Rottweiler question

[Pawsitive Thinking]

Can a family teach a dog of a certain breed away from that reputation?

Its not the dog that needs to be taught - its the people around who need to get rid of their misconceptions about a breed

[pitc9]

In my personal opinion, no matter the breed it's all in the way the dog was raised.

For example...
You could get a pit puppy from a well known dog fighter that has the meanest dogs in the city and raise it to be a therapy dog!!

It's all about socializing and training that puppy from the start.
We have (had RB Angus and RB Rocky) a few Rotties here on the board, and we also have a few pitties on the board and they all are sweet as pie!
Jada, Ebony and Diamond!! (along with others)

My sister used to live with a friend and they had 4 Rotties. I used to house sit for them when they went out of town and they all were VERY sweet!

[Ginger's Mom]

Your thread made me smile. I love Rotties. Fortunately for me, I have never met a mean Rottie, and I have met many many Rottweilers. My very first experience with a Rottweiller was while camping out for tickets about twenty years ago. One person in line brought his Rottweiler with him for the camp out, and this dog was a wonderful example of the breed. Of course the owner was a great owner; he knew everything about the breed, how/when/why it was breed, what it should do, how it should do it, etc. We spent a lovely 22 hours in line with this dog. He was happy, playful, attentive to his owner, and just a real pleasure to have around. I think everyone in line left there with a new admiration for the breed. No, dogs of a certain breed do not all have to be mean, or for that matter, not all dogs of a certain breed have to be sweet. To a large extent you can train your dog to behave the way you want it to behave, no matter what the breed.

[luvofallhorses]

I have a rottie mix and she's the best dog I have ever had. She isn't colored like a rottie, her mom was a rottie and she has lab in her. So she's yellow but I love rotties and never had met a mean rottie. It all depends how you raise and socialize them.

you will need to socialize them a lot because they are very people oriented dogs just like pit bulls are. you can't quit socializing them with people or they will go in a skiddish stage and that isn't good at all. my Jenny loves kids, other dogs, cats (LOVES our cats) some aren't good with cats so you have to watch out for that if you have cats.. she's great with other people, etc..

she's a big mushy face.

where are you located? there may be a rottweiler rescue in your area and they could help you more to research the breed since they work with them day in and day out.

we have had a few rotties where I work and they all were sweeties.
it all depends how you raise them and socialize them imo. they are wonderful dogs but just like with pitties you have to be very, very responsible and you have to be very dominant with them because they can get stubborn. make sure you let the dog know YOU are the leader and not him. good luck!

here's a list of rottie rescues in the united states I just saw you're located in IL so there are a few rescues if you scroll down.
http://www.rottrescue.org/national_l...tt_rescue.html

[cassiesmom]

My dad called the city about their former neighbor's dogs. They were in the yard in all kinds of weather, never got petted or played with. The city told him there was nothing they could do.

I wish you all could have seen this dog with me. He was just magnificent. Alert, strong, glossy black coat. I like to go to Petsmart when people are there with their dogs. Some day ...

[Freedom]

As with any breed, it depends on the people; and on what the line is being bred to do. Many Rotties are bred as family pets and they can be wonderful dogs. Friends of ours had one, before they even had children. As the children (3 in all ) arrived and grew, they woud reach an age and size where they could lean on the dog and get "horsey rides." They only did this with the parents watching, but that was in case the child fell off; the dog was a BIG rottie! That dog was always slobbery fun!

I believe many reputable breeders do more to breed for family life; and certain breeders focus on breeding for trial work (herding, tracking, agility, whatever depending on the breed). It's only the low lifes who breed for fighting today -- IMO.

I am SO glad you met this wonderful dog! Look at the impact he has had on you, he hee.

Oh BTW, if he was a service dog helping them due to hearing impairment, he would have been wearing an ID vest.

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

Rottweilers, Dobermans, Pit Bulls, etc. are just like any other breed. As long as they're bred properly, are in the right home, and were raised properly then they will usually be incredible dogs. Sometimes you come across one here and there that was raised in a proper home and such and they just aren't a stable dog (like my Morgan), but the vast majority are wonderful. The dog you met was exactly like a Rottie should be. I'm glad you had such a good experience.

[Danegirl2208]

Sometimes you come across one here and there that was raised in a proper home and such and they just aren't a stable dog

That is an excellent point. As much as I'd love to say it's ALL in how you raise them, in many cases it is just not true. The dogs you hear about attaking people are NOT stable dogs and yes, in many cases they were born that way..but it is never fair to judge a breed as a whole because of these dogs.

[Alysser]

Yes, dogs are only taught how they are raised. My mom knows a lady with a Poodle mix and I know someone who was watching a pitbull for her uncle. Now the Poodle mix is horribly behaved and anyone who tries to pet it gets snarled at, it sometimes even snarls at its owner but not usually. Meanwhile, this pitbull is the most loving and well behaved dog I've ever met BY FAR. The first time I met her she attacked me with kisses. I've never met such a sweetheart. Sometimes her tail would wag so much she would hit it against the wall, causing it to bleed.

This proves to me at least, that it depends how the dog is bred and raised. If you hit, abuse, chain a dog outside, don't feed it, etc. DON'T expect it to be kind and loving. Dogs need to be socialized properly with people and other animals from an early age and that effects aggression. If a dog who was chained in a yard all day and forgotten about, do you think it would be used to humans? That is what causes human fear and aggression. Dogs are not born aggressive, there is no way a dog can be born aggressive, try and prove it to me all you want, it just doesn't happen. If a dog is socialized as a puppy with people and different animals, and it is not hit abused, and trained properly, it will definitely shine through. I don't believe it is a common occurrence that a dog can be wired wrong, I believe people it is VERY frequent that people are though. And honestly, even the most abused and neglected dogs can make great pets when put in the proper home, it just depends on the people who choose to take on the challenge.


About pitbull fighting, well these dogs are trained to do this. They don't know any other life. They see that this blood sport makes their owners proud, and that is the reason they do it. Dogs are extremely loyal to their owners and they want to make them happy. That's how their trained.

Hope that helped you a bit.