Any ROTTWEILER owners?

[RottieInfo]

Just looking to get a general view of the breed from real owners.

Puppy hood. The teenage years. Temperament. Needs etc...

Yep my boy is now 10 years old.

We adopted him from a rescue along with his mother when he was 7 months and she was 6 years. We lost her a fair few years back. They were our first dogs never mind first Rottweilers and now wouldn’t have any other breed.

Is there anything in particular you want to know?

Here is Zeus and his pet puppy 😍

Aww he's absolutely gorgeous.

Are they receptive to training?

My youngest will be 9 and it's been his dream since toddler hood to own a rottie. He owns the same Teddy your dog is holding.

I've held off until now as I felt he would be too small but he's had a growth spurt and I think maybe 2020 could be the year?

Are they a bouncy breed? Full of energy or do they plod about?

Thankyou

As youngsters they are hyper and bouncy yes, strict training is a must. They mellow with age however and are happy to plod about. The teenage years are particularly challenging as they like to test the boundaries and be a general pain for a while. I believe this is more common in males. Zeus came to us as a whirlwind who knew no manners at all. Even at just 7 months he was big enough to knock a child over when jumping up so that was the first thing we worked on.

You need to recognise you’ve got a dog that’s going to be big, be stronger than you and can overpower you so get the good behaviour instilled straight away. I would recommend starting from day 1 no jumping up, no climbing on knees etc. It’s easy to let a puppy get away with it but when you’ve got an 8 stone dog who thinks he can do the same, not fun!

Zeus went to training classes for over a year and got his KC good citizen award. He picked up his training relatively well, not the brightest in the class but not the worst either. Consistency is key, and finding out what motivates them. For Zeus a bit of hot dog sausage is the winner. He will do ANYTHING for that.

My youngest is 6 years old so we’ve had Zeus longer than her and he’s fab with her. Children need to be taught to respect the dogs boundaries also. My daughter knows never touch his food, he won’t do anything but it’s his food and I don’t want him to feel he needs to defend it in future, never get in his bed, never climb on him etc.

They are a naturally protective breed and very loyal. Zeus wouldn’t hurt a fly but on a walk if he sees a stranger he stands in a threatening type of stance, almost as though he’s making them aware that he’s there. Then he will happily have a stroke of them afterwards. Socialising them is really important as well. Make sure they meet everyone and everything. Uniforms, bikes, scooters etc. teach them that they are not a threat to prevent fearful and reactive behaviour. Zeus was young enough for us to do this but his mother remained fearful of bicycles her whole life and if she saw one she would snarl, bark and look generally very viscous. We had to make sure she was never loose around children riding bikes etc. for this reason. Start the socialising young and you avoid this for later.

Hope that helps and feel free to ask away. But definitely number 1 tip is find a good training school, one that uses positive reinforcement, and be prepared to invest a lot of time training. It’s worth it in the long run when you have a chilled well behaved adult dog. Avoid anyone who talks about dominance and suggests forcing your dog into submission etc. Sure fire way to make a dog aggressive in the long run.

Lovely dogs, fiercely loyal and intelligent. Oh and STRONG. I've owned two, one from a pup and a rescue that had issues.

They are not for everyone. They need firm but kind training. I found both of mine to be steady in temperament but protective.

I am a vet nurse now and see a lot of rotties. I love them but im wary as they are very knowing and calm but can be unpredictable. Saying that, they are stressed in the vets mostly. There is a "look" that those familiar with the breed will recognise and should be taken seriously

Wow.

Picked this thread up in 'active'.

Who'd have an animal in their house that might rip your throat out? Or an unschooled visiting child? If anyone needs 'You should/ you need to/ make sure you never/ make sure he never'... in order to mitigate the risks..

Nope.

Miljah all of those precautions are important for ANY breed

I'm a vet. I'm extremely wary of them. I'd far rather a pit bull to be honest. I would not let my children visit a house with a rottweiler in it. If you must have one, bitches ime tend to be nicer.

We have one next door who is a real sweetie but he wouldn't be my choice. I'm more of a Spaniel person lol.

They’re fab if they suit you, playful, really trainable, enthusiastic about absolutely everything, lol... they’re definitely not plodders.

But if you’re thinking your 8 year old would be able to walk one I think that’s not the best idea (I can’t work out what else would make his size relevant) they absolutely will take advantage if they think they can get away with taking the mick...

If you do decide it’s a good fit for you, you do need to be massively picky about breeders, owning a rottie with a dodgy temperament or health issues is not much fun.

@Miljah Are you really stupid enough to believe that an entire breed will “rip your throat out”? ALL dogs can be aggressive, ALL dogs could injure a child, ALL dogs should never be left unsupervised with a child. Babies have been killed by bloody toy breeds FGS. Judge the dog and they way it’s raised not the entire breed!

I’m a veterinary nurse and also a behaviourist and these are on my list of never want to own.

I’ve met a lot of unpredictable, aggressive and weak temperaments in the breed. Not for me.

The question is - can you walk and train an eight stone dog? And do you want to do so for the next 10+ years?

Rottweilers are strong and protective - you need to be training them properly from the minute you get them home. You're going to have a strong, heavy dog who could pull you over in seconds. No way could your 8yo son walk an adult Rottweiler safely - he could be seriously injured if the dog lunged or pulled.

And no matter how dedicated your 8yo is - you'll be the one doing all the work. Can you care for a dog? Is your lifestyle set up for one? And I mean yours, not your sons. Because he'll probably get bored and as the parent, you'll be the one doing the muddy dog walks, the training, the picking up of poo - every day, year round, for the next ten or so years!

We just have the mutt now, but for a couple of years had RottDog who was a stinky pain in the arse, but very loving. She came from a rescue at 3 years, was untrained and very barky. She was really hard to train, and we didn't quite get there - if she chased something (usually squirrels) she lost all control and calling her back was a 'mare (unlike the Mutt who can be called to 'down' mid chase and does it 100%)

DD was younger than your son. She couldn't walk her - whilst we did stop RottDog pulling at the lead, DD wouldn't have been able to control her if she wanted to chase. Have you seen the Video "Jesus Christ Fenton" - that's RottDog to a tee.

If you are to get a Rott then you MUST go all out for training. Your dog needs to be push button - Rotts still have a horrible reputation and the slightest issue will be held against them. We were lucky that we could walk on MOD land so didn't have to worry about public perception, but you won't have that.

I would absolutely love another Rott, but it would have to be a pup that I could train, and I won't buy from a breeder. So it's not to be.

To be fair indella while all breeds can be aggressive, I’d rather be attacked by a jack russell than a Rottweiler.

Oh and one other thing. I never, not even once, worried about DD with RottDog. She was protective over her, would stand right next to her and sleep at her feet (or on top of her if she could get away with it!) Not even when she was in pain and dying of bone cancer. She really was a soft, daft thing.

(Ah, yes, Bone Cancer. A real possibility. Large breed dogs are susceptible and it's a horrible, fast, cruel bastard of a disease)

No DS wouldn't be walking him, I would.

The size thing was in relation to him getting knocked over.

Hmm. Think this was a bit of a reality check. Probably not the breed for us.

What is it your DS loves so much about Rottweilers? Maybe someone could recommend a similar breed?

The thing with big dogs is they come with "big dog" problems - they're likely to be much much stronger than you (and in some cases heavier than you too), they cost more in terms of food and insurance, they have shorter life spans, they're prone to joint problems and bloat and they have to be impeccably trained because as a PP has pointed out, a jumping, over-excited rottie can do a huge amount of damage!

I love Rottweilers - a friend of mine has one and she is wonderful but he he trains her constantly and takes her to work with him. She's impeccably trained but he's also had huge amounts of experience with large dogs and knows what he's doing (and is strong enough to handle them should they lunge/pull/try and bolt).

We already have a dog. A little mutt, toy sized.
I'm not sure what it is, I think they just look like big cuddly bears to him.
He's always watching YouTube videos of them, gets super excited if we see one when out.
I haven't mentioned to him that getting one is a possibility so he won't be upset.

I don't think I have that level of knowledge in regards to training.

“The size thing was in relation to him getting knocked over.”

Yeah... there isn’t a size that won’t happen at tbh, lol, the thing with rotties is that they don’t realise they’re big dogs and their brakes are dodgy, so you do get run into and sat on quite a lot...they definitely think they should be lap dogs...

“I don't think I have that level of knowledge in regards to training.”

To be fair, a well bred rottie should have a sound temperament, so they don’t need constant training in case something terrible happens.

It’s because you need to keep them busy or they’ll find their own much less desirable entertainment.

And because other people are less tolerant of them than other breeds, if an over friendly lab’s recall fails and they rush up to say hello to another dog, people do not react the same way as they do if an over friendly rottie rushes up (and show strain ones do tend towards being a bit over zealous with that)

They’re also quite sensitive - they really don’t respond well to harsh training methods (which along with dodgy breeding is why people are saying they’ve met lots of unpredictable ones, because of their reputation they attract owners who are less likely to train positively)

They’re also very unforgiving of training mistakes, they learn quickly and they will learn what you’re actually teaching and not what you meant to if you’re a bit unclear...

They’re great, if you want a dog that does everything at 110% (including undesirable stuff, lol, they’re definitely not halfhearted at anything) and you enjoy training and you want a dog that will involve itself in absolutely everything you do...

But if you want a dog that you can just teach basic commands and then stop once it had those, then it’ll go on a couple of walks, play a bit and then cuddle up... they’re probably not for you..

We had a Rottweiler and unfortunately lost him two years ago at 9 to bone cancer which is very common.

I don't think you will get a better dog. You need a firm hand and patience in the puppy years as they are a destructive force of nature. They have so much love to give and are great around children if raised well.

I'd seriously be concerned about a vet who judged dogs based on their breed when any educated person knows it's the owner that causes bad dogs.

Relatives of mine had two rotties who were delightful. Another relative of mine is a vet nurse and rotts are on her 'dog breeds I am very wary of' list.

Yes, all dogs are individuals, but equally many breeds have been bred for generations for particular traits and temperaments, to the extent that the structures of their brains differ. Breeding for a look rather than working ability irons out those differences to an extent, but pet-bred terriers are still broadly different in personality from pet-bred Labradors.

And keep in mind that if it goes wrong, you won't have a hope in hell of pulling him off someone.

“And keep in mind that if it goes wrong, you won't have a hope in hell of pulling him off someone.”

Or any other breed though, most people can’t even stop terriers attacking something...

Rottweilers aren’t as huge as people make them sound, they’re a similar size to some show strain retrievers. I’ve met lots of labs and goldens that are bigger than most rotties.

I haven't seen a rottweiler in RL for years. Beautiful, powerful looking dogs, but not really family pets.

Another vet here.
Rotties of the few breeds that scare me. Have met some absolutely lovely ones but the aggressive ones have made a lasting impression.

They are a large guarding breed and do not tolerate strangers manhandling them well ,meaning many learn quite quickly that vets are not to be trusted(fair enough-clever dogs) but that can make treating them very expensive as we may need to sedate for the more invasive procedures as if they change their mind about handling they are very difficult to manage safely, oh and they they are prone to kennel guarding. A Rottweiler sized dog is capable of a lot of damage if you push them. Many owners I've met with them seem to have no idea how much damage their pet is capable of.

If you get one please socialise the hell out of it and get it used to vet visits young. But I've found you see most issues at maturity 18 months to 2 years on, they are often quite sweet puppies.

They also have a lot of health issues-mostly joint related issues and are the main breed we see dying of osteosarcoma(a type of bone cancer) quite young.

Would not recommend as a family dog personally.
There are good breeders out there but there's a lot of less desirable temperaments being bred as well.

I don't consider Rottweilers bad dogs, but personal experience has put them on my list of proceed with caution breeds. I don't think sugarcoating potential issues helps people make informed choices.