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I adopted a 4 year old rottweiler from a girl who I worked with. She breeds rotts, and she had four of them and decided, after a divorce and personal issues, to give me the youngest male.. Cujo, the rottweiler is the biggest baby. I blame a lot of this on her physical abuse to him and the others. He is shy and just wants to lay in your lap to be petted. He is scared of pretty much everything silly - plastic bags, garbage cans, guitars, plastic bottles, etc. When I first got him, he was great. He listened to everything I said. He would come, sit, lay down, stay, kennel up. He would stay by my side for walks. I feel like he is no longer this well behaved anymore. He rarely comes to me when I call him. He pulls and drags me all over the place, and he has become very interested in other dogs; he is very hard to control, and will whine. I can't get his attention at all. It's embarassing and I feel like people think he is mean because he is a rott so I don't take him out anymore
Suggestions?

2007-03-06 16:05:37 · 6 answers · asked by mommy of 2 4 in Pets Dogs

I've had him for 3 years now. I also adopted another male dog a year ago.

2007-03-06 16:07:55 · update #1

My second dog is not a rottie. It is a very submissive labradoodle. They get along great! Why wouldn't I take in an abused rottie? I had already known him for two years, and i took him from a co-worker, not a friend.

2007-03-06 16:13:15 · update #2

6 answers

You are spoiling him and letting him rule you.. He has no reason to listen to commands, come when called or anything else cause you don't insist that he does. He doesn't respect you, so isn't going to listen to you. Why would you take on a rottie that was physically abused?? Why is this person your friend??
Quit sucking him up and make him respect you, draw the line and show him what you expect of him. Quit letting him rule your life... And why did you add a second male?? 2 males are big trouble, especially 2 rotties... If he is ruling you now, wait til the two males either decide to fight, or decide that no one needs to listen to you at all.. You will find out what trouble is! Goes for any large breed dog in the working group.

2007-03-06 16:11:14 · answer #1 · answered by DP 7 · 1 0

I would disagree with a previous comment that male dogs are always trouble. First of all, two males can generally live together more peaceably than two females. Their hierarchical structure is more defined and if they do fight it is less likely to be to the death. If one dog is willing to submit to the other, two males can live together just fine. However, getting another dog may cause problems, as each additional dog requires a lower status of the lowest dog. However, I do agree with the comment about controlling the dog. Rottweilers, along with many other working breeds (doberman pinschers, pitbulls, etc) are naturally dominant (in general, of course) and require an owner with a firm hand. Of course, this does not mean you need to physically correct the dog, but he cannot be allowed to get away with breaking the rules you set for him. These breeds of dogs tend to demand things, such as attention. What I did to establish my dominance with my adopted doberman was to make him work for all the good things in life. These breeds were bred to work and they feel fulfilled when given a job to do. It does not have to be anything elaborate. For example, I give my dog a command before I pet him (I tell him to sit, perhaps). He must sit before all his meals. Simple tasks like these can help reestablish some of the lost power on your part. Obedience class is also a good idea. Find an instructor who focuses on positive reinforcement techniques. Help establish a trusting bond between the dog and yourself. If the dog has been abused, which is extremely unfortunate, he may have some trust issues with humans he needs to work on. Obedience class also will help with his human and other dog socialization in a setting where people understand your dog is a dog and not a "vicious rottweiler." Owning a powerful breed is a big responsibility. I know it is frustrating, but if you coop him up inside you will just exacerbate the issues and end up with an even bigger problem on your hands! Rotties require lifelong socialization and if you neglect it, your dog may become fearful of humans or develop dog aggression. Of course you should continue to take him out on daily walks; walks provide stress relief and bonding time for both human and dog (or at least they should!) If you need an immediate fix for the pulling I would suggest a Gentle Leader head halter or a Sporn harness. Both these work fairly well for strong pullers and help you get control of the dog while you work on his training. I hope this helps. Good luck!

2007-03-07 00:26:58 · answer #2 · answered by Ridiculous1 2 · 0 1

I think if the last owner was abusive to the dog and now he understands that you aren't going to treat him like that he may be testing the water to see what he can get away with, kind of like with kids. I would just start setting more limits for him, also maybe try walking him around your yard and work on him not dragging you that way you can get him to where you can take him out on walks again. Ceasar Millian has a really good book called Ceasar's way I would read that it is a very helpful book. Good luck and congrats on the new dog.

2007-03-07 02:14:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

He's actually acting more normal. Maybe before, he was obedient because of fear. He's not afraid anymore, so he feels free to be "natural"..... I'd suggest going to your public library and getting your hands on all the books you can find about humane training of dogs. Best of luck...

2007-03-07 00:16:50 · answer #4 · answered by Yoda's Duck 6 · 0 1

how did she abuse her dogs????
and if he listened well when u got him but not now its because u are not his leader....maybe what u thought was abuse isn't...my dogs get scared of some dumb things to..but i have never abused them... so i would look at u and realize what u changed...i baby my dogs to apoint but they have rules...and to get babied..they need to follow those rules.

2007-03-07 00:19:58 · answer #5 · answered by dragonwolf 5 · 0 0

Try taking him through obidience classes

2007-03-07 00:10:09 · answer #6 · answered by untilinfinity_lsmb 2 · 0 0

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