I have a 3 month old Rot. Puppy, that I'm having some issues/concerns with. She is very intelligent, has learned the basics, like sit, shake, etc.very quickly. The concerns are the biting of hands and feet,especially when she does it to visitors.She is also showing signs is aggression, when she doesn't want to do something, she will growl,and sometimes try to bite. She doesn't seem eager to learn what "no" or "come" means. She is very stubborn at times and highly energetic. Also when she gets mad at me, will start barking ALOT. This seems like enough to start with, besides housebreaking
I have owned many Rottweilers over the years & your puppy is showing normal puppy behavior, the growling is not threatening just temper tantrum because she can't have her own way, being 12 weeks old she need to have puppy chew toys tuggy toys (not adult chew toys tuggy toys), when she goes to play bite you trying giving her the chew toy or tuggy toy (am persuming you have tried yelping & the firm NO when she's goes to play bite you) play with her (don't pull hard when playing tuggy or you damage her jaws) then stop playing on your terms not your pups, give commend that states playtime is over.
Thanks for the reply. That works,if I am in the house, but not outside. Also, when we are outside, and she doesn't want to go in, she just sits down, and won't move, so I go and pick her up, that's when she gets really aggressive, growling and trying to bite me, and she means business! I usually just put my fingers in her collar so she can't bite, then I put her in her crate for time out. I had another Rottie years ago and she was very mellow. Piper is the total opposite! She was doing great on potty training until about a week ago, and started going in the house!?
@Parough - as Tina said in message #2 your puppy is a normal baby. I have never owned a large breed but even tiddlers can take a while to learn what is or is not acceptable - my current 18 month-old is still convinced she is a puppy. One thing about your comment about putting your pup in her crate for time out - Tikva only goes in her crate at night [it is in my bedroom] and she is happy there. I would never put her in it for time out. Her crate is for sleeping in at night and she usually tells me when she wants to go to bed. It was early last night as I did not feel well, so told her to go out and pee, then she came in and zoom into her crate, waiting for the little biscuit she has waiting for her, and she then curled up and went to sleep. I think, and this is only my opinion, that putting a puppy into a crate for time out, especially as it sounds like you have to drag her in by her collar, just does not sound right. She will end up hating the crate. And I do not think it will teach her anything as such a young puppy will not understand.
Sounds like a normal puppy trying her luck, as for the mouthing all puppies go through this stage. I think the goal is not so much to stop them from biting, but to teach them good bite inhibition. With mine if they bit to hard I said a firm ‘gentle then ignore them, they soon got the message that "if you can't play nice, I won't play with you at all. I also use the word gentle as adults when giving them tit-bits/playing ect: I guess it is just trying different things until you find something that works for you and your puppy as what works for one may not work for another one. http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=64170.0;wap2 As for not wanting to come inside, id take her out on a long line when its time to come in call her to you if she ignores you, bend down to her level clapping hands and with light exciting voice encourage her, gently guiding her toward you, the minute she comes praise her with titbit or a game with a ball/toy then walk around for a bit before taking her indoors. You have to practice making yourself more interesting that she wants to come to you.
I think GsdSlave has hit the nail on the head when she says that you have to make yourself more interesting. She needs lots of appropriate play - tugging, searching, chasing balls etc., to use some of her excess energy, and to develop a close bond with you. I have had the best results with reward based training, and always have some smallish tasty treats in my pocket. I find that puppies seem to take small treats more gently than larger ones, and if she does try to grab, present them with a closed hand and do not reveal the treat till she is 'Gentle'. Reward every thing that she does right with a treat, and an over the top display of pleasure - apply this method to her house-training too. Try to ignore her mistakes, at 3 months she is like a naughty toddler, so try to distract or ignore her as much as possible. Although she will not be teething for another couple of months, her second teeth will be growing inside her gums, so give her plenty of interesting things to chew on, - frozen carrots seem to be a quite a fashionable item at the moment.
When visitors come in, pop her on her lead until everyone is settled and calm. My guess is that she is getting excited. When you are coming in from outside, try throwing some treats on the ground (before she parks her bum) leaving a sort of trail from where she is to the inside and as she is moving forward attach a command word to it (ie in/inside/go in etc). Rotties tend to be growly when they play and my guess is your girl is playing.
I had heard about putting her in acr I had just heard about the crate, and yesterday was the first time I tried it. As for pulling her by her collar,I don't do that at all. What I said was"when I'm carrying her, and she's trying to bite me I put my fingers through it",so I don't get bit. I love my dog very much, and don't do anything to hurt her, I am just trying to get advice on how to train me, to teach her.
Patty - she is a baby and she will, one day, learn. Please enjoy her babyhood because it does not last forever and naughty as she might seem as a puppy, one day you will wish she was that puppy again. She will learn - it might take time but she will. Trying to compare her with a previous dog will not help. Your puppy is her own little person and she will, or will no do, what she is ready to do. Just love her for what and how she is now, and you will get that love back a thousand times. When she is ready.
I am taking an entirely different point of view here on this issue! GOD, I MISS the times when me and Tikkah, my second malemute, a female, would spend precious minutes of her life in truly terrifying joyous battles, of teeth versus hands, twisting and dodging to miss her terrible terrible teeth, counter-attacking from either side, trying to unbalance her awful death stance. the fierce, ecstatic look in her eyes anyone seeing me would have thought either I am not all there, or else, I really indulged her in her favorite game. the thing is, girl dogs LOVE to fight! they fight more than boys. period. its a great game with them. dont try to change this game. play with her.
Thanks for kind reply. I think when I posted my issues with my Piper, it came out all wrong, and I felt like people though I was mistreating my puppy, that is not the case atl. I love her very much! My concern was her aggressive attitude towards me at times.
I have been working and playing with her a lot. I believe in positive training, and do not ever hit her,she is just Avery independent, stubborn,active puppy that I love very much. I'm just concerned about the aggressive behavior she shows at times. My daughters fiancé has both parents and he has 3 kids that had played with, since she was born. The parents are both well mannered, and not aggressive. They live about 8 hours away from me, and Nick was the one that chose her for me. I'm just trying to learn some methods here, to control her behavior before she gets too big Thanks all, for the advice.
Most likely shes just being rough and noisy, Gsd's arn't called 'Land Sharks' for nothing with their mouthing and can be very vocal when playing. Is there any good training clubs near you, might be worth taking her along.
That is my plan.She's getting much better, except for the house breaking. She was doing great, asking to go out, but now she has started going in the house again and we take her out every hour.
That worked for getting her to come inside, I did what you said, I would walk up to her and pet her, then start running,telling her "lets go".I had to do it a few times,and now she comes running when I call her. Thanks!
I'm not sure if I am posting this in the right place, so hopefully it gets read. Piper just turned 5 months old, and in the time I've had her she has had 4, what I call " episodes", and when it happens, it is suddenly, she's fine one minute, and a few later she becomes, listless and unresponsive. Her eyes are half closed, but she can move them. It lasts about 3 hours,and during that time, I give her ice chips. I have taken her to 2 different vets., and the other day they tested her blood and didn't find anything, she initially thought it was seizures, and she did have tapeworms. All this time I have been treating her for roundworms. Could the tapeworms cause this description? I would feeel horrible, if so! To sum it up she acts like she is super stoned,but I don't use MJ, so any ideas, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Patty, ask your vet about absence seizures [sometimes called Petit Mal] although they do not normally last as long as three hours. They are usually quite short but it can take a while before the dog is back to normal. Blood tests will not help and AFAIK tapeworm would not cause the symptoms you describe. Is there any connection between these episodes? Keep a diary [I have two online diaries, both free, and the same things written in both in case one goes down] and if Piper has any more, and I hope she does not, make a note of the date and times [start to finish] and anything that might have happened previously. Change of food, change of washing detergent, weed spraying, anything that is significant that is not regular. I do hope she will be OK and yes, this thread is about Piper issues so it is the best place to have posted. Try not to worry - (((hugs)))
Yes, I have been documenting this,along with pics. Nothing has changed,as far as food,etc. but I do live in the woods, and she has this "habit" of putting everything in her mouth, if I drop something, it's usually a race to see which one of us gets it first,lol. I am concerned that she could be getting into something in the woods. The first 2 times, it happened shortly after she had been playing hard, and when I told the "breeder" he said she was just worn out...the only thing different, this time was it was very early in the am, around 5:00,and she was vomiting. That could possibly be the tapeworms. This is really starting to concern me, as no one seems to have any answers on what it is, or if it will keep happening. Besides that, she's her normal, stubborn self, and learning more everyday. Oh, she's already 50 pounds!
Three questions Patty: 1 - How did the vet diagnose that Piper had tapeworm? 2 - There are four types of tapeworm - do you know which type Pipe had/has? 3 - What treatment [injection or pills] did the vet give you to kill the tapeworm? The most common type of tapeworm is caused by the ingestion of infected fleas *** - other types are caused by the dog eating infected waste - so maybe Piper ate something when she was in the woods. Part of a dead infected bird or rabbit or something like that. Once a dog has been treated the tapeworm/s dissolve inside them so there will be no sign of any segments in their poo or round their anus. However, it is possible for a dog to get re-infested even after the original tapeworm/s have been eliminated. The three dogs I have had since I came to Israel have always had Drontal Plus worm pills as that kills tapeworms as well as roundworms. As a puppy they were wormed monthly, then three monthly, and from a year just need just twice a year. They, and my home, have also kept flea-free *** by monthly treatment. No-where can I find any link between tapeworms and the symptoms you have described Piper has had. As for your "breeder" saying the episodes were caused because she was "she was just worn out"... did the "breeder worm her bitch before and after whelping? And were the puppies wormed?
