Rottweiller (anyone have any experience)

[alelks]

Looks like I'll be getting a couple in the next few years. I was going to get 2 puppies at the same time but came to my senses.

I'm going to get 1 at the beginning of the year and get the 2nd one about a year later. This will be a predominately outdoor dog with a radio fence on 3 acres (all grass). I'm going to put in an automatic dog door in one corner of the garage so he can come in and out of the weather at will. In that corner I'm going to build a decent size dog house so he doesn't have full reign of the entire garage. It will of course be heated in the winter (the garage won't be).

I do plan on putting it through TONS and TONS of obedience training.

Anyone out there own a Rottweiler? If so do you have some good advice. I've done quite a bit of research on health problems so I'll DEFINITELY be purchasing from a quality breeder. Of course that comes with a hefty price tag, $1,500 and up.

[The Reaper]

I have had four, two from Kimbertal and two from the litter from the female I owned.

Great dogs, tremendously smart, powerful, loyal, and protective.

Down side is that they require regular exercise, are easily bored, can be very hard headed, and destructive. Wood and drywall are not excluded from their diet, if they decide to chew it or go through it. Your insurer may not like you having one.

Life spans tend to be a bit shorter than smaller breeds, eight years seems to be around average, I got eleven from the best one. Hip dysplasia is common among them, and common genetic defects occur from significant inbreeding.

Unless you plan on breeding them, I would go for a normal-sized female.

Exciting times await! Best of luck.

TR

[alelks]

Yea, females are what I'm getting for sure. I'm researching breeders now.

[Peregrino]

My father raised several litters of Rotties. They're everything TR said and more. I'm not sure how successful you'll be with your outside dog idea. The more socialized (discipline is just part of it) the Rottie is, the less behaviour problems you'll have. That usually means making the dog a fully integrated "family member". Then your house smells like big dog; complete with hair and body oils all over everything including walls and furniture to about waist level. (Experience with my father's Rotties including the aforementioned hard headed, easilly bored, destructive, and homeowners insurance risks are why we've stuck with GSDs.)Good luck.

[alelks]

Yea, That's part of the reason I'm getting a 2nd dog after about a year. As far as exercise, once trained to the radio fence they will have total freedom of the 3 acres. I do plan on letting them in the house (limited areas) on a daily basis for family time but once it's time to go to bed they will go outdoors. One thing I like about the radio fence I'm looking at is that they have small modules you can place in your house with an adjustable range of 2ft to 10 ft. It integrates with the base. That way I can limit them to specific areas of the house.

I've seen dogs trained not to cross a threshold into the kitchen before without a radio fence but I like the idea of having the same type of deterrent on the inside as I have on the outside so I plan on keeping them out of the carpeted living room area.

Definitely not going to have a dog of that stature inside full time due to the what has already been mentioned.

[Flagg]

I have a Rottie who is still going strong after 10 years(rigid diet and exercise).

Besides all the good advise already offered(particularly socialization), I would state that Rottie's also require an above average amount of their owner's/family's time just hanging out.

They are incredibly affectionate and loyal dogs and love nothing more than to be with their owners.

They are fantastic with kids, but I think it is pretty important for the kids to be born/adopted BEFORE the Rottie.

I would consider the breed(or at least MY Rottie) to be not particularly bright.....my dog would never earn a doggie university degree(If you want a smart dog get a GS, JRT, or Corgie)....but he's incredibly intuitive.

While ours is still in great health......the biggest fear in my life now is seeing my dog go down hill fast

We will definitely get another....and probably a female as well......our male is pretty big at 50kg with no fat on him.

Seeing all these giant Afghan dogs about(my first trip over here)....I wonder what the story is with them and whether jillions of people coming in and out of here the past decade will see that breed make it's way into the west?

[SOF_VET]

Concur with what has been said about the breed. They are fantastic family dogs, but do require much interaction with your family as they need to familiarize themselves (and their place) with your "pack".

As you already know, puppies require a lot of time and involvement. I'm sure you're prepared for that; however, you may want to consider waiting two years between dogs. That way, you have an extra year to get that first dog out of the puppy stage so it doesn't regress in its training with the addition of the second dog. Additionally, two years is the earliest that any dog's hips can be certified free from hip dysplasia (despite what your breeder will tell you). Waiting two years between the dogs will ensure your dog matures into its training, the breeder isn't putting out dysplastic dogs and you don't get hit with huge medical costs.

Pups are fun, but the older I get, the more I have come to appreciate mature dogs with a high drive (2 yrs old & up). The destruction and mayhem is exponentially reduced and I still have a dog capable of learning what I need it to do. As an alternative, you may want to consider checking out a Rottie-specific rescue group. Many of them have pups (more than I ever would have thought), most are purebred (albeit, without papers - but unless you're going to show, who cares?) and the cost savings won't leave your wallet suddenly thinner ($100 - $250 vs. $1,500).

Whatever you decide to do, have fun with them and post a few pictures here after you get em.

[glebo]

Hey Al,

We're watching our sons while he and his family are in Germany for three yrs. He's a Rottie/Chow mix. GREAT dog, mellow, loveable and he loves to go out and play when our daughters two dogs come over. They all get along great. He is an inside dog though, however, he will stay out in the yard for hours soaking up the sun or just meandering around checking the perimeter..

He is protective, he likes head butting you when he wants attention..LOL..

I believe he's around 3 yrs old, so any chewing/mischevious stuff probably happened when my son had him....woohoo, his stuff..not ours..haaa

We're gonna hate giving him up when they return, but he's integrated very well here.

[Golf1echo]

We just lost our female and the only down side I see is the powerful hole they leave when they are gone. She was every bit of what TR said and looking for another soon. I was surprised with how good they can be with kids and small animals, she was great with our chickens. Thanks for the link...Best with your search!

[Cake_14N]

I had a Rottie about 20 years ago when I taught Chemistry on the Navajo Reservation. My vet told me that Rotts are highly succeptable to Parvo so he suggested multiple vaccinations. I think I had her vaccinated every 6 months for 2 years then a booster every 18 months. She was a great dog, but she liked to roam. She never met a fence that could keep her contained, but she always came back.

When I moved to C Springs to work at USAFA, I had to pass her on to a family with kids because our new house was on a ranch, no fences and a busy roadway very close. I figured the dog was in more danger from the road than anything else so I found her a new family. Last I heard from them was she had adopted their young daughter and was fiercely protective of the child.

Great dogs.

[alelks]

We visited the breeder today and picked out a very nice female. She's he largest of female of the litter and very active/friendly.

She's 6 weeks old so in 2 weeks we pick her up and the fun begins.

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[PSM]

You'll be sssorrrrryyyy! Puppies are devils.

She's cute. Have fun.

Pat

[alelks]

My son has a white Lab that is gorgeous. He has given it some obedience training but not enough for it to stick well. He can't keep the dogs attention and she only listens when she wants to.

He's going to be jealous as to how well this girl is going to be trained. Actually I know for a fact that once I start training her he will step up his game.

My little Toy Fox Terrier "Jake" (great dog by the way) is going to have a fit initially but they will quickly become best of friends. Heck, he won't have a choice I guess.

Breeder says she'll be around 100lbs or so as she seems to have her fathers traits. She was the largest of the litter.

[Surgicalcric]

Originally Posted by alelks

We visited the breeder today...

Very cute Brother.

I had two Rotties until recently; we had to put our male down due to cancer in his bladder. He was 14 y/o and quite possibly the best dog I have ever owned. I will be looking at getting another once I am rehab'd and home.

Crip

[Peregrino]

I hope you're pepared for 2+ YEARS of puppy behaviour! (Beautiful puppy BTW!)