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Yea it was us three and bf my bf woke up me an max were quietly watching tv with him next to me on bed an bf sleeping next to us. Then bf woke up first petted him but then was just like petting him an started playing with him maybe somewhat rough housing but not much they had only been interacting for couple min. Then he kissed pup then put his head downwards an max bit it. We don't do anything intimate next to pup except lay together on bed watching tv an a kiss once in a while. But that is only furniture I allow max on is my bed and only if I put him on it because I want to. But at night they do sometimes rough house next to me on bed before we all calm down for night. It just has never happened before so it was weird.
NO ROUGHHOUSING. There is no benefit that cannot be met in a safer way and tons of downsides to rough play. As your boyfriend experienced tonight. How fortunate a tooth missed an eye and that it was your boyfriend and not your child.
Why am I shouting in caps? Because good dogs have been ruined by this. Good dogs have unintentionally injured or bitten a person or worse, a child in rough play and then suffered any number of negative consequences through no fault of their own.
Others may differ. I have a strong opinion about this.
I wanted to ask one more thing My pup keeps itching biting one area on his leg like upper thigh i guess. He is always itchy in that spot so much so you can see the hair mated down right there from so much itch/nibbling it. He doesn't have fleas an has had flea medicine to prevent it. He does have dry skin like dandruff so I bathe him quite often like 1 or 2 week an even use sensitive skin shampoo an conditioner with oatmeal, but ever since we got him he has always really bad itched that spot. Why would he itch just one area and how can I stop it. He doesn't itch anywhere else like this so I don't know.
Don't bathe him that often. Bathing dries out a dog's skin resulting in more itching.
I have to bathe him when I do b/c if he has an accident. Everytime he goes in crate when we all have to leave he poop then gets all in it. I will take him outside before we put him in crate an he will poop an pee outside an walk him then put him in crate, an leave. Everytime when we get back he has pooped smeared it around an it will be on him in his nails, so I have to just about every other time we leave an he is put in crate he does this. We go back to vet tomorrow for his booster shot.
There are a lot of good, strong advice here. You have to keep in mind that you have a large, powerful dog in your house. Rotties are wonderful family pets if trained properly. If not, you will still have a powerful dog but who will pull and drag you around on a leash, jump on who he wants and 'mouths' stranger's arms with sharp teeth.
I normally don't say this but I am concerned by the posts about your child. If you are overwhelmed and feel that you may have chew more than you can bite, you may need to consider rehoming the dog to someone who has the time and suitable environment for a puppy. It is much easier to rehome a puppy who is still learning his manners than an adult dog who needs to be taught new manners.
EDITED (I just realized that this is the rot pup from another thread).
I am going to suggest that you and your family should rethink and change how you work with this dog.
I am not comfortable with the last interaction you describe. Not at all. You might be - I am not.
You may come up with a better alternative - after all - you are the sergeant on the scene - the person in charge - but I am going to suggest something a little more radical - that you crate the dog on a regular basis. And let it join the family when everything is calm and likely to be calm. And no rough-housing with the dog. It sounds like rough-housing may be a trigger. When the dog joins you in a family situation, the dog must remain calm, or he goes back to the crate. I like the crate for this, because in a proper crate for this dog, it will be large enough he will be able to more around some. And, you can put the crate in the tv room so the dog gets to be with you.
The dog is having self-control issues, and you (and your family and bf) are putting the dog in situations that pressure his self-control. I know that you are aware of this - because you have told us of the very positive steps you have already taken to help the dog at a time when he is learning self-control. I don't know what the exact answer is, you will have to find that. But I can see, from what you have told us, that you need to rework your procedures to help everybody, including the dog, learn the limits.
So, you're doing a good job - keep it up! Figure out how to change the scenario so the dog can practice self-control. And when the self-control gets better, then let things get back to "normal". BUT NOT TOO FAST! This is exactly the type of scenario where we, as dog owners, are tempted to move too fast, and let the dog be in situations where it will hurt his learning! So, only go back to rough-housing in baby steps, only so far as you KNOW the dog can maintain self-control.
You are keeping the dog on leash with your son, but that isn't enough, as you know. So that has to change, somehow. Since you are also dealing with your son's learning curve, I suggested avoiding much contact with that son. Only let those two engage when you are actively controlling the dog, and the boy. If you are watching tv with the dog on leash, that is passively controlling. I know this sounds like a big complicated mess, but you know what isn't working. Avoid what isn't working.
Another thing to keep in mind: the dog will do what he thinks sounds like the most fun at that moment, unless he is being defensive or responding to instinct. If he is a fighting breed, you may be triggering fighting impulses with rough-housing. You will KNOW if this is the case, because you will be able to repeat it if you try. Back to the 'most fun' idea. The dog is likely jumping on your son because it 'sounds like fun to me!'. If that is the case, you can benefit by thinking of how to attract the dog to something he thinks is MORE fun. Like when you see the dog is about to jump - offer a super-special liver treat or something the dog loves so much he will forget about jumping. This is the point in offering chewies and the like - offer a high-value replacement behavior. That way the dog looks at the boy, thinks "Oh, jump!", and then learns to think "Oh, jump is good, but I can get a LIVER treat!" or whatever.
Retraining that focus can be very difficult, though. So, how you attack the problem then is to crate the dog now, and work on self-control for other behaviors. Get solid "sit"s, or "down", or whatever works for the dog! You say the boy can get the dog to sit. Can you get the boy to get the dog to sit when the dog jumps up? If the answer is no, then work with the dog and the boy to get BETTER compliance to sit. Pressure the dog by adding distraction during training - other people - other dogs - whatever.
I will add this - if something that nobody has mentioned seems to be working - go there. Try it. For instance, my current two? We still have a problem with "come". Oh, they "come" alright, but it might be a few minutes away, after they go to explore something more interesting. But (and this defies logic and training logic) for some reason, "Stop" works for them. I started it small, but it worked, and I grew it to where I can now do it most anywhere and anytime. And it works. I have worked on 'come', trying to get a better compliance, and I have worked far harder and far longer, but that has not improved nearly as much as I want. "Stop" works for them. Don't ask me why - it works. So, if something starts working, do not be afraid to explore it. And, if something doesn't work, don't be afraid to try something else. And, if you find the secret to getting your pup to calm down is something completely different from what we have suggested? Go there.
I have to bathe him when I do b/c if he has an accident. Everytime he goes in crate when we all have to leave he poop then gets all in it. I will take him outside before we put him in crate an he will poop an pee outside an walk him then put him in crate, an leave. Everytime when we get back he has pooped smeared it around an it will be on him in his nails, so I have to just about every other time we leave an he is put in crate he does this. We go back to vet tomorrow for his booster shot.
No need to use shampoo to wash off the poop. Just put him in the shower and rinse. That should help. The pooping problem is a separate issue from the jumping and rough-housing behavior. (Aren't puppies wonderful? ) I suggest you search the web for basic answers to separation anxiety behavior. And you have already gotten some very good suggestions about how to encourage pooping outside, appropriately!
No it isn't more than I can handle. We are just learning together. That is why I ask questions just to get other more experienced dog owners advice. My pup is not even 4 mos. old and he doesn't drag me when on leash, he obeys the commands sit, lay down, paw and the cue easy when nipping. These aren't serious incidents and we are still learning and working on things, I just like other peoples input. He is very good natured and loves everyone, so I am not worried I think I would know if it was aggressive vs. playing but I think its best to ask questions while we're learning. He never has accidents in house anymore except in crate when we leave, he really is pretty well behaved for his age and I am loving every minute with him. See the dog will be calm but when its my bf me an pup or my bf an pup alone they play tug of war or chase the ball or w/e he especially likes to do this with big stuffed animals. I will do it w/ him but I barely tug an max doesn't bite me or tug hard back, my bf an him do play a little harder, but in playful way, max doesn't get mean. The dog is on a leash attatched to me when around my son, they usually do only have limited contact with each other an is supervised b/c I am aware they would never be able to control him if situation got out of control, so I do do that.
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) I suggest you search the web for basic answers to separation anxiety behavior. And you have already gotten some very good suggestions about how to encourage pooping outside, appropriately!
