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I was lucky in the way I was able to train my dogs because I had a heavybag in the basement of the residence I was staying in at the time. I had two pitbulls during the period and they were both trying to disrespect me, so I took them downstairs and beat on the heavy bag and stared them down.
They both looked scared, so after that they realized who the dominant dog was in the house. I feel like with aggressive dog breeds, you have to show them who is in charge by the display of strength and aggression.
Hahaha, I'm going through the replies (some good, some not so much) while I'm having my first cuppa tea for the day, & this made me laugh.
You get what I was saying Jobster, thank-you.
When he was 'little', when he tried "to disrespect me", I'd do what his mum did; grab him by his scruff & pin him on his side while growling whatever, until he relaxed & looked away.
When about 3mo, I was potting plants. Legion had his own rubbery pots to destroy but he was more interested in mine. He'd run amok, knocking down & ripping up my efforts. I pinned him down growling. After he relaxed & I let him go, he jumped up & went straight back into running amok.
So I pinned him down a 2nd time. When I let him go, he got up, sat next to me & quietly watched what I was doing. As if what just occurred was perfectly normal.
Testing for alpha position IS perfectly normal. I see it as a good sign, that I've got a dog worth having (he's already showing signs of being an excellent protector & guard dog)
Now that he's a very strong 35kg (77lbs) he's too big to wrestle. So now when he tries to disrespect me, I get his lead & ask him if he wants a 'time out' in a growly voice. It's hard not to laugh watching his expression while he thinks about it. He'll usually lay down with his chin on the ground & looks up at me with wounded, innocent puppy eyes.
It works. I've only ever given him 'time out' once.
Why on earth didn't you- a supposedly "experienced" rottie owner, get this puppy into first puppy class and then continue with at least basic obedience training?
Get the choke chain off him pronto before it causes damage to his neck and/or esophagus. Get a front clip body harness, e.g. Gentle Leader that will provide management for the pulling until he learns a nice loose leash walk. And get into an obedience class with a CPDT certified trainer NOW.
Wow, what a judgemental & snarky reply.
I've been training Legion since he was 9 weeks old. If you actually read what I wrote you'd see that I said he is "mostly obedient".
You'd also have read that I haven't RAISED a Rottweiler from pup, that both were acquired at around 18mo.
But please, don't allow your willful ignorance get in the way of your need to judge & correct others.
Yes, 9 months - 18 months is HARD for working breeds.
I would suggest
Nosework classes
Doggy day care
Dog play dates - get together with other large breeds with the same energy level now. Let them play no interruptions - if safe.
Dog trick DVDs
Try to get in "at least" an extra hour of work every day. 2 hours is better. A tired (especially adolescent) dog is a good thing.
You will pit in more time with him training, but less time trying to control him
Also don't walk him unless he is already tired. Just don't do it. Do a full hour trick training, Nosework, fetch, free play, etc.... BEFORE the walk.
Mine get sniff time on walks for the first 5 minutes - no pulling. Then we walk.
Even 2 x 30-40 min walks a day is NOT enough to survive with a high energy working dog "pup".
Your life will be so much easier when he is tired
For now you might want to get a basket muzzle for the times you know he will grab rocks, etc... eating those things can actually be dangerous. I would err on the side of caution until he (hopefully) grows out if it.
Thank-you for your positive reply.
I'm looking into doggy day-care already because he already frets when I'm not around.
I've recently finished building a paved, safe enclosure for him & giving him time alone for 30 mins or so seems to be helping.
"Dog play dates" I'd love to but .... I've been advised to not allow him to play with other dogs while before the age of 18mo. The reasoning is that excitable pups of this breed, can actually do harm to their joints & tendons by gamboling unrestrained with other dogs.
I've seen what they mean. Unrestrained, in bursts of excitable, boisterous bursts of energy, he's already hurt his shoulder leaping & twisting while running amok.
They say this is why one needs to be very careful NOT to over exercise before 18mo.
It is frustrating. Until I first owned a Rotti, I had no idea just how athletic & quick they are for a large dog.
I'm unable to play games such as 'fetch' outside because he just goes around hoovering up cut grass, mulch, sticks, bark, rocks, anything. He'll even do this straight after a feed while on the lead.
I'll look into "nosework" (He's incredibly intelligent & already understands over 20 words) & try to wear him out a little mentally before a walk.
The trouble with Rotties, is once they're tired (or too hot), they'll just lay down & refuse to budge.
"Sniff time". That's worth a try. He gets so into scents that he starts salivating & drooling. It's the first 5-10 mins when he's overly scent driven before he settles into the walk & content to sniff as he walks along.
"Basket muzzle" Yep. My local pet store has one on order (he's already an XXL) & I'm hoping this will help. I hate not letting him be able to run free in the backyard.
Thanks again for the supportive & non-judgemental reply.
Not dominance as noted above. Typical puppy/adolescent behavior
Can you see his ribs? Is he getting enough to eat? I'm also not sure that's a balanced diet. He may be eating things outside because he's missing nutrients. I think most raw diets also include other things besides meat. I'd do some research and talk to your vet. Since he's not chewing stuff up inside, I'm thinking this may be a diet issue. Could be wrong of course but I do think that an all meat diet is not nutritionally complete.
My local vet is a raw food advocate & has an animal behaviorist on staff.
According to the AB, agrees that Legion definitely shows dominant behaviour. To me it's the sign of a good dog.
My other 2 Rotties (that I got at 18mo) showed subtle signs of testing me.
For e.g. Animals aren't allowed on my furniture, they have their own comfy beds. One boy, nearly every morning, would make like he was about to jump on the lounge or bed, & look at me to see my reaction.
When I'd say something like "What the hell are you doing?'' he'd turn away. It's as if they are checking the competency of the alpha.
I should have added that Legion also gets a very small amount of grain free kibble daily (Black Hawk Puppy Formula - Against my vets advice). It was first introduced for stool consistency at the suggestion of the breeders at 9wo.
He also gets a portion of green tripe once a week.
My vet says he's "a little overweight" but the other vets laugh that he says that about most dogs.
His obsession with eating is baffling. Even at 8-9wo, he'd finish eating a meal & go straight up & strip bark of his favourite tree to eat. He also wants to lick & taste anything & everything.
I was lucky in the way I was able to train my dogs because I had a heavybag in the basement of the residence I was staying in at the time. I had two pitbulls during the period and they were both trying to disrespect me, so I took them downstairs and beat on the heavy bag and stared them down.
They both looked scared, so after that they realized who the dominant dog was in the house. I feel like with aggressive dog breeds, you have to show them who is in charge by the display of strength and aggression.
This made me laugh ...... when I brought Legion home at 8wo, friends gave me the toys their dog had outgrown, a plastic pig squeak toy & a toy fluffy dog that barked & jumped.
He didn't know what to make of 'Fluffy' & would trot past him without looking. After a while he'd give it a sideways glance on passing.
He wasn't scared of 'Piggy' & regularly beat the daylights out of him. Eventually, after a couple of weeks, he'd give Piggy a thorough beating in front of Fluffy while standing side on to it. He'd stop & then slowly & deliberately turn to stare at Fluffy, as if to say "You're next!' lol.
It wasn't long before Fluffy got regular thrashings.
Last edited by Legion777; 05-26-2017 at 07:16 PM..
I should have added that Legion also gets a very small amount of grain free kibble daily (Black Hawk Puppy Formula - Against my vets advice).
So all you feed your dog is meat and a very small amount of kibble? But your vet thinks you should be feeding him a meat only diet? I'd be looking for a new vet if I was you, one who would work with you on feeding your dog a more balanced diet that will give him the nutrients he needs.
This isn't meant to be judgmental, so please don't take it that way.
Is that all you feed him? He is a growing puppy and needs to be feed a balanced diet that will provide him the nutrients he needs. Otherwise, you are going to have some major health problems. Talk to your vet about a more appropriate diet.
He might be eating all those things outside to try and supplement his diet. Unless you want an expensive vet bill, you shouldn't leave him unattended. Since he is good in the house,vleave him inside when you have to go somewhere. When out in the yard, keep a close eye on him and redirect his attention when he starts to get into something. Does he have toys to play with outside? He may also be getting into things because he is bored.
Is he eating glass and sharp metal from your yard? I would clean all that up and make the yard safer for him to roam around in.
As far as the walking, do you have him in obedience classes? He is only going to get bigger and harder to control. Digs aren't going to naturally learn how to walk on a leash. Letting him lunge and just bracing for impact could very easily lead to you both being injured. I would suggest you get an easy walk harness:
The leash clips to the front, so the dog isn't able to pull or lunge forward. You could also get a gentle leader. It clips under the chin, which would also stop him from pulling or lunging forward. It also might give you better control of his head to keep him from eating anythung he shouldn't be eating.
His vet is a raw food advocate & is where I buy most of his food. (He also gets a little grain free kibble daily, more for stool consistency & a piece of green tripe once a week) I also use small pieces of dried liver for training.The vet thinks he's a little overweight if anything but I'd disagree.
No, he's extremely healthy with a shiny coat & passes healthy stools (that sometimes contain palm seeds & other foreign material) every morning.
Commercial pet foods are garbage that go straight through a dog. They're regularly recalled because of traces of contamination like Pentobarbital (there's only one way that that could enter the food - think about it)
He found the chunk of glass under the fridge when he was little & he digs up buried metal ( bits of can & bottle tops from I'd guess previous owners - I don't live in a junkyard) Because he eats whatever he can find, he's never allowed to roam free in the yard, which I think is a little sad. Dogs love exploring & sniffing their domain.
He's excellent in the house when I'm there. I'm really not sure what he'd get up to if left home alone.
It's why I built a large, paved & covered enclosure for his safety so I can leave him unattended with peace of mind. It's cost me over $700 to build.
He's very obedient most of the time. It's only when he's overly excited or over stimulated that he's a handful.
That was the point of my rant. He's a puppy in a large strong body.
He sits, stays, drops, comes, leaves it & goes '****' on command. He happily walks/trots alongside me on walks without pulling 95% of the time. The only thing he wont do is drop whatevers in his mouth & I have to pry his jaws apart to remove.
He only ever "lunges", as you put it, when he picks up a scent (today it was KFC bones that some grub dumped in the gutter - had he got them in his mouth, he'd swallow them before I could pry his jaws open)
I couldn't care any less what people say, he's trained & training will continue. Any disobedience is due entirely to the fact that he's a puppy & is easily distracted. Were it not for outside stimuli, he'd be 99% perfect. Unfortunately, there's no such thing as a sterile environment.
He's just an exuberant, over-excitable, boisterous puppy. He'll grow out of it sooner or later.
The harness suggestion is worth a try. I bought a harness for the car that I hoped I could use on walks but it doesn't have a ring on the front. Maybe I could try looping the lead through the chest part of the harness & see if that works. I hate seeing him choke himself (he has a neck like a bull & he doesn't seem to even notice)
Purchase the very very best dog food: a brand like Orijen or Royal Canin. That desire to eat everything is usually caused by missing nutrients in his diet.
Find a ball he loves and get him to carry it in his mouth on walks and/or keep some tasty snacks with you and praise and snack him when he leaves the glass/whatnot alone. And classes classes classes.
The choker chain has little effect. When he tries to lunge when he picks up a scent, I just brace myself & give him full length of the leash & he'll pull as if it's not there.
Even if he is only lunging occasionally, it can still cause injuries to both you and the dog. Especially with a choke chain, he can end up seriously injuring his neck. The front clip harness makes it difficult for the dog to lunge forward, as when he tries to lunge forward it'll force him sideways. Even if he is pulling, he'll have a harder time moving in the direction that he wants so its a great tool to use when teaching how to walk on a loose leash. It corrects their behavior without hurting them.
Find a ball he loves and get him to carry it in his mouth on walks and/or keep some tasty snacks with you and praise and snack him when he leaves the glass/whatnot alone. And classes classes classes.
That's a good suggestion. At one rescues I worked at, we did that with several of the dogs to redirect their attention. Sometimes we were redirecting because of aggression, but other times it was because they wanted to eat pieces of glass, tree branches, etc. A majority of the dogs were strays, so they were used to just grabbing anything and everything off the streets that they could find to eat. But not all the dogs were interested in carrying a toy with them for their entire walk, although some of them would happily squeak their toy or chew on a ball the whole time.
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