9 week old rottie

rottie 11

Hi i have a 9 week old rottweiler , i have had him for a week and he keeps biting my girlfriends 5 month old king charles . Not just play biting , he mad him bleed once and he is always makin him scream , is this normal for a male puppy?

peasant

It's "normal" ..but it's not ok.

If the dog was still with its parents they would put an immediate stop to this, that's now your job.

rottie 11

What should i do? I know i have to be the boss but i dont want to hit him incase he becomes aggresive in the future. I just tip him on the nose and say no but it doesnt seem to be working

peasant

A very effective way of letting a pup know that it has misbehaved is to remove it from the group.

So if he doesn't listen to your "no", if he ignores your intervening hand that tries to push him away from his "victim", if he keeps going for the other dog ...just swoop him up quickly, without further comment and ado and just put him on the other side of the door / different room and ignore him completely for a few minutes before you let him back. ...rinse and repeat until he gets the message.


The trick here is to make the punishment quick, expressive and effective, don't faff about, don't hesitate, don't talk, just remove him immediately and ignore him then.

The adult dog would just swiftly pick up the pup and plonk it down somewhere away from the action ...you want to do the same ...without hurting the pup.

VonVix

rottie 11 wrote: »

What should i do? I know i have to be the boss but i dont want to hit him incase he becomes aggresive in the future. I just tip him on the nose and say no but it doesnt seem to be working

You certainly do not, ever, ever, need to hit your dog, it does nothing but teach the dog that you're unpredictable and untrustworthy. Nor do you have to be the "boss" exactly, but of course you can still have and should have rules, at the end of the day a dog is part of your family, and should be treated as such. You just need to remember this is a 9 week old puppy who is in the process of learning.

At this stage I'd be keeping him away from the king charles, or perhaps allow them to interact but remove him from the other dog's presence instantly if he begins to get too much.

Consider enrolling your pup in puppy classes/groups so he can begin to properly socialise with other dogs his age, this will give him the best chance at growing up to be a dog with good manners when interacting with other dogs.

rottie 11

Ya i will try what you said about putting him in a different room. Hope it helps thanks for advise

rottie 11

How long should it take 4 any improvement?

ZiabR

At that age, he should be very quick to catch on his behaviour is not acceptable.

rottie 11

logik wrote: »

At that age, he should be very quick to catch on his behaviour is not acceptable.

I know thats why im worried. He is very dominant also

VonVix

rottie 11 wrote: »

I know thats why im worried. He is very dominant also

I get the impression you subscribe to dominance theory?

Well, dominance/alpha theory has been long scientifically disproven, unfortunately it's quite a "pop culture" belief now that you gotta be the top dog in the household because of certain TV shows that became popular largely due to their editing and the general public's little of knowledge of dog behaviour...

When you say your puppy is dominant, what do you mean exactly? What's he doing?

rottie 11

He is being dominant for example wen the other pup is playing with a toy he wil lie on da toy just so he cnt play with it. He takes toys of him and bites him and he is always climbing up on his back even tho there both male

muddypaws

He's being a puppy then. But, he would have been used to his littermates being as rough as him in play, they would have just told him off or played with him. How does the other dog react when he takes the toys, does he try to play with him, or just let him take them?

rottie 11

He usualy just tries to run away , he has been hurt too many times but very rarely he wil try to play. If there is food involved he will growl and bite tho

sillysmiles

A 9 week old rottie and a 5 month old King Charles. That's a busy house!
(sorry no advice)

he is always climbing up on his back even tho there both male

Him being male has nothing to do with it, he is being a puppy.

I would suggest to have a read through some of the old posts, I've learnt loads about training and training tips hanging around here. Now I just need a dog to apply them to!

rottie 11

Ok i gve a look threw some old ones thanks

AryaStark

The best advice is to go to puppy training classes. They saved my life with my husky!! She is only 11 months and still needs loads of training but the early basic training and socialisation classes are really great.

rottie 11

Dont think ther is any puppy classes where i live.

muddypaws

Give us a rough idea of where you live, and I'm sure someone could let you know if there are any puppy classes near you

rottie 11

I live near tralee

DBB

http://apdt.ie/index.php/find-a-trainer/dog-trainers-in-kerry/

rottie 11

Hes 10 weeks old now and stil thinks hes the boss , i introduced him to my 2 year old staffy bitch (that stays with my mom) and he kept biting her ears and neck and she was scared of him. Is my puppy gona be an aggresive dog? Im doing all i can to stop it

muddypaws

He's a puppy and he's playing, he doesn't think he's the boss of anything.

What are you doing to stop it? Have you contacted that trainer that DBB put up?

rottie 11

muddypaws wrote: »

He's a puppy and he's playing, he doesn't think he's the boss of anything.

What are you doing to stop it? Have you contacted that trainer that DBB put up?

I put him in a different room when he is bold or just sit him down and say no.

I didnt contact the trainer , i would like to try it myself tbh

muddypaws

rottie 11 wrote: »

I put him in a different room when he is bold or just sit him down and say no.

I didnt contact the trainer , i would like to try it myself tbh

How do you get him to sit down?

Tranceypoo

rottie 11 wrote: »

I didnt contact the trainer , i would like to try it myself tbh

No offence but it doesn't sound like you know what you're doing, why would you think you can train the puppy yourself? It really sounds like you and the pup would benefit hugely from a trainer and you've been given a link to one, would you not just call and make an appointment and see how you get on?

rottie 11

muddypaws wrote: »

How do you get him to sit down?

I tell him to sit down , if he doesnt i make him sit down with my hand

muddypaws

rottie 11 wrote: »

I tell him to sit down , if he doesnt i make him sit down with my hand

How does he know what the words mean? The same as how does he know what 'no' means? Have you taught him?

Please call that trainer, hopefully they will be putting puppy classes on in your area and you can go along. You are asking for advice here, but nobody has seen your pup or what he is doing.

A much kinder way to get a dog to sit (and if you want a kind dog, you need to treat them with kindness) is to hold a treat over their head until the action of their head going backwards moves their body so that their bum goes on the floor. No need for pushing at all, the second their bum hits the floor, you reward, then you can start putting the word in there.

You have a rottweiler that is going to be a big dog, when he is fully grown, do you think you will be able to push his bum down, or push him around to do what you want? It is so much better for the dog and for you and your family if the dog works out what you want him to do, and does it himself, without being forced to. Force tends to lead to aggression unfortunately. It also leads to a lack of trust between dog and humans, and that is when the real problems occur.

AryaStark

rottie 11 wrote: »

Hes 10 weeks old now and stil thinks hes the boss , i introduced him to my 2 year old staffy bitch (that stays with my mom) and he kept biting her ears and neck and she was scared of him. Is my puppy gona be an aggresive dog? Im doing all i can to stop it

I really think that you should see a trainer. He is only a baby and is playing. The first months are so important and if you make a mistake training him it will be hard to undo. The training is not expensive and you get the tips on how to continue training at home yourself. If you did a basic training course you would then get educated yourself so you can bond in training etc

Reati

VonVix wrote: »

Well, dominance/alpha theory has been long scientifically disproven, unfortunately it's quite a "pop culture" belief now that you gotta be the top dog in the household because of certain TV shows that became popular largely due to their editing and the general public's little of knowledge of dog behaviour...

Can you link out to the research papers that have scientifically disproven alpha behavior in dogs? I'd be very interested in reading that.

muddypaws

Reati wrote: »

Can you link out to the research papers that have scientifically disproven alpha behavior in dogs? I'd be very interested in reading that.

The whole alpha behaviour theory was based on a flawed study, it was on captive wolves, who don't behave the same way as wild wolves, or indeed as domestic dogs, if you google it, you can find more info.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521112711.htm

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787808001159

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201007/canine-dominance-is-the-concept-the-alpha-dog-valid

Nody

rottie 11 wrote: »

I tell him to sit down , if he doesnt i make him sit down with my hand

Congratulations; you're doing an excellent job to make sure you'll have what you call an aggressive dog in the future because you're "training methods" are exactly the opposite of what any real trainer would do (i.e. physical abuse; and yes I use the word abuse because you're dealing with a puppy here who you're confusing even more and punishing it physically for not understanding human speech).

cocker5

Op,

I'm going to be very honest and say you sound like an inexperienced dog owner (no offence intended) but it's true.

Your pup is 10 weeks old, you put him in another room for being bold - playing biting is normal all puppies do this... You want to show him who's boss.(in this day and age I still can't believe people believe in that sh*te)... You force him to sit by using your hand...

The pups is 10 weeks old he doesn't understand sit yet... He plays bites ... Jumps around all excited - all 10 week old puppies do this.

My advice to you is firstly do some puppy training classes, secondly educate yourself on proper training methods, if you have no intention of doing either please give this dog back to the breeder before you turn it into an aggressive , unhappy and dangerous dog.

rottie 11

Ye are all saying hes playing but ye dont see him attackin the king charles. I had dogs all my life so ya im very unexperienced? I know how to train a dog he sits, waits 4 his food, gives the paw , lies dwn , hes fully potty trained but he just wont stop biting

tk123

rottie 11 wrote: »

Ye are all saying hes playing but ye dont see him attackin the king charles. I had dogs all my life so ya im very unexperienced? I know how to train a dog he sits, waits 4 his food, gives the paw , lies dwn , hes fully potty trained but he just wont stop biting

Have you socialised him with other dogs his age e.g. at a puppy social hour/party/puppy classes or even with an adult dog who's more his size? Pups learn bite inhibition from each other or other dogs. My pup never bit any of us because my other dog quickly trained her not to - he has better timing than any of us. I've done LOADS of training with my 5 year old but still took the pup to puppy classes for socialisation.

peasant

Whoa ...

The OP may not be the most experienced dog owner but at least he's looking for help .

The main problem is that the OP has not one but two puppies on his hands.

Under normal circumstances a slightly older dog would rein in a boisterous puppy more quickly and more effectively than an owner ever could ...but here we have a 5 month old pup being "attacked" that doesn't know how to defend itself (and even if it did, the younger pup probably wouldn't take any lessons from another pup) so the owner HAS TO step in in some form to prevent chaos from establishing itself.

The way to do it is with quiet authority.

As others have said ...forget about enforcing a "sit", the pup doesn't know yet what you're talking about and you only add to the mayhem and confusion.

Basically forget about any "commands" to resolve this situation ...both dogs are too young to follow them reliably and you're only spoiling the commands for future use when you keep on shouting random words the the dogs don't react to.
Commands need to be trained and embedded in a calm environment ...that's for another day.

Watch the dogs like a hawk, learn to predict what's going to happen next and try and stop it if you don't like it.
Use your voice to let them know that you know what they're about to do and that you don't like it ..."No" or even a sharp" ah-ah" will do.
Reward good behaviour with praise, correct the wrong as above. Be quick and on the point ..praise or correction that comes way after the fact is useless, it has to be on the dot.
If bad behaviour persists, then you can remove the culprit for a short time ...but only a short time, two minutes is enough...longer is counter-productive (as you may inadvertently introduce separation anxiety)

Having said all that ...some form of play biting/barking/growling/yelping is normal among pups and nothing to worry about. Only if one of the pups is decidedly uncomfortable do you need to step in ...and don't forget to praise them when they're nice and quiet.

Young pups spend a lot of time tired and sleepy ...use those times to quietly and calmly build on your relationship ...not when they are sleeping, but when they are relaxed/not wound up. Stroke them, pet them, talk calmly to them ...make them like and trust you.

The more they trust you, the more readily they will accept your corrections.

If you feel the need to establish yourself as "boss", a simple "sit" (provided they know what it is and can do it ) before you put down their food/give them their toy or whatever else it is they want will establish that very clearly and without any need for force. He who controls the resources is boss ...no question about it, no need to hammer it home.

Having a few lessons with a good trainer probably still wouldn't do any harm ...not to train the dogs really, but to give you the quiet confidence that what you're doing and how you're doing it is right. Only a quietly confident owner can raise quiet and confident dogs

Or the other way round ..nothing transfers to dogs as quickly as insecurity and panic


EDIT:
ok ..all of the above was written assuming that the OP was a first time owner ...which he isn't ...so forget it.

@ rotti 11

If I were you, I'd have this behaviour witnessed by somebody who knows about puppy behaviour. Either a trainer or perhaps another Rottie breeder to assess the situation ...ie. is the dog over-aggressive or under-trained?

tk123

I started saying 'enough' with my pup and leading her to her bed if she was getting too full on and harassing the other guy - now if i say it she automatically goes to her bed and sulks!

muddypaws

rottie 11 wrote: »

Ye are all saying hes playing but ye dont see him attackin the king charles. I had dogs all my life so ya im very unexperienced? I know how to train a dog he sits, waits 4 his food, gives the paw , lies dwn , hes fully potty trained but he just wont stop biting

You said earlier that you have to push his bum down to get him to sit

Nobody on here has seen him biting, which is why it has been suggested that you go to a class, you've been given the details of a trainer, they will be able to see what exactly is going on, and would be the best person to help you.

rottie 11

Ok thanks for all the replies. Il get onto a dog trainer and see what they think.

sillysmiles

@ rottie 11
Let us know what the trainer says please. I'd be really interested in hearing some of the feedback from the trainer and what s/he suggests.

Reati

muddypaws wrote: »

The whole alpha behaviour theory was based on a flawed study, it was on captive wolves, who don't behave the same way as wild wolves, or indeed as domestic dogs, if you google it, you can find more info.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521112711.htm

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787808001159

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201007/canine-dominance-is-the-concept-the-alpha-dog-valid

Really interesting reads. It's great to see that it's being debunked as a myth - thanks for posting the links. This will be great info when I get a dog one day.