Rotty Owners

[wantsapuppy]

I was doing a bit of reading on them last week I think ( no particular reason) and a loT of the stuff I've read said that they are VERY headstrong and must have a very head strong owner. Is that the case with yours or is it like any animal. Some are more so then others :) ?

Edited March 9, 2012 by wantsapuppy

[Nekhbet]

to a degree, if they want something they'll do their darndest to get it. Very strong willed, lovely dogs but not for the inexperienced. They just need firm leadership and guidence to be a good pet.

[emery]

They vary, my first rotti was so biddable would do anything to please. I currently have mother, daughter and son (half brother)> The girls will really push my hubby but don't challenge me. The male is still but a puppy and he has days where he does challenge but i don't back down and he knows i am the alpha.

My children acn get the dogs to do anything they want and never once have the dogs ignored them. They do need consistant training from the beginning cos if you are not the alpha they will take charge and the four i have owed have and are very brainy :)

[Starkehre]

In my experience in the breed (around 19 years) Rottweilers are commonly opportunists.

They are not overly comfortable with weak owners and will fill a gap if it appears to them to require filling. They thrive on firm boundaries and have an innate desire to please humans. That said, many breeds are this way.

Their temperament can vary incredibly from dog to dog, line to line, gender to gender.

The main thing with them is that they are a big dog. And any undesired behaviour in a large breed is going to be worse in every possible way than in a smaller breed just because of their sheer size and strength.

So if the Rottweiler is pulling on a lead, chewing furniture, peeing where it shouldn't or won't get into the hydrobath or off the couch it is possibly going to be more frustrating for the owner than if the dog is smaller.

Also, because our breed is commonly perceived among the community in not such a great light, it is far more integral that we Rottweiler owners have a well trained dog in public. Therefore this requires a lot of time, effort and committment.

I am not saying that all dogs do not or should not require this, but many other breeds are not frowned upon so much if they are raised with less training and exhibit this in public.

As far as training goes (I have owned and trained many breeds of dogs) I do not find them any more difficult. I have trained 5 Rottweilers (both sexes, entire and desexed) into trialling and have found all of these to be very different from each other.

Some Rottweilers do require a strong assertive owner, others not so much and some can be downright soft. But I would not advise a weak type of owner that knew they were a push over to go out and get one unless the breeder had an extremely good idea of the temperaments of the stock they produced and felt confident it would be a suitable fit.

Edited March 9, 2012 by dyzney

[tdierikx]

My first Rotti was named Woosie - because she was a big sooky lala - she was the perfect dog in every way.

Her sister Blossom was pushy and dominant.

Her half brother Rastus was another sooky lala, but would occasionally try to push the boundaries.

Shadow was found as a stray at around 4 yrs old - she was almost as perfect as Woosie.

Connor - the biggest sooky lala ever - another near perfect dog IMHO.

All of them required different approaches in training and discipline - mostly I just loved them unconditionally and they returned it a thousandfold.

Best advice I would give is for you to let the dog/pup select you as their new best friend - not the other way around.

T.

[Starkehre]

My first Rotti was named Woosie - because she was a big sooky lala - she was the perfect dog in every way.

Her sister Blossom was pushy and dominant.

Her half brother Rastus was another sooky lala, but would occasionally try to push the boundaries.

Shadow was found as a stray at around 4 yrs old - she was almost as perfect as Woosie.

Connor - the biggest sooky lala ever - another near perfect dog IMHO.

All of them required different approaches in training and discipline - mostly I just loved them unconditionally and they returned it a thousandfold.

Best advice I would give is for you to let the dog/pup select you as their new best friend - not the other way around.

T.

You are absolutely spot on tdierikx regarding temperament differences and all dogs requiring different approaches to training.

However, I am sorry but I could not disagree with you more regarding pup selections (and I do loathe to be disagreeable :D , sorry)

I don't think OP is actually looking to purchase a pup, but if they are or if anyone else inexperienced in the breed is looking to purchase a Rottweiler, my personal advice would be that if the breeder allows a puppy person to pick their own pup and do so by choosing a "pup that picks them" then I would strongly recommend them running a mile from that breeder.

That said, I also do believe that an inexperienced Rottweiler person should not be selecting their pup either.

Pups should absolutely be willing to boldly approach strangers, but whichever pup approaches first or seems sweeter will depend on many criteria, least of which being that they have "chosen you". They may have eaten a bit less at their last meal, played a bit harder, have a grumbly tummy, be looking for a soft lap because they are tired or spotted the scarf around your neck and being the highest drive pup in the litter want to attack it.

Letting a pup choose the owner is very old school and emotive and has no scientific relevance to matching the right pup with an owner, particularly when talking about large, powerful breeds.

The only one that knows these pups and which types of homes and owners are best fits for these pups are the breeder and he/she is the best one to decide such, provided the puppy person is honest and open regarding themselves and their circumstances.

Just my opinion. :)

Edited March 9, 2012 by dyzney

[Allerzeit]

I have to agree with Dyzney regarding puppy selection :) I never let puppy people choose their own puppies, although they do have a lot of input into the puppy selection process - it's a team effort, and has to be. If they have a preference for a puppy and that puppy ticks all the right boxes then I will try my hardest to give them their preference :)

It's hard for me to comment on how headstrong they are as a breed and how firm you have to be as a handler, as I've been surrounded by them since I was 3 years old and never known anything else, so Rottweiler behaviour is just normal for me - although definitely some individuals are more headstrong than others and require a firmer hand. We've had sooky sooky lala's right through to very full of themselves and headstrong (Nova, I'm looking at you, kid!).

[wantsapuppy]

Sorry I wasn't looking to get one I' was just reading about them. and that just seemed to be the general rule that they are very headstrong and need someone who is even more so as an owner

Yes it is breed that I like its not an option for quite a few Years :)

Edited March 9, 2012 by wantsapuppy

[Starkehre]

Sorry I wasn't looking to get one I' was just reading about them. and that just seemed to be the general rule that they are very headstrong and need someone who is even more so as an owner

Nothing at all to be sorry for WAP.

Your OP was perfectly well explained and your question was perfectly legitimate and a good one.

All good :)

[Kirty]

My sister and her boyfriend bought a Rotti pup and have been firm and consistent with her from the get-go. She is a lovely, confident, well-behaved, social dog. Yes, she is head-strong, but she is well-mannered and gorgeous. Their friend bought a pup from the same litter and did nothing with him. He is apparently very dominant, dog aggressive and just not a nice dog to be around. As with most breeds, you get out what you put in.

[TrinaJ]

As with most breeds, you get out what you put in.

Couldn't agree more.

They are a dog who requires a strong leader. They are a working dog and need a job, their brain needs to be stimulated so obedience traini f s a MUST. You give them an inch, trust me, they will take a mile.

Not for everyone that's why as breeders we are so selective who our puppies are placed with.

Like Dyz and Allerzeit, I dont believe in letting the puppy selecting it's owner and that will never happen with my puppies, I do the selecting based on my knowledge if the pups and the information I have from the potential puppy owners.

[wantsapuppy]

I've also noticed from reading on here that they seem very prone to getting cancer?

[tdierikx]

Only one of my Rotti's had cancer... not a bad strike rate out of the 7 I've shared my life with... and he was 7 years old before it manifested.

As for letting the pup select me... I'm not the type that goes for the first pup that sits on my lap or wants to play... I'm the type that will sit there for a good couple of hours (or more if allowed) and let all of the pups interact with me in their own ways, and it's the one that I have a mutual "comfortableness" with that may be selected. If none of the pups give me that feeling, then I'm probably the world's worst tyre kicker for the breeder... *grin*

All of my Rottis bar 2 were direct from BYB's - one that wasn't was from a pet shop, so by default he was BYB too, and the other was a stray that had not been reclaimed. Regardless of their ignoble births, all were extremely healthy for a good many years, and each of them was totally well adjusted and well socialised. When one has a dog of a breed looked at with fear by Joe Public, one needs to make sure that the dogs are good mascots for their breed, yes?

What I don't understand is people who want a big scary looking dog to be a "guard dog" and then just have it chained up or confined to a yard, and not properly socialised - in many cases even the owners end up scared of their dogs.

Don't get a Rotti if you want a guard dog... get a Jack Russell or the like instead - much more likely to be effective at the job... Rotti's are sooks!

T.