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My Rottie pup is now 7 1/2 months old & I'm starting to understand why so many are given up at around 9 months old.
Don't get me wrong, I'd never give him up. Legion is a beautiful, intelligent, affectionate, mostly obedient boy, but when he puts his mind to it, he's as stubborn as a mule.
I've owned 2 Rotties in the past but were both 18mo & extremely well trained when I bought them.
Obviously I had no understanding of Rottie pups. Legion is an at times excitable puppy in a 35kg, extremely strong body.
He's been displaying signs of dominance since he was 9 weeks old. At least twice a day, he gets a crazy look in his eyes & tries to climb over me when I'm sitting.
At around 5mo, I asked here if anyone had any ideas that would negate the use of a choker chain to stop him from attempting to 'say hello' to every stranger that we passed on our walks.
Although he's learnt to keep moving past people, he's now going through the stage where he wants to sniff every tree, every pole & leave his mark.
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.
Although he's choking himself, he's more interested in whatever scent he's picked up.
The first 5-10 minutes of any walk is a battle of wills until he eventually falls into line ..... mostly.
Now he's decided at the end of 35-40 min exercise, that is half walking, half trotting (I allow him to decide our pace, as long as he doesn't tug) to just lay down in the driveway & refuses to budge.
What I have learnt, is that Rotties need time to think. When I stand my ground (I never give in, lol) & stare at him, he eventually complies.
I've never met a dog before that will eat anything. Rocks, bark, dirt, branches, grass ... anything. I've even caught him chewing on a chunk of glass & pieces of sharp metal.
Then I'll awake to the sounds of heaving at 3-4am before he vomits up a pile of rocks, grass, bark etc.
It's so bad that I have to take him outside on a lead to go toilet, or he'll just start wolfing down anything he can find. (He's fed a chicken carcass or large turkey neck twice a day, plus a piece of beef brisket) I've had to pave, concrete & build a large enclosure for when I have to leave him alone because he can't be trusted alone in the backyard.
Ironically, he's an excellent house dog. He never gets into the bin or attempt to chew on anything other than his toys.
I'm hoping this is just a part of the puppy stage, that he'll grow out of his eating obsession & that he'll be 100% obedient sooner rather than later. He's a beautiful boy but my God, what a handful.
I can see how these headstrong dogs can dominate some households. Rottweilers are a beautiful breed but definitely not for inexperienced dog owners.
He's been displaying signs of dominance since he was 9 weeks old.
Normal puppy behavior- not "dominance".
At around 5mo, I asked here if anyone had any ideas that would negate the use of a choker chain to stop him from attempting to 'say hello' to every stranger that we passed on our walks.
1) Puppy class beginning at 8 weeks old transitioning right into:
2) Basic obedience: consistent and progressive age appropriate training.
Although he's learnt to keep moving past people, he's now going through the stage where he wants to sniff every tree, every pole & leave his mark.
Yes, dogs are driven by smell; if you want him to sniff less, then work on focusing exercises while you simultaneously work on teaching a loose-leash walk.
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.
It really isn't that difficult to teach a basic loose leash walk position. Using the choke chain and allowing him to run to the end of it has the potential to cause long-term physical damage, not to mention allows him to practice bad behavior.
I can see how these headstrong dogs can dominate some households. Rottweilers are a beautiful breed but definitely not for inexperienced dog owners.
Dogs need to be trained and taught how to be good family members. This one is on you, not the dog.
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.
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.
Last edited by simplepeace; 05-26-2017 at 09:15 AM..
He's been displaying signs of dominance since he was 9 weeks old. At least twice a day, he gets a crazy look in his eyes & tries to climb over me when I'm sitting.
Not dominance as noted above. Typical puppy/adolescent behavior
Quote:
I've never met a dog before that will eat anything. Rocks, bark, dirt, branches, grass ... anything. I've even caught him chewing on a chunk of glass & pieces of sharp metal.
Then I'll awake to the sounds of heaving at 3-4am before he vomits up a pile of rocks, grass, bark etc.
It's so bad that I have to take him outside on a lead to go toilet, or he'll just start wolfing down anything he can find. (He's fed a chicken carcass or large turkey neck twice a day, plus a piece of beef brisket)
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.
As to the rest of it, Twelvepaw and Simplepeace gave you good advice.
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.
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.
Wrong. I've trained competition-level German Shepherds in protection work and worked with police K-9 trainers. What you wrote is simply not true.
Your dogs had no clue what you were trying to do or teach them. All you showed them was that your behavior is unpredictable. "Disrespect" isn't a concept dogs have. All dogs need to be trained. Unless you teach them what you want and what is acceptable behavior, they not going to know and are going do what they want. Pit bulls are great dogs and respond well to training. Please educate yourself on how a dog should be trained and what dog behaviors really mean.
Wrong. I've trained competition-level German Shepherds in protection work and worked with police K-9 trainers. What you wrote is simply not true.
Your dogs had no clue what you were trying to do or teach them. All you showed them was that your behavior is unpredictable. "Disrespect" isn't a concept dogs have. All dogs need to be trained. Unless you teach them what you want and what is acceptable behavior, they not going to know and are going do what they want. Pit bulls are great dogs and respond well to training. Please educate yourself on how a dog should be trained and what dog behaviors really mean.
Well, it worked for my dog. Isn't that how it works in the wild?
I've never met a dog before that will eat anything. Rocks, bark, dirt, branches, grass ... anything. I've even caught him chewing on a chunk of glass & pieces of sharp metal.
Then I'll awake to the sounds of heaving at 3-4am before he vomits up a pile of rocks, grass, bark etc.
It's so bad that I have to take him outside on a lead to go toilet, or he'll just start wolfing down anything he can find. (He's fed a chicken carcass or large turkey neck twice a day, plus a piece of beef brisket) I've had to pave, concrete & build a large enclosure for when I have to leave him alone because he can't be trusted alone in the backyard.
Ironically, he's an excellent house dog. He never gets into the bin or attempt to chew on anything other than his toys.
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.
Last edited by Sundaydrive00; 05-26-2017 at 10:40 AM..
Well, it worked for my dog. Isn't that how it works in the wild?
Not really. Leadership goes to the one with the strongest willpower.
Top dog in my pack is a slightly under 6 pound Papillon. She has more determination than anyone else and she always gets her own way. The big dogs defer to her wishes.
Last edited by oregonwoodsmoke; 05-26-2017 at 10:44 AM..
Well, it worked for my dog. Isn't that how it works in the wild?
The pack relationship in wolves is more complicated than that although there is an element of force involved. In addition, dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years. Their behavior has been shaped though that process to be basically that of a wolf puppy. So what's happens "in the wild" is not a good training model. More information here: https://positively.com/dog-training/...ogs-vs-wolves/
Scaring a dog can easily to turn them into a fear biter and create other behavior problems. You want to teach the dog what's appropriate without making the dog insecure and fearful.
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