Very aggressive behavior in Rottie

[Suze225]

Hi all!!

I need your advice. I have 3 dogs......Kiah, is my 8 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback, Kahn is my 4 year old Rottweilier, and Bella is my 10 month old yorkie. Kahn and Kiah are strictly outdoor dogs. Bella is my indoor pal.

Well as of late....within the last 4 months or so, Kahn, has been showing SEVERE aggression over food and toys. (NEVER had such a behavior in him EVER,he has always been my mold mild mannered boy.) He has attacked Kiah 3 times over food, and it gets kind of ugly. He hasn't drawn blood on her, but I know has come close.

I have been almost scared and embarassed to type this, but right after Christmas he bit Bella over a bone. She tried to take his bone and he snipped at her trying to get it back. He caught her in the nose, she bled and bled, but finally stopped and was back to normal within a day or two. Vet said she was fine. He snarled at her again today over a toy. I have made the decision to kennel him in his kennel when Bella is in the back yard for potty and play.

I really don't know what to do. He has always been such a teddy bear and is fantastic with kids.....but I am starting to wonder......what if he turns on my 3 year old grandson? Or bites Bella again, and kills her. She is 4 pounds he is pushing 50 or 60. He could hurt her very easily. I am heart broken over this, but unsure of what anyone else would do?? He is my baby too, but I can't have an aggressive dog........I just can't. Not one that is this big. I can't imagine what triggered this behavior, in 4 years he has been PERFECT!!!!

Advice please!!

Sue

[chachi]

Youve got to keep him separate from your yorkie at all times which I know you already know. Problems from Aggression from a small dog can sometimes be answered on here but big dogs are alot different and I really feel you need the help from an experienced trainer

[DvlshAngel985]

Have you consulted a trainer or dog behaviorist?

[kjcmsw]

no offense...but it sounds like you got a Rottweiler "to standard" --- people breeding Yorkies try to bring out good coats, ear set, etc., etc. Like it or not Rottweilers were purposely breed to be aggressive. You got exactly what you bought. Rottweilers were never breed to be passive lap dogs, I hope you weren't led to believe you would get something that wouldn't most likely follow with its generation after generation breeding: aggression.
I have seen what a nice little Rottweiler can do - even after living years without incident in a loving home and it isn't pretty.

[Deuce]

I love Rotties, grew up with them, that being said I will never own one for the reasons you have stated. Rotts were bred to herd cattle (I believe) and to protect the farm, they have a high prey drive and should (in my opinion) not live in a home with a small animal. I'm sorry, maybe check with a trainer in your area that specifically trains this breed or other aggressive dog breeds. For now, keep him totally separate from your little one, it even sounds like you need to keep him from your RR to be on the safe side...btw this may be a silly question but has he been neutered?

[gemy]

Originally Posted by Suze225

Hi all!!

I need your advice. I have 3 dogs......Kiah, is my 8 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback, Kahn is my 4 year old Rottweilier, and Bella is my 10 month old yorkie. Kahn and Kiah are strictly outdoor dogs. Bella is my indoor pal.

Well as of late....within the last 4 months or so, Kahn, has been showing SEVERE aggression over food and toys. (NEVER had such a behavior in him EVER,he has always been my mold mild mannered boy.) He has attacked Kiah 3 times over food, and it gets kind of ugly. He hasn't drawn blood on her, but I know has come close.

I have been almost scared and embarassed to type this, but right after Christmas he bit Bella over a bone. She tried to take his bone and he snipped at her trying to get it back. He caught her in the nose, she bled and bled, but finally stopped and was back to normal within a day or two. Vet said she was fine. He snarled at her again today over a toy. I have made the decision to kennel him in his kennel when Bella is in the back yard for potty and play.

I really don't know what to do. He has always been such a teddy bear and is fantastic with kids.....but I am starting to wonder......what if he turns on my 3 year old grandson? Or bites Bella again, and kills her. She is 4 pounds he is pushing 50 or 60. He could hurt her very easily. I am heart broken over this, but unsure of what anyone else would do?? He is my baby too, but I can't have an aggressive dog........I just can't. Not one that is this big. I can't imagine what triggered this behavior, in 4 years he has been PERFECT!!!!

Advice please!!

Sue

Sue i don't want to assume you've not taken your Rottie to obedience and training classes, but if you have, you now have to get back to them, and if you've used a trainer before, c all and talk with them about the relatively recent aggression issues.

As an earlier posted said, you can't trust your Rottie around your Yorkie and it's probably not to good to trust around the RR.

For now, your Rottie must be fed separately from the other two. Exercised separately, and probably crated at night, or the other two are crated. Also you better check that "you" can still take the food bowl from him. As well as he should give you a bone on command. Yes and I do mean a real meaty yummy bone. He should be able to drop on command anything that he has in his mouth, including a beloved toy.

It is time to reassert your dominance/Alpha position over the rottie.

Somthing has changed in your household dynamics, or in his own health. You would know best what that could be.

This behaviour IMO will not go away on its' own.

[Suze225]

Kahn has been very and is still very obedient for me. (I actually did buy a rottie with the idea that he would be a great watch dog, as my husband is a pilot and is gone a lot of the time. At the time of purchase, I didn't have an overly small child, and had no intent on having one around the house for quite some time. Until surprise surprise my daughter gets pregnant. ) Kiah and Kahn were complete indoor dogs up until a couple of years ago, we got an infestation of ticks. I have never in my life seen anything so bad. Our whole town turned into a haven for ticks. We tried EVERYTHING to remove the ticks from the yard and the dogs. For the safety of the family (I had ticks EVERYWHERE in the house from the dogs going in and out, it was disgusting.) With a new baby in the house, and we couldn't have the ticks around, the dogs turned into outdoor dogs. We moved a few months later, to a house 10 miles away, and not a tick since. Thankfully!!

Kahn did not have any 'class' obedience training, as I have always trained my own dogs. He knows sit, stay, drop it, down, heel among many other commands....and is excellent and well behaved. He will allow me to take his food, or his toys.

He and Kiah have a very large gated area in our back yard as 'their' quarters, with large dog houses, toys etc. The other area of our yard is for Bella and the family. My husband just today reinforced the gated area, because Bella can sneak her butt in their area. She is now not able to sneak under the gate. And it is sad because Bella LOVES the two big dogs!!
They get plenty of exercise. They go on daily 2 mile walks, plus several hours of play time with one or all of our family members on the family or poo free side of the yard. (Yes they are trained to poo only on the dog side of the yard, which is VERY NICE!! Well Bella isn't, but my big dogs are.)
I mentioned a dog behaviorist to my husband, and being extremely stubborn said that was ridiculous. And said, as others of you have said, he is bred for being aggressive when needed to be. But is giving me no ideas. I hate the idea of exiling Kahn away from everyone. I am very sad in writing this. I hate not trusting this once trust worthy dog!!!
I don't think anything in our household dynamics have changed. Everything is the same as it has always been. His health is fine, or seems to be anyway. He was in for his vet check a few months back and got a clean bill of health. I just don't know.

Maybe I should call the dog whisperer?

Sue

[Suze225]

OMG, NO he has not been neutered!!!!! My female RR is spayed, so my husband having sympathy for him, said lets leave him be since she is fixed. Maybe Bella's being close to heat is triggering something in him.

Calling the vet now to talk about getting rid of the family jewels.

Sue

[Britster]

Originally Posted by kjcmsw

no offense...but it sounds like you got a Rottweiler "to standard" --- people breeding Yorkies try to bring out good coats, ear set, etc., etc. Like it or not Rottweilers were purposely breed to be aggressive. You got exactly what you bought. Rottweilers were never breed to be passive lap dogs, I hope you weren't led to believe you would get something that wouldn't most likely follow with its generation after generation breeding: aggression.
I have seen what a nice little Rottweiler can do - even after living years without incident in a loving home and it isn't pretty.

LOL! You could not be any more wrong, close-minded and ignorant.

Do research before stating things like they're a fact. Rottweilers were originally bred as herding dogs. They were also used as cart dogs, where butchers were relevant and inevitably more dogs were needed to drive the cattle to and from the markets. Later and in more recent times, they are used as police and guard dogs, as well as family companions.

Yes, a Rottweiler CAN be aggressive, just like a Yorkie CAN be aggressive! Go read the training forum and see how many Yorkies have resource guarding problems. Does that mean they were purposely bred for aggressiveness? Uh, no. Yes, they are strong dogs, and yes they do need more socialization and training as well as vigorous exercise more than than some breeds. But NO a Rottweiler is not BRED to be aggressive or is "supposed" to be aggressive.

According to the FCI Standard, the Rottweiler is good-natured, placid in basic disposition, very devoted, obedient, biddable and eager to work. Their appearance is natural and rustic, their behavior self-assured, steady and fearless. They react to their surroundings with great alertness.[8] The American Kennel Club says it is basically a calm, confident and courageous dog with a self-assured aloofness that does not lend itself to immediate and indiscriminate friendships. A Rottweiler is self-confident and responds quietly and with a wait-and-see attitude to influences in its environment. It has an inherent desire to protect home and family, and is an intelligent dog of extreme hardness and adaptability with a strong willingness to work, making them especially suited as a companion, guardian and general all-purpose dog.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Suze225

OMG, NO he has not been neutered!!!!! My female RR is spayed, so my husband having sympathy for him, said lets leave him be since she is fixed. Maybe Bella's being close to heat is triggering something in him.

Calling the vet now to talk about getting rid of the family jewels.

Sue

I would definitely think a female being in heat and an unneutered male would cause this type of behavior in any dog.

[RachelandSadie]

Originally Posted by Britster

I would definitely think a female being in heat and an unneutered male would cause this type of behavior in any dog.

I think we have found a solution to this problem

and i agree about rotties. they are not bred for aggression. they can be great guard dogs but it's their loyalty to their family that makes them this way not their "mean" spirit (which most do not have) just because a dog is big and used in movies and on TV as a mean dog doesn't mean that that's it purpose in life or it's actual breeding.

[Suze225]

I was scared to death of the 2 pound chihuahua my aunt owned as a little girl, but used to ride their German Shepherd and rottie around the yard. I think its just that big old mean dogs can do very severe damage, where little ankle biters don't do nearly as much damage.

I can't tell if Bella is in heat to be honest, her vulva has been a bit swollen for a couple of months, but have noticed NO blood. I think she is just maybe approaching her first heat. She is just coming up on 10 months, so would think any time now really.

[Suze225]

Meaning big old mean dogs a tad sarcastically, not seriously btw.

[RachelandSadie]

why don't you go ahead and fix him either way since that can and prob. will help aggression and i'd have Bella spayed as well. she's more than old enough to be spayed and you sure don't want to run the risk of her getting around your male and him killing her while he's trying to tie to her. also you don't want her to get loose and drive all the neighborhood dogs crazy or have an oooops litter of puppies.

[Suze225]

Yes, I have talked to my vet and she is ok with neutering him and said since he is older it could be a bit more taxing, but he will be fine. So we set up an appointment week after next.

Yes, I do plan on spaying Bella, but had a harrowing spaying experience with my female RR. So building up my courage to git r done so to speak. LOL