Rottweiler a good Christmas present for young children/certain circumstances?

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My mom is panicked (and truth be told I’m a bit worried too). My soon to be ex-SIL (divorce is in process) decided it would be a good idea to get a Rottweiler as a pet. Now I have heard a lot of negative things about the breed –some positive ones as well. Now here is the situation with this particular family.

3 girls – one college aged moved out; one middle schooler very sweet temperate, calm, great with animals. The wild card – the little one 5 years old and although smart and as cute as can be – a living monster. She is uncontrollable – she throws fits and screams when she doesn’t get her way, her parents allow her do whatever she wants, she isn’t even potty trained yet. She may be (hard to know the truth with the mom and dad) slightly autistic. Not sure as her parents (especially her dad) allows her to control everything. She has been around my small dog who that is very well trained him. And he even loses patience with her as she will continue to put her face in his and pick him up and chase him and so forth.

Family background with previous dog – they previously had a boxer. Sweet dog, but high energy and hard for them to train – the dog would only listen to my brother. They used to crate the dog frequently and the darn dog would manage to eat his way out of the crate and even break out of metal crates. They ended giving the dog away because they could not control him and he had too much energy.

What I’ve read of the breed – on the positive side he is not high energy, negative this breed needs an owner who is strong minded, calm, but firm and able to handle this dog’s massive size; This breed needs a lot of leadership and socialization. It will not be happy confined to a kennel or backyard. I honestly don’t think given the family history and especially with my brother being not in this house is a disaster waiting to happen. It seems to me this sort of breed needs a strong leader/trainer.

Not that I can do anything about it – but what are your thoughts?

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@Linkat,

Rottweilers are like pit bulls. If treated nicely and fairly when they're pups (not abused) they are as safe as any other breed. Neither infamous breed holds a monopoly on aggressive behavior in dogs. Neither breed deserves the reputation they presently hold.

Since I worked almost 8 years at a dog kennel in NYC, I have seen many very passive rottweilers that were afraid of their own shadows and were so passive a sneeze from an ant would send them cowering to under a table (if they could first fit and admittedly they don't). Shocked

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@tsarstepan,

I've seen a Bichon Frise terrorize a full grown rottweiler for no reason at all and all that rottweiler did was look gloomy, sullen, and heartbroken.

And Bichon frises are dainter/goofier then poodles. They're the size of moderate sized Malteses.

http://animal-world.com/dogs/Non-Sporting-Dog-Breeds/images/BichonFriseWDN_Ap6D.jpg

I ask you, "Would you be scared of this dog?"

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@tsarstepan,

I agree of the right dog with the right owner thus my comment in the heading regarding circumstances. My concern is this family is not known to train a dog appropiately.

I think sometimes people get all uptight that certain breeds are dangerous/should be not owned at all they get extremely defensive without reading what the real concern is...

I had a neighbor once that owned a pit bull. As a puppy he was so cute and friendly - even as an adult he was. However, the owner although not mean or anything to the dog, just did not train it well and could not control the dog. He would pull her around on his leash and break free and did not listen to her. She was loving to the dog, very loving. One day he broke free from her and bit an elderly neighbor. She was simply not the right owner for such a breed.

My concern is my ex-SIL is similar. She plans to crate the dog regularly (what I've read this is not a good idea for such a breed); she is not a strong and consistent trainer of a dog - which again is not ideal for this type of breed from what I read. What I've read is this breed needs a strong leader of the pack, socializing and consistent training and would be a great family pet as a result.

My concern is - this family has shown with owning a boxer previously, they did not do the above and had to give the boxer away as a result. A very strong dog that shows it feels no pain, under the circumstances - could he be dangerous to a little girl that is high maintenance herself?

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@Linkat,

Linkat wrote:

My concern is my ex-SIL is similar. She plans to crate the dog regularly

That's not a good idea for a small dog, let alone a monster sized dog like rottweiler. They're going to turn the dog neurotic/psychotic as it becomes stir crazy from sitting still even in the largest of crates for long periods at a time.

Quote:

My concern is - this family has shown with owning a boxer previously, they did not do the above and had to give the boxer away as a result.

This family doesn't seem capable of owning and taking care of a teacup Yorkie even if that dog took itself for walks, gave itself baths, fed itself, took itself to the vets, etc....

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@tsarstepan,

http://www.petfinder.com/images/breeds/dog/1570.jpg

This breed also (most it weighs is 18 pounds) also looks harmless, but if not trained appropriately can be very mean and protective. It requires consistent strong leadership of the pack and socialization or else will bite and be very very protective of his family. I know people who use this breed as a guard dog because of its protective nature.

I know this as I own one. He is the most sweet baby and wimpy thing. But we trained him as a puppy - it wasn't easy and took some time and consistency. When people see him, they fall in love with him and want to know what breed he is - I let them know this is not for a first time dog owner and requires someone willing to train them correctly.

So yes breed does matter in temperment and the right owner for the breed is very important.

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@tsarstepan,

Yes I agree. I feel for the pet, but am also worried with someone that does not really know how to care for a dog, this could not only be a disaster for the dog, but for the children.

One thing to get bitten - which is bad enough, but the bigger and stronger the dog (whatever breed), the worse the outcome of the bite will be.

I honestly hope she learns while the dog is young he is too much work and ends up giving it up to someone who will care for correctly.

And the last time the gave up a dog, the middle girl was so upset not good all the way around.

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@Linkat,

She doesn't sound like the right kind of person for any dog, really.

I personally would not have such a powerful breed around little children.

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Killer breeds like Dobs, Rotts and pitbulls etc are like unexploded bombs waiting to go off.. Smile

Tick..tick...tick...tick

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/danger-uxb_zpscfe59ff4.jpg~original

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@Romeo Fabulini,

Without proper training and socialization any dog is like an unexploded bomb. The trouble with powerful breeds is that they can do a lot of damage in no time at all.

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@boomerang,

boomerang wrote:

Without proper training and socialization any dog is like an unexploded bomb. The trouble with powerful breeds is that they can do a lot of damage in no time at all.

Ditto that. Especially if the person in charge of the large dog doesn't have the strength or know how to handle such a large dog.

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@boomerang,

And the other thing it is harder to stop them and control them. A smaller breed even being more mean is easier for you to control (ie you can hold them with a leash and is less likely to break free of you simply because of the strength difference). and to stop. You only need to grap them - whereas a larger breed can pull you down the street on their leash if they get it in their mind to do and easily break free of you.

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@Linkat,

Ive found rotty's to be excessively doofusy(which is good for a family). They are not nearly as intense and as aggressive as a Staffordshire or a pit bull. They can be intimidating by their size but remember (95%) is still in the hands of the master to socialize the dog. Ive seen really gretzy kids manhandle a rotty and the damned thing would sit their patiently and then lick the kid like its her(or his) own.

Rotty's can be a perfect pack dog but they tend to hoover up the groceries. We had a few and they were just gorgeous family dogs.

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@farmerman,

a coupla dogs I would NOT recommend for families are those of the terrier breeds and a few others

Staffordshire terriers, Bull terriers, American Pit bulls, Tosa Inus,Presa canaries. Dogo ARgentinos,cane corsos and, believe it or not GERMAN SHEPHERDS. the overbreeding of German Sheps (and in some cases St Bernards) has resulted in a dog with many medical problems (dysplasia, kidney ailments, deafness, etc) and, they've become biters.

Ill bet, in the US, there are more attacks by german Sheps than pit bulls.

We have all these damned puppy mills that are progenating genetic some of these antisocial animals.
Still, by most standards of just pure devotion and pack identity, a mutt is your best companion.

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I was raised with large dogs in the family of mixed breeds and the only problem my parents face was the need to restrains the dogs before they could slap my rear end when I misbehavior.

I never even question that all our dogs would had lay their lives down to defend me as a child.

In fact as a adult visiting my family, a neighbor of their, at the time, went to hit one of his own kids and I needed to catch the family dog as she was in mid air headed for him.

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@Linkat,

I'd kinda feel bad for the dog, actually.

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Curious as I have heard mixed things about this breed - I have heard them laid back and also mean. But the one thing is this dog is on the list of "bad" dogs as far as insurance.

I know people who have complained that they either have to pay through the nose for home insurance if they have a Rott or the insurance company will not insure them.

I also have heard how devoted they are. Maybe that is one of the problems. If the dog is so protective, it can be dangerous for anyone visiting. The dog could take any movement by a visitor as threatening an attack.

I do think some people really should research the breed they interested in and fully know what they are getting into before getting a pet of any type.

1 Reply

@Linkat,

Rotties can be fabulous therapy dogs. A lot of hospitals really like having them on the roster.

but ...

to get into the program the dogs have to be really well-trained.

Rotties need good training, tremendous consistency by their owners and owners that know how to work with dogs.

I love the rotties I know, but I wouldn't want to put a rottie in a situation with an inadequate owner/trainer. It could lead to trouble for everyone.

I'm with Jes, I feel bad for the dog in your SIL's home.

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@Linkat,

oh - and pets are never a good idea as a gift

good breeders do not sell animals around the holidays at all

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@ehBeth,

Quote:

oh - and pets are never a good idea as a gift

My lord you finally make a statement I can agree with..........a million monkeys typing on a million old fashion typewriters and who can guess what will be type.

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Rottweiler a good Christmas present for young children/certain circumstances?

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