Rottweiler owners- tell me about them!

[ThisTooShallPassApparently]

Experienced dog owner- had dogs my whole life either myself or family dogs ranging from Chihuahuas to poodles to mastiffs.

We have a 5yo very small hound girlie and ive been going back and forward on a 2nd dog for years, originally leaning towards another small breed due to space however we have just bought a much larger house, so it's opened up our options somewhat and I keep coming back to rotties.

So background- We have 2 cats aswell as dog, 2 children, one primary one senior school, I wfh 3/5 days a week at the very least, hubs works round the corner and comes home at lunch on the days I'm in the office to let our dog out

Have met several rotties, one was the devil's spawn- the rest big babies.

Tell me about them, the good, the bad and the ugly, I'm particularly keen to know more about energy level and exercise requirements in particular as if it's not something im confident we can meet for dogs needs, as much as I love them, it'll be a breed to consider when the kids are older otherwise.

We're in no rush and won't be thinking about looking for another year, but ive always found research is key and will be spending the time speaking to people I know with them but hoping to gather honest owner experiences- thanks :)

Rottie owner here. He's nearly 4, intact. He is like a giant baby, although this is largely because it's how hes treated by us, although he is the only pet and we have no kids in the house. He goes out 2-3 times per day so probably between 2-3 hours per day total, on lead around town and also over the fields etc. He needs this, however it's because we have always done it, but he is in very good condition.

He is very smart and knows exactly what is being asked, but he is also a bit selective. His recall is 95% unless he's distracted by a squirrel or on-heat dogs for example. We do allow him off the lead but only when there isn't really anyone else around over the fields etc.

They're prone to allergies and bone cancer. It took us a long time to get his diet right, and we have elected to leave him entire as testosterone levels can affect bone and joint development etc. It does leave us slightly limited on care options though. Breed line hip elbow and JLLP testing is critical when choosing a breeder, so look out for this info.

He settles well, can be left, and isn't destructive. He has a lovely temperament and loves people. He can very infrequently bark at other intact males when he is on the lead, so we try and mitigate this as far as possible by continued training and distraction etc.

In summary he is a brilliant good natured dog. He probably costs us about £400-£500 a month as insurance and food are both big costs, plus he goes to a private day-care 2 days a week. He is a creature very much of habit, and a break in routine can unsettle him and make him more difficult to manage, but on the whole it's like having a 50kg needy toddler in the house.

Oh and the filth.. I fill a hoover canister every third day, plus the drool, eye-snot and ahem.. result of him not being fixed/generally being male means that cleaning is honestly never ending. He sheds seemingly the same year-round. It's a lot!

Generally they have high prey drive. Cats may be a problem. Sits back to read they they will be fine if trained etc. Could be a lot of training.......

Rotties living with cats are fine tbh, I’ve owned one, and fostered one and I have cats, I’ve know lots more that also live with cats well.

i will caveat that as if they’ve lived with cats as a puppy and their cats only - introducing an adult to a cat when it’s never met one rarely works and they can be overly interested in strange cats outside.

They’re great dogs but IMO much higher energy than most people assume they are - a step down from collies or spaniels, but not couch potatoes by any means.

A decent breeder with working line rotties wouldn’t sell to a pet home anyway, they’d be looking for them to be doing a sport so with show line it’s more goofy playful high energy than very driven, but they do need decent walks and a fair amount of other entertainment.

Theyre very enthusiastic about everything, so they’re great fun, but also they’ll do everything full on, even stuff you don’t want them to.

Theyre also more like a herding breed than lots of people think they are, fairly high prey/chase drive, easily overly stimulated in busy environments.

Youll find lots of stuff online with outdated training advice about having to be an alpha etc, because they do seem to attract that sort of person but actually they’re quite sensitive and do not respond well to harsh training methods.

They have absolutely no clue how big they are and think they fit on laps and want to, will just run straight into you because their brakes fail.

They’re an absolute dream to teach things to, you can teach them a new command reliably in one or two sessions and that’s it, they know it… but stopping self rewarding unwanted behaviours is much harder than in a more biddable breed.

They can be real chewy as puppies, complete dickheads as teenagers and because there a large breed it can be a good 3 years before they’re semi sensible adults.

They are a bit more prone to same sex dog aggression than some breeds and it can be a big downside for some people but people can be very weird about them as in you might find some people are iffy about their children being in your house with one. I once got someone asking me to move my dog so he could get past on the pavement… the dog was on a short lead, in a sit next to me hadn’t even looked round at the man about 8 feet from the gate the man was coming out of and the car he went into was in line with the gate - but apparently he needed more than 8 ft to get past the sitting dog on the 2ft lead 😐😂

It’s also quite hard to find a decent breeder, there are loads of shitty breeders, very few who test hips, elbows and heart and will weed out allergies, bone cancer and behavioural issues from their breeding dogs.

Our dog has an extremely high prey drive despite her size and will loose her mind over cats/small furriest outside of the house, but we had the cats 1st and will whack her should it be required and they're her pack so we have no issues on that front.

I was aware of joint issues so a decent breeder that health tests was always going to be a must, and we were looking at show lines as opposed to working lines.

I really like them and you're descriptions of them make me like them all the more but we need to think hard about the time we have vs energy levels because I want to be 100% confident we can fulfil whatever breed we go with neexs

We have just bought another Rottweiler he's the third dog we've have had, absolutely beautiful dog, you do need to put the work in when they are young as with any dog, we have found them to be a very good family dog, very loyal and my grandchildren love him, he'll always stick up for you but never start any trouble, when I just take him out I feel like I have a personal bodyguard, people do tend to be wary of them but they really are excellent dogs I love them

I have had two Rottweilers and would love another. Both so sweet, but I really had a special bond with the last one. Loved to cuddled and was so sensitive to moods. He just knew if you needed cheering up. Was gentle with the kids.
They aren't excitable dogs luckily considering their size!
As a previous poster said, they will always defend you but don't seek trouble.
Ours was neutered but I swear he fancied the smallest dogs! I remember him always playing with a toy poodle and his face used to actually change when he saw her. His eyes somehow looked bigger and rounder and his facial expression used to soften. It used to make us laugh so much!
Only bad thing is we also had a German shepherd at the same time. If they ran towards us, the GS would turn last minute as she was so agile but the Rottie couldn't turn that fast so we'd have to get out the way!

I'm not sure that just a nip home at lunch time two days a week will cut the mustard there, how long will the lunchtime walk be?

I had a rescue rottie about 10 years ago.

There are very very few decent rottie breeders. Even those which purport to be good breeders are very much not - Our rottie was rescued from a puppy mill masquerading as a respectable breeding establishment which apparently isn't uncommon for rotties and has gotten worse in the years since Covid.

Our rottie didn't really have a high prey drive but she liked to herd. She was ridiculously intelligent and keen to learn. She gave everything 100% effort and enthusiasm.

She was huge and had no respect for personal space. She shed mattress-loads of fur. The shedding actually really got me down.

We have had multiple rotties over the last 30 years. They are a very stubborn breed and need very firm boundaries. They are incredibly loyal and protective but also need to be socialised from day one to a very varied and yet constant mix of people/animals/children/places. If ours don’t see our grand kids for 4-6 weeks they are very cautious around the kids but if they see them every few days it’s like they are old friends and are immediately accepted and looked after. They like their nearest and dearest to be nearest and dearest and they don’t suffer fools gladly. We have had multiple pups from Coltrana kennels and the first we’re got was fabulous. Intelligent, resilient, graceful, protective and just a downright delight. Then after we lost her we got our current bitch who is her gggggg grand niece and she’s an absolute boob of a dog that wants to sit on your lap and be babied. But both dogs have been incredibly healthy and coltrana are a decent reasonable breeder with a huge amount of experience across German shepherd, rotts and newfies. The other rotts were have had were rehomers from other poor breeders and they lived quite short lives 6-8 years) and did have Health issues and need surgical interventions etc.

petite are often very confused by the rotts very vocal nature. Rotty rumbles can be scary but we’re have give they they very very rarely growl if at all, they rumble when they are happy and playing rough with tug etc or in my girls case, when she is being babied and having her belly rubbed. She sounds like a car whose back box has fallen off the exhaust

You won’t find a better dog.
they are so full of love and cuddles and whimsy. Quite busy when you have a guest, won’t leave them alone and a natural guard dog. Great with kids and great at doing what they’re told.

they will be ok with cats when they’re used to them but mine only saw them when he stayed at my mums and it never went well for the cats.

when he was older, he was fine to be left for the work day but until he was 4/5 he would chew everything and I mean everything. Even when we were in the room. Phones, sofas, doors. At one point just moved to straight money.

everyone I speak to lost theirs in the same way - osteosarcoma. It comes out of nowhere and takes them in weeks.

yes for the chewing. I had a beautiful Italian leather modular corner site and over 12 months it got smaller and smaller and eventually disappeared ask together as our current girl managed to eat the corner of every single section every time she was left alone for even a second. She suddenly stopped about 2 years old thank god but she cost me a fortune.

I’ve always found them very chewy when young tbh and obviously young lasts ages 😂

But it wasn’t from being left alone, my dogs are rarely left alone, I mostly work from home and the times I don’t are evenings so I overlap with my DP. They just liked to chew stuff and sometimes it’s not the stuff you’ve given them to chew 😐

shedding - I honestly don’t think they’re bad compared to other breeds, I’ve currently got a collie and a mutt with a cost similar to a GSD and they’re both heavier shedders… and neither of them compares with say a lab shedding.

The Rottie rumble - don’t look it up online, you’ll just see loads of growling snarling freaked out dogs, that’s not what it is at all, it’s just a similar noise that any dog makes playing tug for eg. Yes it’s growly but only because there’s only so much range of noise dogs make.

Yes, mine didn’t seem to chew because he was left alone but rather we couldn’t stop him because we weren’t there. We were rarely able to stop him when we were there… the crunch of whatever had taken his fancy was how we were alerted. An absolute devil for it but god we loved him!

we have an Akita now, never seen shedding or an attitude like it.

Ha! We used to have to get gifted, charity shop it from the tip sofas. He adored savaging them. One day he had a cut on his nose. It was from the springs but he’d somehow hidden what he’d done.

We lost my Rottie mix 4 years ago now and miss him every day. Honestly the biggest teddy bear and sweetest dog ever. Was amazing with the cats, even tiny kittens. With any breed you get out what you put in.

This is exactly how I lost my boy. Was fine and then started limping, treated for suspected arthritis and then lost him within a month. We didn’t realise how common it is in the breed at the time.

Similar. He was absolutely fine but from when I left in the morning to when I came home at night, there was a lump. Took him to the vets that night and they said basically best to leave it as any treatment will only prolong his life for as long as it takes to recover. He had painkillers and after 2 weeks they called again surprised that we hadn’t taken him in. At three weeks we made the decision it was time and took him to the local pub for a steak and chicken combo, it seemed to reinvigorate him and we got another 6 days until it was clearly time.

all dogs have their problems. The blessing is that it’s quick but you get chance to say goodbye.