Getting a Rottweiler, Male or female?

Your getting it fixed right? If you want protection and a close companion female is the way to go. Very protective.

female definatly

Just ask dig420 about my rottie sasha

She was the best dog ever

Everyone is just going to tell you whatever kinda dog they have or have had..

But ask yourself: Whose going to do the dishes?

True but i know theres tons of rott owners on gfy from past threads, and they would know wich ones are more friendlier, cheerfull, protective, energetic, etc

agree

I have three Rottweilers. 2 females and a male.

The male is by far more friendly and a big clown. The females warm up to people eventually but tend to be louder in terms of barking at people. They all have a very high prey drive. If something is running, they are going to be chasing it.

Make sure you know what you're getting in to. This is a high maintenance breed of dog. Food is expensive, and big Rottweilers, especially males tend to have problems with "hot spots", especially on cheap foods. Hips and knees (Cruciate ligament) can be a problem, and are expensive to fix. A bad knee could easily run up to $5000, depending on which surgery you choose.

These dogs are highly social and a male dog will be pushy if you let him be. Have you ever had dogs before?

They're wonderful companions but they're a massive responsibility. See, you have to be sure that your dog won't be out wandering on the street by its self, ever. These dogs like to chase things and that can include children. It's not they want to kill children, it's just something making a lot of noise and running should probably at least be knocked down and inspected for play potential. Will you have a proper, secure fence? If not, expect to drop a few thousand on fencing.

If after all this you still think this is a good choice you can do one of two things:

1) Get a rescue dog. Find the local rescue for the breed, see what they have available. I urge you to try this route, but you won't likely get a puppy this way.

2) If you absolutely have to have a puppy, get a registered breeder that is breeding with parents that have certified hips. They've been inspected and classified as acceptable. This is important, you do NOT want hip problems. Feel free to ask your local rescue if they can suggest a good breeder.

good post

#1 is the best way to go. Save a rottie.

Yes, I have rescues. They've been very expensive.

I just checked the vet today where I buy their food (Eukanuba Response FP for skin care), the medicines for one dog and take them for emergency visits when my sister who is a Vet is not available. From July1st 2007 until present - $3400 Canadian.

I miss my cocker spaniel.. so friendly

wow, ya ive never had a dog before but i know i have to be extreamly dominant when near the rott

Males have a better disposition.

shemale .

Not exactly. I mean I guess in the simplest form you have to seem dominant, but you don't have to enforce that all the time.

Do you own your own house? Are you in your early or mid 20s? If you have to rent, Rottweiler's will make it rally tough.

This is a huge responsibility, and if you don't train and socialize a Rottweiler right, you can end up with a disaster on your hands.

If you do decide to get one, make sure you take it to obedience school. Both you and the dog have to learn how to behave properly. It's not very expensive for group classes and you'll thank me for it later.

all this im not worried about

its the hip issues

the book im reading even says that most guard dogs have hip issues and like you said, it can get costly

my choice..one of both. I had a male and female at once and watched them become a team. Zues the male was the thinker, smart enough to get in trouble most of the time. Bella, she was the task master, and babysitter. She would actually growl if the male even looked up onto the dinner table when I wasn't watching.

WarChild has given you very good advice. If you do get a puppy make sure you buy a book called Before and After Getting Your Puppy by Dr. Ian Dunbar. Dunbar is the godfather of dog training.

Also, if you've never had a dog before... I do not recommend a Rottweiller. This is not the right dog for a first time dog owner. Lots of Rottweillers end up in shelters because their owners never learned how to train them.

How big of a place will you have? Are you going to have a backyard?

What difference does that make? Most dogs, especially younger ones, need a good half hour walk EVERY day or they get frustrated and bored and start to act up. You could own a castle and the dog could still end up with behavorial issues. It all comes down to how responsible and good of a leader the owner is.

That's our Rottweiler "Tush". This pic is when she was a puppy, she's now almost 2 years old.

Great dog, very active, very protective and very outgoing. They just need strict training, and need to learn their "role" in the household. They are pack dogs and need to learn where they stand. We got her at a puppy, but taught her very quickly that I was the leader of the house.

She learned that as the leader of the house that I get to eat first, I get to play with her toys whenever I want, and I walk through the door first, etc. As she got about 6 months old she loved to bite when playing, which had to be corrected.

We hired a trainer and brought her to the dog park 3-4 times a week to socialize with other dogs since she was a puppy which is very important to socialize with other dogs and people.

She learned that if she wants a treat she has to sit down. There is no jumping, no going on furniture. When someone comes into the house the first time she knows to sit down and wait to be greeted by them. When its time to eat she has to sit and wait for us to give her permission to eat and we can take her food away at any time and there is no growling. As long as you are consistent with the rules they learn fast.

She bit both myself and my wife when she was a puppy, but with proper corrections she learned that its not allowed. (we had to bite her back, and she learned very fast that when she bit us she would get bitten back.) She stopped biting within a week.

We crate trained her, and she continues to sleep in her cage every night. Very smart dog, she was potty trained within 3 days. And never had a poop accident in the house. Maybe 3-4 pee accidents during the first 6 months but after that no problem.

They are very curious and love to check things out. Garbage cans, toilet bowls, tissues, etc, they will get into mischief easily. If they see anything "run" animal, people, remote control toys their instinct is to chase after it. So its proper to always have them leashed outside.

But with proper training she has become a member of the family. Extremely protective of the house and our family. She let's us know when someone is at our house. Females are also on the smaller size, she's about 90lbs which makes her easier to control, as males can get up to 150lbs.

I was told that females are more gentle and more social. We also had her fixed when she was a puppy which they said would help with aggression. Overall I'd highly recommend a female as long as you have the time and dedication.

The most important thing to remember is no matter how socialized and trained they are, they are still animals, and still have natural instincts. But with the proper training they can be excellent pets.

I have a almost 5 yr old male rott
he is the BEST

it truly doesn't matter what you get as long as you train and socialize them properly

if you have other males - maybe get a female
less chance of challenge in the future

here is my boy....



http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...jody/deez2.jpg

is it true for the first 7 or so months, im not alowed to make the dog run? it causes the joints to be all fucked up in the future?

I totally agree with you in all you have said

My dog blew both crutiate ligaments, 4 months apart - 10k total!!
He used to get hot spots, but i have him on a raw diet now - he hasn't one since.

I would tend to stay away from the rescues unless you know what you're doing with dogs. Most rescues come from abusive and unstable worlds. Takes the know how to reverse the damage imo

and one last note....
to the above comment of having them leashed outside the house...

I hardly ever have my dog leashed - i take him hiking, to the beach, to parks etc..
he is very well trained and listens to me all the time
he will NOT chase people or anything running.

its all how you train them - i did serious outdoor training with him on long lines, so that he could be an off leash dog

I'm not in the market for a dog, but what a great thread - very informative.

Going by pugs, which are by no means Rotties (which I love) here's what I've found:

The males are MUCH more loyal. They are also impossible to potty train. Both my neutered males still feel the need to mark everything. But they will follow me to the ends off the earth and protect their spot next to me.

The females, while not as loyal towards me are VERY protective of the house. They both bark at strangers, moving cars, dogs/animals on TV, etc. They were also a total breeze to housetrain.

Another interesting thing is that my 12 year old male has always been the alpha dog. When he would get sick, my 3 year older female (I've had them both for 10 years) would immediately take advantage of his "sickness" and try to exert more power. Now that his hind legs are failing him and he humps the other dogs by using them as a way to hold himself up (too funny to watch), I've noticed my 2.5 year old female start to try to take over the alpha dog position. This leads to much teeth gashing and such.

YMMV

but all big dogs are prone to having their legs break down on them no?

larger dogs are more prone to hip and elbow displasia
def go with a breeder who will provide xrays from the pups parents and one generation past that.

as far as the knees go - there are certain breeds whose angle of their joint / knee puts them at a larger risk to have the tearing of the ligament, rottweilers are one of these breeds. when my dog had the surgery, they actually saw the bone to reangle the knee - since the surgeries, he has been perfect - total nut running around like a pullp, but it did cost 10k

ohhhh....
i also highly recommend getting pet insurance!!
10k, got me 8k reimbursements

rotties are also fine in an apartment, without a backyard or anything, as long as yiou give them an hour a day of a walk, take them for a drive with you - anything so long as they're being mentally and physically stimulated

if u have any other questions - my pleasure
and its GREAT that you're doing the research first - makes for a responsible dog owner

Geez. Biting a dog back won't teach them much other than to be scared of you. This would be considered inhumane by most dog trainers. Did you tell your trainer you did this?

One needs to practice bite inhibition when their puppy is young. You do this by practicing play biting. You play with your dog and when the pup bites too hard, you yell "Ouch!" They learn bite inhibition this way.

AGREED!!!!

my dog has never bit anyone - ever!!
i have never physically dominated him either

Warchild pretty much hit the nail on the head. Just do a ton of research. From my experience males tend to be more dominant then females but that can vary from dog to dog. You really need to know what you are getting into before jumping into this breed.

I have 2 males. My one just turned 13 in July (old for a rott). He was a very dominant male through his younger years. Now hes just relaxing in his golden years.

My other male pictured below is less dominant, a great watch dog, and a real sweet heart. He just turned 7 on New Years.

Good luck with your decision.

True but having a backyard helps when you aim for a big dog like a Rott.

yeah i have a decent sized backyard and a few big rooms

Walrus, we didn't bite her hard at all...It was more of a you nip us, we nip you back. Just how a puppies mother would train her. Our trainer taught us to do that. He said the yelling "ouch" would just get a reaction out of the puppy and she would think it was a reward for biting. So if we got bit, yelling ouch would just stimulate the puppy to bite again. A puppy "nip" which our trainer called it would teach her the same way her parents taught her. And this was when she was a puppy, and she learned within a week and hasn't bit anyone in a year and half since then.

Rotties are very intelligent and great dogs. Very loving and caring. And tons of energy. I'd definitely make sure you have plenty of room for them to run around and play. Just need to be strict and teach them when they are young and you will end up with a great companion.

Great POST! I couldn't have said it better. I had 2 males, only one now, lot smy other 2 yrs ago to cancer his last month cost me about 5k in vet bills. The one I still have has been on meds for his hips last 2+ yrs @ about 100$ a month. _If_ I ever get dogs again they will be Rotts, but they don't make a good first dog.

Only Male!!

This might be a dumb question, but it's an honest one. Why not get a gentler breed?

Females are protective, but they tend to be a little more lazy too, and spaying is more expensive and a pain in the butt than neutering, depends on what you want. Males tend to be great and playful companions, tho you have to watch Rotties have a tendancy of having a lot of stomach/digestion problems. Make sure to work out a good diet with the vet.

9 1/2 cockerspaniel.. he was the most friendly dog.. would go outside without a leash.. very protective over small kids

Only problem is they live only 10-12 years and lots of problems with his ears.. always full of wax and infections

He was also over weight.. loved to eat :P

One thing I cannot stress enough - USE A GOOD DOGFOOD! I personally use NutroMax but there are plenty of others out there are much better than whatever you can grab off your grocery store shelf.

Definitely a female. We are picking ours up on the 12th from the breeder. I can't wait. I have had several friends have females and they were great around kids, etc.

My male Rottweiler is the most gentle dog I've ever had. Trumping labs and an assortment of other dogs.

One of fraternity brothers had 2 male Rottweilers that lived with us.

One was an American and the other a German strain of the breed.

Both of them were great dogs. I would recommend them to anyone.

post pics when you get it