[Rotte_101]

Every once in a while we will go over to my brother‘s house, he has a 140 pound Rottweiler. We all love the dogs so much, I but my four year old little girl is so scared of the Rottweiler. She doesn’t like to be in the same room with the dog unless I am holding her in my arms. And if the dog starts barking or stands up to move somewhere, my daughter runs to me begging to be picked up.

of course I pick her up and make sure my daughter feels safe, but why is my little girl so scared of this dog?

we have a border collie at home and she loves that dog, my brothers dog has done nothing to her, any help would be great, why is she so scared of my brothers Rottweiler?

 

[Camy]

Mate a 140lb Rottweiler and a Border Collie are pretty different in terms of stature and appearance. Maybe it's the barking, maybe to her it's just a huge black beast with a mouth bigger than her head!

Not sure what the solution is but i'd definitely respect your daughter's feelings on the matter and not try to force it. Maybe small interactions over time where the dog is nice and calm will let her learn not to be scared. She could throw the dog some treats and maybe build a wee relationship that way.

 

[big black dogs]

I don't blame your daughter to be frightened of a dog that is much bigger than her and barks very loud!! I agree with Camy...it could be just size difference? It could also be that the Rottweiler is intimidating to her?? Is the Rottweiler well trained? Does he know any tricks?? If he is well trained and trust worthy with a child....then get him to perform some tricks for your daughter, or go through a training routine such as "sit", "down", "stand" "stay" "come" "front", etc. She can give him treats for his performance...and once she is comfortable she can ask him to do some commands. My grandkids often got our Rottweilers to do tricks and played the "find it" game with them.

I would also discourage your daughter from running around the dog, and also being held by you. That can bring out the prey drive in a dog (any dog) and it may encourage the dog to chase her, or think it's some sort of prey you are holding.

 

[Rotte_101]

I don't blame your daughter to be frightened of a dog that is much bigger than her and barks very loud!! I agree with Camy...it could be just size difference? It could also be that the Rottweiler is intimidating to her?? Is the Rottweiler well trained? Does he know any tricks?? If he is well trained and trust worthy with a child....then get him to perform some tricks for your daughter, or go through a training routine such as "sit", "down", "stand" "stay" "come" "front", etc. She can give him treats for his performance...and once she is comfortable she can ask him to do some commands. My grandkids often got our Rottweilers to do tricks and played the "find it" game with them.

I would also discourage your daughter from running around the dog, and also being held by you. That can bring out the prey drive in a dog (any dog) and it may encourage the dog to chase her, or think it's some sort of prey you are holding.

How should I start with this? She doesn’t want to be near the dog unless I am holding her. I’m just not quite sure why she’s so scared of this dog when she loves our border collie.

When the dog does tricks, The dog gets very excited. Therefore, my daughter gets even more scared. So I’m not really sure where to start.

 

[big black dogs]

Then I suggest you don't take your daughter to visit your brother. I seems he has a 240 lb Mastiff and a 140 lb Rottweiler?? Maybe not the place for your 4 year old child to visit??

 

[big black dogs]

Looks like it's summer vacation and the kids are out of school. The OP is making the rounds on other dog forums asking the same question.