Our 7 month old male rottweiler has aggressive play behavior...

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Answer by Lucy's Mom
Submitted on 6/29/2004
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halofanxx, what you described is a SURE FIRE way to get your face taken off!!!! You have just put your dog in a SUBMISSIVE position that, in his mind, he will feel the need to get out of in order to SURVIVE! Placing your dog in a vulnerable position, like you suggest, leaves your dog 2 options; 1) submit and let a dominant member of the pack take over(as yours did) or 2) FIGHT FOR THEIR LIFE!!! A dominant dog, as a lot of male Rottweilers are, will NOT allow themselves to be put in such a position! Redirection is the key. Chris, quit playing (and I hope you ARE playing and not really that dumb) about the pepper spray. Novice owners that come here looking for answers don't know you're kidding.

Answer by Trish
Submitted on 9/28/2004
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I believe if your male rottweiler is playing to hard, you could be facing a number of problems, if you are inexperienced you better get him under control before he gets to big, Do Not Play With Him NO ROUGH HOUSING AT ALL. Throw a ball and that is it, walk him make sure he is not food aggressive, they respect a person who is in control when you tell him to obey you follow through do not let him get away with anything...education is everything in this awesome breed, say NO and meant it...And give him lots of correct love and attention they are awesome companions if you know how to be in control they are not for the weak owner. i wish you luck , this is how our beloved friends end up abandoned and in shelters each year.do the right thing and work with him everyday.Dont let him control you or you will end up afraid of him and how sad that would be , good luck.:)

Answer by Love Rotts
Submitted on 5/31/2005
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I have owned many breeds. 10 yrs ago we brought our first female Rott into our family. She tried showing signs of dominance towards her new pack. We used her collar, a leash and gentle verbal instruction for the down position to show her she is not to attack her pack. She has turned out to be the best dog we have EVER owned. We also kept another female from one of her litters..who is passive until she feels her pack is in danger. For tighter security reasons we kept a male from our second females litter and he does show more aggressiveness that we are utilizing into him being the king of protectors of our family. Using the same techniques we used on our first female he is turning out to be a male to be proud of. With all this in mind...puppies in general teeth just as humans do and need something to chew/teeth on such as a hard bone. Reinforce this EVERY-TIME the puppy tries to chew you or an object. If he/she bites hard place the puppy in the down position, let him/her know there is not reward for this behavior. After 30 sec. or a minute let the puppy up and hand it the bone. You have a dog that can be the best thing that ever happened to you. Treat it like that!! Please do not encourage your Rott or any dog to be mean and hateful, that is a cruel act of man to use a dog for. God gave us these friends for a reason.

Answer by joe
Submitted on 8/30/2005
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Hiya I have got an 8 week old rottwieler pup (male) called Kody, and he is soooooooooooo loving, most of the time, but after I have played for more than 10 mins he starts to turn nasty. Play biting at first, then growling, and then snapping at hands, or fingers, or anything else!!!!! I have tried shouting NO!!! but he just carries on. I tried stoping playing and walking away but he just chases and start biting the bottom of my pants, and ankles. My boyfriend and everyone else he knows, he never does this to them they are all male who he has met so far, is it because I am female??? or am I to soft or to hard with him. I want to sort this out before it gets any older. Help!!!!!!!

Answer by DMac
Submitted on 9/22/2005
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Even a male 7 month old Rott will not have the power to overcome an adult human (at least one he feels comfortable in playing with). this little chap is merely going through a hormone stage taking him from puppyhood to adolesence. Is he really biting or just mouthing? he is either trying to judge how far he can push it (mouthing) or is telling you he IS boss (biting). either way, physically put him in the down position, preferably on his back, and hold him until he stops struggling. This shows your dominance. every time he bites do it again, and again, and again. don't worry, he'll learn really quickly and then a simple 'no' or more often than not a sharp look will halt him in his tracks. As long as your male Rotty has a defined line between him and the Alpha pack leader (you) he'll grow into a happy man. - Good Luck

Answer by Tammy
Submitted on 8/27/2006
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Lucys mom, I think it is a good idea to make your dog submissive. We have a 12 month old Doberman and we put him in a submissive position when ever he is getting overly aggressive. He has to know that we are the pack leaders not him. We don't hurt him in this position he just knows that we are in charge, not him. It would be a very dangerous situation to have an 80lb Doberman thinking he is in charge of us. You can do this with TLC. To let your dog be in charge and be the pack leader is not fair to you or the dog. If you are afraid to put your dog in a submissive position because "he might fight" you then you need to get a cat and leave the dogs to people with guts and patients.

Answer by justme
Submitted on 1/22/2007
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I don't think the pepper spray is going to do anything besides get someone hurt. That's animal cruelty. A dog does not understand why he gets a burning sensation to his face, and instead of stopping the biting, he will more than likely turn on you later or turn on some little old lady pulling pepper spray out of her purse. This way does not teach the dog proper PACK ORDER! This breed is not aggressive as many people believe...this breed is DOMINANT! It will be dominant over everything if you give it the opportunity. Sometimes you may not realize he is challenging you when he is. If he walks up and leans against your leg as you sit on the couch...he's trying to show his dominance. If you push him away and do not give any of your ground, you have won. Do not hit him, because with Rotts your violence shows him it is okay for him to be violent back. Believe me that is the last thing that you want. If you simply move your leg or tell him to go away, guess what...HE HAS WON. If you give in to him in any way, he wins over you. He has been bred for hearding cattle, and he sees you as no competition at all. If he jumps on you walk toward him to show him he has invaded your space. For this biting problem, stop rough play with him altogether until he learns how to play. At this age he should be fairly calm and quiet. Granted he is still a puppy, but you have to show him who the boss is and do it gently. If he bits you don't hit him at all. Instead, hold him down until he quits sqirming and wiggling. Once he is still, he has submitted to you. It may take a while, but he will eventually realize that you are boss. If he never realizes this you can have a big problem later. I have an 8 week old male who already knows that he is at the bottom of the list. Myself, my husband, our roommate, my three-year-old son, and my female lab come before him in the pack order. And believe it or not he came from a litter of all females besides himself. He was alpha-male of his litter and came into a house where he sits at the bottom. However, I could have never asked for a better 8 week old puppy. Once you instill in him that you give the orders, he will be the most loyal and obedient dog you could ask for. But still never forget that he's going to be a puppy until he is over two years. Hope this helps.

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Question by Marilauron
Submitted on 5/4/2004
Related FAQ: rec.pets.dogs: Rottweilers Breed-FAQ
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Our 7 month old male rottweiler has aggressive play behavior of growling and biting. How can we stop his play biting as it is becoming painful to us but a lot of fun to him.

Answer by Nathan
Submitted on 5/26/2004
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when you rote your rottie likes biting i whounderd what you ment by that.if this is your first rottweiler you should have gon for a bich but there you go.it sounds to me like he needs to be trained and played with allot he might not be getting enough atenchion ore pushed out of things.to me i whouild say he needs training and long waikes and allot of attention

Answer by badizda
Submitted on 5/28/2004
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if he bites just scream and show displeasure. stop all play and ignore him. if he stops continue playing. if he bites again put him away for not more than 10min. then play again (dogs have a short memory span). dogs dont like to be ignored and will eventually get the msg... biting means no play.

Answer by cmann19078
Submitted on 5/29/2004
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just give him a english bull terrier to play with when he bites him he will bite back the rottie will not like it and he will learn or better yet get a can of pepper spray every time he bites spray him he will learn real fast all joking aside it seems like you are a first time dog owner why choose such an agressive breed for a first time

Answer by Cora
Submitted on 5/30/2004
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This breed, particularly a male, needs a strong balance of discipline and love. It is very natural for the rottweiler to challenge his/her owner at certain stages of development. Do not hit the dog as it will teach him violence. I recommend leash corrections. You need to walk your dog for a minimum of 30 minutes a day, applying the proper leash corrections. Your dog will benefit from the time spent with you and an understanding that you are in charge. He will learn to associate a stern no with an unpleasant leash correction. Some professional training is strongly recommended. Good luck to you. You choose a beautiful breed.

Answer by Lucy's Mom
Submitted on 5/11/2004
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What you need to do is REDIRECT his biting. When he starts biting you tell him, "NO!!" and give him a chew toy instead. If he starts chewing the toy praise him and tell him GOOD CHEW or something like that with a VERY PLEASED voice. Eventually he will get it. But he DOES need to be redirected. :o) Hope that helps.

Answer by halofanxx
Submitted on 6/6/2004
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when he bites you while playing, hold his mouth shut and give him a very strong verbal no. if he struggles, hold him down until he relaxes, let go and resume play. each time he bites repeat the process. this worked on a pup i adopted (8 month old rott/pitt bull).

Answer by cmann19078
Submitted on 6/11/2004
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i still think pepper spray works best..........chris

Answer by mary
Submitted on 5/29/2005
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I have a 7 month old male rotti who wants to attack everybody that comes near the house imcluding my 2year old nephew, he has professional obedience trainig but he is too aggressive. what can I do?

Answer by michael stern
Submitted on 8/29/2005
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is a very dangerous type of dog...one 7 months old kill my small son ten years ago. be careful people...

Answer by dogxpert14
Submitted on 11/16/2005
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I would say to yell NO!!, and tap him on the nose. Not too hard or else your dog will become afraid of you, and won't interact. Also, only let direct family do it, or else your dog will have no respect for new people. If he's over aggresive, completley ignore him, until he calms down.

Answer by chrissy
Submitted on 11/21/2005
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personaly with me i have a six month old rottie and its a male with me when he tries to bit i look at him and just tell him no and give him a flick on the tip of his nose and to tell you the truth it works really well i didn't think it would but it does so just try that.

Answer by Mijato
Submitted on 1/20/2006
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Here is the deal. Take your Rotty every day before you go to work for an hour long walk, and after you get off the work for an hour long walk. Even better ride a bicycle and have your dog follow you. He will get so tired and happy that he will not want to bite anyone. Remember, no excercise = too much enegry, too much energy = frustration, and over time frustration = agression. There fore the more you exercise your dog, and the more calm and assertive you are towards it the happier dog will be. Zeljko.

Answer by anonymous
Submitted on 4/12/2006
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you can give him some sort of a chew toy so that he doesnt bite you but he will bite the toy instead. If you are mean to the dog he/she will be mean/aggressive to you as well. TRY IT AND SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN YOUR DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer by uhhh whattt?
Submitted on 5/14/2006
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We have a little Australian Shepherd and whenever she starts play biting we push her away and say no, then give her a chew toy and she gets more content with chewing on that.

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Answer by Bayne
Submitted on 7/24/2006
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There are not aggressive dogs, just stupid owners. You need lots of time and patience to bea dog owner or you should not bother getting a dog at all. Yelling and hitting will not solve the problem!

Answer by niel
Submitted on 9/12/2006
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He probably needs to be trained and disciplined Please consider getting a mate for him

Answer by heyyall
Submitted on 10/7/2006
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i think just saying no and ignoring him for a few mins will help i have a 1 yr old wolf huskie rottie pit bull boxer shepherd lab bull mastiff great dane saint bernard cross lol it was hard to teach because liz was so big but he got it

Answer by sablesmom
Submitted on 10/23/2006
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oh i feel your pain. i have a 8week old german rott and she cannot understand it. ofcourse, this is my 3rd day with her but im so bruised up its not funny. im trying to pick a method and stick with it but i dont know what it the best, nothing works immediately and im trying to be patient. i dont want to hit or shove her but sometimes she is impossible to get off my wrist or ankle? what to do

Answer by Sampson's Mom
Submitted on 11/1/2006
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Thank you Lucy's Mom for your response to Chris. I have a 4month old rottie that we are training to not bite and nip. We have been trying so many different techniques for stopping this behavior and you are right that redirection works the best. We simply give him his toy and praise him like crazy when he chews and bites it. I have owned Dobermans in the past but this is my first rottie and he is the best puppy ever. I can't say enough how great the breed is.

Answer by Tres
Submitted on 1/30/2007
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Hey does anyone know where i can find a good breeder near martinsburg West Virginia? Please email me @ Sp33dFreek04@aol.com thanx

Answer by adrian
Submitted on 2/6/2007
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male rotts are great dogs, the breed are fantastic family pets.

Answer by MrTeacher
Submitted on 4/5/2007
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Ive own 4 Rottweilers 3 males and 1 female of which I have now a 5 year old female and a 6month old male...You have to spend alot of time with them and train them. They are very loyal dogs so it won't be that hard.

Answer by Guy
Submitted on 7/8/2007
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I have a female Rottweiler, she is 10 weeks old, and she beared her teeth and growled at the vet tech as she tried to take away a biscuit given to her during her examination. Although, I can pick up her food dish with no problem. I don't know whether this is a sign of future agression to strangers or not. This is my first Rottie.