[MuddBabie]

I have recently acquired a 3 year old female rotty. Her old owner had to place her in a new home. She is a big sweetie and very spoiled. The problemI have run into with her is she is showing some aggressive behavior. I have 4 children and the neighbor kids are always here. Last nite she was playing with my son and she growled and snipped at him. I dont think she wanted to bite him, but her behavior scared him and me both. SHe is also after the cat constantly, the cat does fight back, but it worries me. Any information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.





Emmas Mommy

 

[barcurdan]

I can tell you that if he is spoiled as you say ... ( king of the castle ) he may never take a back seat to small children .... he is used to being the boss ( pack mentality ) rules ..... You may have a problem with trusting her alone with children .... And she DID mean to nip them or she wouldnt have done it ..... If your children do learn to resect that NIP they WILL get BIT .... And you cant blame either one the small child that doesnt understand or the Dog in a new surounding that also doesnt understand ...... could just be a problem for you later ....

Is there anyway you can foster the children out ?????


" good luck "

 

[rutylr]

Was she around cats and children before?


Again do you have a crate?If not get on.


Dogs do not know the difference between play and hurting,Never leave this or any dog alone with children.No matter how sweet ,they are dogs and dogs do what dogs do.


Do you think she will kill the cat if an oppertunity arrizes?A crate would help here also.


Donna

 

[MuddBabie]

I dont think she would kill the cat if she had the chance. She wants to play with her, and the cat swats and hisses at her. I may have to get a crate for her, i didnt really think about that since the last rotty i had we never crated. She was around kids and cats with her previous owner. He did take the time to socialize her and the male rotty he had.

 

[rutylr]

She needs to learn to respect your children,I think we descussed this somewhere else.


I will try to find it.


Donna

 

[Arcticcat]

Sounds like you got your hands full dog,cat, children. try not to leave the dog alone with the children they must be watched. I have a daughter that was bitten in the face from doing something that my mom taught her to do.Because daughter and dog were left alone she got bit and its wasent the dog fault. How old are the children? Dogs are pack members where a alpa male leads the rest follow there is a packing order. Do the childern assist with the care of the dog?Like helping you with daily walking of the dog if the children are old enough.I have found that alowing my daughter to controll the lead during a walk that to dog trusted her more.just like when you walk the dog you are in controll if not you might need to reestablish who is the alpha. Has the dog beento obediance training if not would sugest that you take her there. Tom

 

[MuddBabie]

My childrens ages are almost 4, 7, 9, and 10. The 7 and 9 year old live
with us full time, the other 2 visit regularly. My 2 do help with Emma.
they feed her, water her, and play with her outside. when i take emma
for a walk, they are usually with me also. i do let my 9 year old
walk her, the 7 year old isnt quite big enough. she is doing better
with them, and knock on wood, we have had no more incidents. she is
even starting to ignore the cat. i do not know if she has had previous
obedience training, but we have classes in the area starting soon, and
you can bet emma will be a student. when i am not home( i work
evenings) the kids are home for a short time by themselves and emma is
in her crate. there are rules posted that they are not allowed to take
her out if we arent home. they listen well, and emma is actually quite
happy for some "quiet time" in her crate. i will not leave my children
alone with her, there are to many risks, and as a parent, i wont take
that risk. my oldest stepdaughter was bitten by a dachsund when she was
4.

 

[Arcticcat]

My dogs also take a look at the cats if you watch them you can tell when they are getting ready to pounce.usually all you have to do is get there attn away from the cats and they forget all about them Ill say somthing to them or I break out with the acid rain as I call it (squirt bottle with nothing but good old water in it usually gets there attn. Tom

 

[MuddBabie]

em doesnt really try to pounce on friskey, she is more curious than
anything, she cocks her head at her when friskey hisses and growls. i
am going to invest in a squirt bottle just in case, ya never know. how
many rotts do you have? i have 1, and possibly doing rescuing another
one.

 

[Arcticcat]

I have three and every one of them know the bottle . Its funny funny how they dont mind getting there self wet but dont care for it when youthe one whos getting them wet. They all pretty much leave the cats alone now. Tom

 

[Kitty]

Hi Muddbabie, you might also want to try when feeding your dog before you put the food down eating a cracker or a cookie in front of them this instills the alfa roll ( you being the alfa ) in the pack. cause the alfa always eats first !!!!I have my childred at least acouple times a week also doing this , I never let food in the dish , I don't believe in grazing ... they get fed twice a day and if they don't eat it they miss a meal.... this doesn't happen very offen if I might add...my dogs also will ask for a snack and when they do I don't respond ( even though my Kitty will be persistant ) she is spoiled...I wait till they forget about it and then I will give thema snackagain controlling the food. This has helped me alot because I also have rescued and it tells them right off the bat that I am the boss !!! My Zeus is a rescue and he was 5 when I got him and he's 145 soaking wet so I had to have the control right away...he's now a mommys boy