Rottweiler problem......Do they turn on people?

Question

OK here is my problem. I have a 115 lb. male rottie and an 90 lb. female. My female went into heat about a month ago and they bred. My wife told me that the male growled at her through their fence. ( I have a separate yard for my dogs) I went out to see for myself and nothing. A few days ago I had my kids out and had the male on lead. I brought him out to the main yard and the kids were playing and they petted the two dogs. I went back into the dog yard with both the male and the female and had my daughter and wife walk over to the dog yard. My male began to show his teeth as if to bark at my family so I hit him over the head. I then had him sit at the gate and had them come over again. He showed his teeth so I busted him over the head again. He turned toward me and then retreated to his house. Both dogs ran into the house as I yelled and he sat inside growling and would not come out until I called him. He has never acted this way and I was wondering how I could fix this.

sophy........you don't know jack. I got this dog from a reputable breeder. you are such a dumb azz. You assume that I am a breeder. My female is fixed so they can't have pups.

I did not breed this dog. I got him from a breeder. I nailed him this once because he was posturing at my children. Are there any "real" rottie, dobie, shepherd handlers out their?

I heard of leerburg and will buy his product. I hit the dog over the head because I did not know what else to do. I have owned several large/aggressive breed dogs for years and this is the only one that has ever been aggressive toward people.

Answer 1

It sounds like you are trying to do the best for your dogs, but if you don't change your behavior, theirs won't change and you could have two dangerous dogs on your hands. Although rotties are powerful, if raised well they become great family dogs. That means, that even now, they need to be in the house around the family more, instead of out by themselves. You need to have them interact indoors more so that you can establish the right pack leader-balance over them. The order should be - you and your wife, your kids, then at the bottom the dogs. Although some may say the male dog was protecting his female - if your dogs are properly socialized it should allow you and any member of your family to approach him and the mom, and the mom should allow you to approach the puppies.

One way to prevent/stop this type of aggression is to have both dogs spayed and neutered. Hopefully you are not using them as a source of income for you. Male dogs are MUCH less aggressive when neutered because they don't have the neurotic of getting and claiming a female -- and female dogs calm down after being spayed as well. This is not to say that the behavior problems will go away, but getting them fixed will help alot - and they will be more 'balanced' dogs. Their personalities won't change drastically. If I were you I would have the male spayed ASAP (there are low cost fixing centers that charge about $50, if not your vet will charge around $200). The female can be spayed either now (a spay-abort which I am not a fan of) or you can wait until 2 months after she has the puppies.

Until then, you need to not create situations that allow the male to growl at your family. In dog and other animal relations, pack leaders don't use physical force to show their dominance - only the middle dogs who are fighting for position actually wrestle and fight each other. You as a dominant pack leader, should not be hitting the dog n(or anyone else). It will make him weary of your hands (which will cause him to bite a child when they go to pet him) and also show him that you are not dominant enough to use mental force to make him submit. In that situation, you could have simply told him "NO" and told him to lay down, which is a position of submission. Since you have kids and don't want this situation to grow, so I would hire a behaviorist in your area to work with you to show you what to do with the dogs. You could simply just buy some training books specific to rotts, but since your kids are involoved I would hire a professional.

In the mean time, reestablish the 'pecking order' - watch as you have your kids put the food down for the dogs - but have the kids tell the dogs to lay down, and do not give them the food until they have laid down for 5 - 10 seconds, depending how well trained your dogs already are. But be careful when doing this - don't do it when he seems to be protective of the female - because once he does bite, even if it is not physically serious - you will never trust him again, and it is nearly impossible to rehome a 100 pound dog that bites.

http://www.leerburg.com/kidbites.htm

Lastly remember that having your pets fixed will make them more stable and less aggressive. Even though you wont be able to breed them, your children and family will be protected (which is WELL worth it), and you won't have to add to the petoverpopulation.

Answer 2

I'm a grad student in biology, a trainer and a behavior consultant (I don't mind working with "aggressive" dogs), and I am starting vet school in August. Dogs of any breed do not just magically turn on their owners one day, despite what the media would have you believe. It is either a behavioral issue or it can be a medical issue. For instance, my Rottweiler/husky mix is quite old and has the symptoms of canine dementia and does occasionally snap with no other stimulus besides him being disoriented.

Anyways, the male is likely being protective of the female. There have been numerous documented accounts of fatal dog attacks because there was an intact male (or two) around a female in estrus or around estrus. Both the male and the female should be altered as Rottweilers kept as pets should not be left intact. That is not the kind of dog you want to be breeding, intentionally or not, if it is going to be growling at you the owner. I also suggest doing some reading up on pack behavior and techniques like Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF) so that your dogs (both of them) will come to respect you and your family. See the links below.

Edit: you asked if there were any real Rottweiler, etc owners out there. Yes, I have a Rottie cross and a Belgian Malinois/German shepherd cross and I'm getting a Malinois pup this summer from working lines as a Schutzhund prospect.

If the female was spayed, she should not have let him breed. That is a bit suspicious. I still hold that the male should be neutered. Ed Frawley of Leerburg agrees that pet Rottweilers should be neutered if they are going to be a pet dog. However, this will not be a magic bullet either. The male is now likely going to be part afraid of you, which actually can be even more dangerous. Ask any behaviorist or dog trainer and they'd all rather deal with an aggressive, dominant dog than a fear biter as they are not as predictable. I would read the Leerburg site very carefully about the groundwork. Both dogs need a firm but FAIR pack leader, not a bully. Don't pick a fight with a dog you can't win. We don't want to see you or the dog become a statistic.

Answer 3

Did you spay your female after she was bred?

It is possible that your male is protecting "his" area. However do not be surprised that your male has a problem and shouldn't be around your wife and kids at all.

My husband bought a yellow lab. The person who sold us the dog said that the owners grandson had hit the dog and the grandmother insisted that the dog go because the dog reacted by biting the child. After we got him after a month he would try to bit me given any chance Actually did get me twice. After the second time I contacted the original owner to be told that no what we had been told was incorrect. The dog had attacked two children and an adult woman without provocation. There was something wrong with the dog.

So this could be the case with your rottie.

Answer 4

It's hard to gage whether the dog's behavior can be adjusted but I can tell you definitely that hitting or busting it over the head is the way that you can encourage aggressive behavior to escalate. It's wonderful to own a status symbol, which is why many aggressive people acquire dogs with a questionable reputation.
Yes a dog that is hit enough times can and often will turn against people and why wouldn't they. Perhaps, you both could benefit from some proper training. I suggest that you contact a local, reputable trainer that specializes in aggressive behavior and take the dog to training before someone in your family gets bitten.

Answer 5

This can't be a serious problem; you aren't really beating a dog over the head, are you? If you are, do you and both dogs a favor, give them to someone that knows rotties. Aggression towards the dog is not going to cure the dog from being aggressive. The dogs need to be with someone that knows how to handle them, and they need to be loved. If you keep hitting your dog over the head, then yes it will turn on you or your family.

EDIT: I do raise and breed shepherds - the large german shepherds and although they can be territorial, they are not aggressive. However, my dogs don't always stay outside and I never whack them on the head. I can however take a treat out of their mouths no matter how territorial they become. Training and positive reinforcement is used when training a breed that can be territorial, I've also known of some male dogs that had to be put on female hormone therapy. Training has to be constant and start young, depending on what kind of dog you want. I raise most of mine to be service dogs, so the training starts very young.

Answer 6

Well... DA.. I wouldn't suggest hitting him over the head again.. Rottweilers DO turn on people just like any breed of dog will if you abuse them and cuff them in the head.. I suggest that you shouldn't have bred them, obviously you haven't a clue, plus you have an aggressive dog, obviously of your own doing... and you aren't the kind of person who should be owning dogs.. If you have two Rotties and this is what you have learned, that aggression is the way to deal with growling.. Then you haven't learned anything yet.

Only a trainer can help out someone like you.. First you need to get your anger problem taken care of, learn something about training, and then take the dogs to a professional to get him to help you with the problem you have created. I am sure this isn't the first time you have nailed one of them in the head.....

http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/cruelty_database/results.php

Edit :

If Sophy is so dumb, and wrong, then why did you say this ????

"My female went into heat about a month ago and they bred. "

I have several Dobermans, Have had several over the last 25+ years.. So I can say, that you do NOT hit a dog, especially a Doberman, Rottweiler, Shepherd, Pitbull.. In the head when they posture at your kids... I raise my dogs properly, socialize them with people, kids, and they live in the house w/ us..

Our dogs do NOT posture w/ people, and wouldn't think of doing it to a kid... I can say that I have Doberman / large dog experience, and hitting is abuse.. not a training technique... DA!

Answer 7

I have a english mastiff and a pitbull. I do not trust my pit 100% but I work with him, and I dont believe in hitting a dog in the head, muchless "busting" him over the head. Like I said I know my pit will bite and hes never been raised to act like he does ,I believe any dog will bite,our 190 lb mastiff who is so laid back has growled @ my step kids but then again those kids havent been the nicest to the dog either. but good luck

Answer 8

He is protecting his own little pack. Have him neutered and her too, it will change any protective feelings he has toward his mate as breeding and territory will no longer an essential for him. Also, have them socialise more with your family, you may have thought you were doing the right thing with keeping them separate, but all you have done is expell him from you pack, and give him one of his own to defend. He needs to think of your family as his pack, so he needs daily, prolonged good exposure to his new pack. Sorry mate, but you really stuffed up alienating your large, potentailly dangerous dogs from your family.

Answer 9

Well, aside from your stupid beating [which is why he retreated and doesn't want to get ms\ashed over the head again], the breeding may have been the problem. [also stupid]. I don't know if he is now territorial, or is protecting his female [even though she is on other side of fence]. If he was neutered none of this would have happened, because it usually helps with some of those behavior problems. What are you going to do with your puppies anyways??

Answer 10

Hitting won't do too much, well, except for a nip whenever you go to pet them on their head.
Try having him lay on his side, gripping his neck with your hand. It's a domiant position, and don't let him get up for a few moments. Show him your in control, and his behavior isn't exceptable. He might also be seeing you as a rival to the female in heat, still, you'd have to do that process.