doesn't know why.

I agree with Sandi.Please contact a professional trainer.And quick.

It can be corrected.But do it now.You need to be able to handle your dog.

Good luck.
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Old January 22nd, 2004, 09:19 PM
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Carina Carina is offline
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Damn I just wrote a long response & then clicked the wrong thing & lost it all!

OK...Is he neutered? If not he has 10-15 times the normal adult amount of testosterone surging through his little brain right now. This will make many adolescent dogs get MAJOR attitude with other dogs. It could also be frustration at not being allowed to interact. Or a combination of both. Hard to tell without seeing him.

Even if he's neutered, he's still a teenager - testing the waters & gaining confidence.

Sooo...NOW is time for more classes!! Preferably not with the same trainer who told you to put him on time outs because that's a totally dumb suggestion. Sheesh, any yahoo can call themselves a trainer....! That isn't real useful advice for a puppy, let alone a one year old Rottweiler.
Go here to find a good class:
http://www.apdt.com/

*So: yes it's very controllable. I've done it with several male Rottweilers, and I'm no expert.
*No, it is not just "their temperament." Rottweilers are just a strong minded working breed and must have clear rules to live by.
*The other dog going after him has nothing to do with it.
*You're not doing anything wrong, in fact you got him off to a great start by taking him to puppy classes. You just have to keep going. At least until he gets some respect and self control. When Cooper was that age, I was going to 2-3 classes a week! Now I can literally take this dog anywhere.
*A good Rottweiler is one of the most stable, honest breeds you can find. But they DO take more work than many other breeds. There's a reason Rotties aren't "for everyone" and a reason so many of them show up in the news for the wrong reasons...

OK, I'm almost done!
Get a copy of "Rottweilers for Dummies." Excellent book.
And if you are interested in the premier Rottweiler community on the internet, PM me. You can learn ALOT!
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Old February 9th, 2004, 08:03 PM
HowieBoy HowieBoy is offline
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I've been reading about your Rottie problem. Have you tried a training shock collar? It has worked wonders on my dog. Of course all things can be abused, like leaving your dog in the house alone all day. But you do need to get a handle on this situation ASAP! Obedience classes are great and should be kept up too. But a little negative response from a dog collar gets instant results! Let me know what you think! You can buy them on E-Bay.
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Old February 9th, 2004, 09:21 PM
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Carina Carina is offline
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Shock collars can be a great tool for SOME dogs and SOME situations. But they shouldn't be used without the instruction of someone who knows what they're doing, you can ruin a dog or make problems worse.

In this case, a shock collar would undoubtedly make it worse. If it's merely frustation (looks like aggression but not) a shock collar will make the dog aggressive. If it's really aggression, an e-collar will make the aggression worse.

Please nobody go off & buy a shock collar on eBay & start using without knowing what you're doing!

(No offense Howie! It may have done great for you, but it's really a bad idea in many cases. And you are 100% right about obedience classes. )
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Old February 9th, 2004, 11:29 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Punishment should never be used on a dog showing any kind of aggression.

As Carina pointed out, it merely increases the aggression, because now the dog is getting shocked when other dogs are around, when he should be taught that having dogs around is a good thing.
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Old February 10th, 2004, 11:17 AM
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1john44 1john44 is offline
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I was going to ask about the nuetering. Also the longer you wait, the more likely you are to have agressive behavior no matter what the breed of dog.

I am not a big fan of shock collars. We found two lab mixes one time, and they had collars on them that we weren't sure what they were for. We posted a few signs and found the owner and found out they were bark collars. Poor puppies barked and they got a shock!
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Old February 13th, 2004, 07:40 PM
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Spoiled Spoiled is offline
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It sounds like a bit of a leadership problem. Make him sit before you let him do anything. Make him sit before you let him:
Eat
Go for a walk
Get atention
Go outside
etc.

This will most likely improve the situation. Also if he gets frusturated around other dogs, tell him to sit. Hold him with a loose leash, because some dogs think that you are afraid if you hold them too tightly, and this will make the situation worse. Only hold the leash with a little bit of slack. If you think he might bite the other dog, get him a gentle leader, or a muzzle. Use these only around dogs you know to be friendly, or else if they attach, it can make them worse around other dogs.
I hope this works for you.
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Old February 29th, 2004, 06:37 PM
luvmyhuskies luvmyhuskies is offline
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Rotti Behaviour

First off, I have to agree with Carina....I would not consider using a shock collar on a Rotti. They are too strong willed and unfortunately they do not forget when someone or something hurts them.

I also agree that you and your partner MUST take a leadership roll over Diesel. He has to know that you are the boss. I am by no means an expert on this, but from having to help train my boyfriend's Rotti (Buddy) who just turned 2 and is also a big boy 130 lbs, he is the most passive dog I've ever come across (Rotti that is) he sleeps with his sqeaky toys..loves the bed & couch and when we start to rough house with him and let him exert his bossiness, he becomes unruly very quickly. I have 2 Siberians so he was socialize as soon as we brought him home. I haven't seen him exert any aggressiveness except towards Reiko (my Sib) when it comes to him stealing Buddies food. Now that Buddy is bigger, he basically just puts Reiko back and takes him down...nothing major and I try not to interfere too much, mostly its just growling & barking. Buddy is neutered and personally I believe this helps a bit, but I could be incorrect here. We were not going to breed him anyway, so we weren't going to take the chance of him bolting.

We haven't had him in formal training, we do it on our own. But perhaps a more controlled setting may be more beneficial for you. Good luck with that.

One more question...your puppy's name sounds familiar, were you also the owner of Princess, by chance?

Glenda
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