Humping Posture In 10Week Old Rotti.

[Paul777]

G'day everyone.

My 10 week old Rottweiler has started to grab my leg in a 'hug', without any thrusting or 'humping' motion & just looks at me.

Is this a sign of dominant behaviour or one of affection?

[Guest crazydoglady99]

I am by no means an expert..

There are studies that suggest humping behaviours are signs of playfulness.

Perhaps trying to instigate a game?

Cough cough.. think we need a pic of him..

[persephone]

Don't overthink ... puppies play .. they need to 'hug' to get close ..baby puppies do this all the time :) Often the excitement of a game, plus close contact elicits the humping action - it has no meaning , it is a reflex.

[Paul777]

Hey animallover 99.

"trying to instigate a game"? Lol, he's a little terror. It's like he has an on/off switch. Sleep or play, one or the other, rarely in-between.

"Pics"? Yeah I know, he's so adorable (& cheeky & mischievous) that I'd love to share. I'm fairly new to computers & haven't a clue how to transfer pics from phone to computer. A mate has been promising for months to show me how.

I'll make a point of finding a tutorial in the next few days & have a go by myself. He's growing so quickly & I keep forgetting to take new pics.

Thanks for the reminder.

[Loving my Oldies]

Thank goodness for sensible replies

Puppies sleep lots and play lots.

[Paul777]

Hey Persephone.

"Don't over think it"? lol Zagans dad is a magnificent boy, who at 2yo is 65kg, his mum is 50kg, so he's going to be a very big boy.

Having had a male Rotti in the past & knowing from experience that there will be a 'shot at the title' (challenge pecking order) at some point, how can one not keep an eye open for possible signs of dominant behaviour that needs nipping in the bud?

My previous Rotti was brought home as an 18 month old protection trained dog. The first challenge was quite scary & I'm sorry to say that I'd unwittingly provoked it (preparing for bed, with cat in arm ready to be put in the laundry, Ponti opened his eye to see me hovering over his bed picking up after him - who knew that they considered the 'air space' ABOVE them as theirs? - & went off his head)

Once we got over that incident (we were politely aloof for 2 days before he couldn't stand it any longer & kept glancing at me sideways, waiting for me to call him over for reconciliation, lol)

From that day on, it's as if he would subtly check to see if I'd had a brain aneurysm overnight or not, every morning. For e.g., he'd make sure that I was looking before he'd make out like he was about to get on the lounge, & when I'd cough my 'oh no you wouldn't' cough, he'd happily move off as if to say 'just checking', hahaha. (I often wondered if it was a genetic thing from his wolf ancestors, ensuring that alpha male is still up to the task for the safety of the pack?)

Anyhoo, because I'm not an expert, I'm taking the 'better safe now, than sorry later' approach. Better to ask silly questions now, than to ignore & regret later. As you know, bad habits aren't always easy to rectify once established.

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated.

Edited December 20, 2016 by Paul777

[Loving my Oldies]

No “silly questions”, Paul777 :) :) As you say, bad habits aren’t easy to rectify.

There are a couple of brilliant Rotti owners on this forum: Starkeyre, griff, Allerzeit.

Have you found this thread yet?

http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/176478-rottweiler/

[persephone]

Exactly , DDD - there are no silly questions :)

[Guest crazydoglady99]

Starkehre Rottweilers have some excellent information on their website too.

I don't buy much into the dominance idea. I believe consistent fair boundaries are the way to go. Kindness always wins :)

[Pepperotti]

+ for Meg and Starkehre Rotti's

[Paul777]

Dame Dannys Darling.

Thank-you, it's responses like yours (& the others) that makes one feel safe to ask.

No, I hadn't found the "478-Rottweiler" thread yet, thanks. Sometimes, like most breeds, only a Rotti lover understands a particular issue : )

[Paul777]

Animallover99

Thanks I'll be sure to check out their website.

Although I've owned a Rottweiler dog, I've never raised a Rotti pup & it's been over 30 years since raising any pup, so any advice from experience is not only welcome but would also be prudent on my part.

I'll have to check out what their idea of "dominance" is before I can comment.

Rottweilers need a firm hand & absolute respect for their owner. That, in my opinion, does definitely not mean a heavy hand. Rottis respond so well to affection & praise. And they really don't like being roused on.

My Rotti had such a refined sense of right & wrong, as reliable, as dependable, as predictable, as one could ever hope. I can't ever remember saying 'bad boy' to him, once he'd settled in.

Edited December 20, 2016 by Paul777

[tdierikx]

With all of the Rotties I've owned, there has never been any hint of any of them trying to be an "alpha"... brought up with mutual love and respect and some obedience training, and they all turned out to be perfectly acceptable canine citizens.

I'm thinking he just wants to instigate more play, and the grabbing gets your attention fastest... *grin*

T.

[Simply Grand]

Sounds like an excitement behaviour to me, he has excited energy that he isn't sure what to do with. I'd be figuring out what precedes him doing and redirecting his energy into an incompatible behaviour when you see his excitement building - say a 'sit' then a 'shake' (paw).

ETA - yep, also like Td says, grabbing gets your attention, so show him other, more appropriate ways to do that.

Also, I assume you've already started on general self control start exercises like holding a sit, waiting for food, waiting at the door. For a baby puppy you will only be looking at very short duration of course, and keeping it fun with lots of praise but all that kind of stuff will help him learn to direct his energy and help build the relationship between the two of you :)

Edited December 20, 2016 by Simply Grand

[persephone]

THIS is probably what you're looking for :) CLICK HERE

I remember when we got our rottie pup many many years ago ....they are certainly beautiful puppies!

Edited December 20, 2016 by persephone

[cavNrott]

Just distract her with a toy Paul. My Rotty girl did the same thing as a young puppy. I used to say Ah Ah quietly and give her the toy.

[Paul777]

Thanks for all your replies.

I've been thinking since I wrote the above & think that the incident when hovering over his bed was more to do with him 'teaching' me some doggie etiquette rather than a challenge (THAT came a few mins later when I ordered him outside)

For e.g., I needed to get his attention or call him to heel before taking him by the collar. On one occasion I thought that I had his attention & took him by his collar (he was distracted & digging at a large piece of bark) & he went off his head. He was very vocal when voicing his disapproval.

It taught me to wait for him to look at me before proceeding.

Remarkably, when my son was a toddler, he'd grab Pontis collar all the time without any reaction.

Todierikx, not all Rottis are the same. I've known some who'd hold the door open for a burglar. Often, it's how they've been raised. I encourage my dogs to earn their keep by protecting family & home. Little Zagan will most likely do protection training when older.

And yes, pup does grab my leg only when outside tearing around the yard with an abundance of puppy energy (he's so cute)

Simply Grand. Yeah, I just divert his attention when he does it without making a fuss.

I've started the TOT training by SteveK9Pro. It's remarkable how quick they learn. - & I'm learning too, lol. His advice not to say 'no', but rather, give a command like 'leave it' instead, for e.g., makes a lot of sense.

With pups, I get them to learn the things that help keep them safe first; like 'leave it' when about to grab an electrical cord for e.g. - 'drop it' when he has something hazardous or disgusting in his mouth.

Pup already knows 'leave it', 'drop it', 'piss' (pees on command), 'come' (most of the time - he sometimes thinks it's a game) & 'sit'. Not bad for a 10 week old pup.

I like to know that a command is cemented in his brain before moving on to the next one & tend to err on the side of caution as I'd hate to confuse him.

"Build the relationship" Yep, he's with me most of the time, sleeps tethered next to or under my bed & follows me everywhere.

Persephone, he's so adorable. That link is exactly what I was looking for, thank-you (not the easiest forum to find what I'm after)

cavNrott "distract" Thanks, yes it's what I'm doing (how could one get grumpy while he looks at me with his 'butter wouldn't melt in my mouth' puppy eyes? lol) It's so easy to distract him when he's so excitable. So I've started putting a ball in my pocket for that purpose. Nice to know that my instincts are correct : )

Edited December 20, 2016 by Paul777

[tdierikx]

I'm fully aware that not all Rotties are the same... my pets were just fine at alerting if there was any untoward disturbance around the house, but they were also prefectly well behaved and socially acceptable canine citizens when out and about. I'm not of the opinion that a pet needs to be trained as a protection dog to "do their job" at home - mine simply assumed the role if needed, and were friendly when I wanted them to be.

In my new job I'm working in close quarters with security trained protection and patrol dogs (Rotties and GSDs)... and most of them are the cuddliest trollopes with those of us who have to look after them when they aren't out working. There are one or two who don't have an off switch, but we work around that issue.

T.

[Simply Grand]

Thanks for all your replies.

I've been thinking since I wrote the above & think that the incident when hovering over his bed was more to do with him 'teaching' me some doggie etiquette rather than a challenge (THAT came a few mins later when I ordered him outside)

For e.g., I needed to get his attention or call him to heel before taking him by the collar. On one occasion I thought that I had his attention & took him by his collar (he was distracted & digging at a large piece of bark) & he went off his head. He was very vocal when voicing his disapproval.

It taught me to wait for him to look at me before proceeding.

Remarkably, when my son was a toddler, he'd grab Pontis collar all the time without any reaction.

Todierikx, not all Rottis are the same. I've known some who'd hold the door open for a burglar. Often, it's how they've been raised. I encourage my dogs to earn their keep by protecting family & home. Little Zagan will most likely do protection training when older.

And yes, pup does grab my leg only when outside tearing around the yard with an abundance of puppy energy (he's so cute)

Simply Grand. Yeah, I just divert his attention when he does it without making a fuss.

I've started the TOT training by SteveK9Pro. It's remarkable how quick they learn. - & I'm learning too, lol. His advice not to say 'no', but rather, give a command like 'leave it' instead, for e.g., makes a lot of sense.

With pups, I get them to learn the things that help keep them safe first; like 'leave it' when about to grab an electrical cord for e.g. - 'drop it' when he has something hazardous or disgusting in his mouth.

Pup already knows 'leave it', 'drop it', 'piss' (pees on command), 'come' (most of the time - he sometimes thinks it's a game) & 'sit'. Not bad for a 10 week old pup.

I like to know that a command is cemented in his brain before moving on to the next one & tend to err on the side of caution as I'd hate to confuse him.

"Build the relationship" Yep, he's with me most of the time, sleeps tethered next to or under my bed & follows me everywhere.

Persephone, he's so adorable. That link is exactly what I was looking for, thank-you (not the easiest forum to find what I'm after)

cavNrott "distract" Thanks, yes it's what I'm doing (how could one get grumpy while he looks at me with his 'butter wouldn't melt in my mouth' puppy eyes? lol) It's so easy to distract him when he's so excitable. So I've started putting a ball in my pocket for that purpose. Nice to know that my instincts are correct : )

I can't see where you are located on my phone but if you are able to work with K9 Pro on your training, including protection work, that would be great, they are excellent at that stuff.

TOT is great for impulse control, as is NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free) and for relationship building. A constructive relationship with a dog, especially a strong willed OR an insecure one is more than just spending time together, it's establishing a language, a reward history and conditioned responses.

You've said that you haven't had a Rott puppy before, have you had other puppies? A 10 week old puppy is still very much a baby. Absolutely you can begin conditioning behaviours but something reliable at 10 weeks is not necessarily reliable at 16 or 26 weeks.

I personally find it concerning that a 10 week old pup would go "off his head" at a collar grab from an owner who he has been living with... But I don't know you or the pup in question so it is really just something I am flagging, if it's no concern to you then fine.

[tdierikx]

I think the dog that went "off his head" was his previous Rotti SG... I think he said he'd got it as an adult also.

T.