How Safe Is A Rotweiler Dog With Children In The House?
Nov.23, 2009 in
Dog
We are getting a female rotweiler puppy and I understand that their nature varies from lovable to extremely ferocious. We actually need a good guard dog for the house but am worried if our 2 children (2 1/2 years and 8 months) may be safe around the dog. We have had a lot of dogs (ranging from alsatian, doberman, etc.) as household pets always having at least 2 at a time but the rotweiler will be a new breed for the first time in the house.
November 23rd, 2009 at 5:12 am
An important thing to keep in mind with any dog, is that dogs and children should NEVER NEVER NEVER be unsupervised when together. This can lead to bad things even with the best dog in the world.
Provided that you supervise your children’s interactions with the dog, and teach them how to behave appropriately, and train the dog to behave appropraitely with the children, you should have no problems. I’ve known many Rotties who were excellent with children, including mine who is the biggest sweet heart on the planet.
Make sure to take some training classes while the puppy is an adolescent (from 6 months to 2 years), and spend some time training it every day (it only takes 5 minutes a day). Also, make sure you use positive training methods. Most Rotties are big softies and can’t stand to be corrected harshly.
Oh, and give the dog tons of exercise, and teach it “Go Wild and Freeze” (very important game for dogs that will be around kids, link below). All the training ideas on this webpage are wonderful.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:57 am
as long as the dog is trained and likes children.
November 23rd, 2009 at 4:27 pm
We have a Rottweiler named Zena. She’s the sweetest dog ever. She loves people. When she sees them she does what we call the “Zena dance” in which she wags her whole rear half since she doesn’t really have a tail. She love kids. Don’t let the media scare you. Well bred Rotties are excellent dogs.
November 23rd, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Since your dog will be raised with children you’ll probably be fine.
Do NOT train for guarding, do not use a shock collar on her. Those things are good ways to create an aggressive dog.
Use positive reinforcement training methods and train her throughout her life and you’ll end up with a lovely pet, I’ll wager!
Rotties are quite sweet when raised well.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:03 am
Rotties are just like Dobies when it comes to personality Just remember TO ASSOCIATE the puppy with the kids early and often, teach the kids to respect the dog ‘play nice” And as a puppy, you should be with it when you feed it, and get him used to you being close with him as he feeds, even take the food away for a second to show him you’re the boss. And lastly, when you play with the puppy, put him on his back and pin him several times to show him dominance.
Rotties are GREAT with kids! These tips will just help in his temperment around the family. Good luck!
November 24th, 2009 at 6:33 am
omg, my friend had a rott that was the biggest baby in the entire world! yeah, they wanted a watch dog too, but he was more likely to lick people to death than to bite or mawl anyone. it all depends on how they are raise by you. if you raise any dog to be mean and vicious, well, it will be mean and vicious. if it is raised with love and care, you will get that back in rewards.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
The dog is perfectly safe, the kids, maybe not. Seriously, dogs are pack animals and you have to make sure that the dog views the children as alpha dogs, otherwise, if they get too close to his food or otherwise seem to challenge the dog in any way, the dog may attack. Entire books have been written on the subject. Get with the googling.
November 24th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
If I had any concerns at all about it I personally wouldn’t do it. I spend too much time worrying that something might happen even if it might not.
November 24th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
My rottie is 7 years old and I have 4 year old twins. She was my first baby! She is very sweet loving and gentle and smart! I house trained this dog in 2 weeks! I have never had another dog like her ever she is the best dog I have ever had. What I did with her was just spend so much time with her as a pup. I didn’t play ruff or allow anyone to play ruff with her we played with tennis balls and she had toys and some stuffed animals she played with but I didn’t do the pulling and jerking ropes with her or anything that would teach her to be violent or aggressive. They are huge and with any animal big or small they have teeth so I watch her with my kids I never leave them alone together. She has bonded with them as if she has known them her entire life. She is the best dog the only problem I remember having with her was the raw hide bones they are NOT good for this breed trust me we had digestive issues with vet bills to prove it and she seemed to eat them until the were gone so don’t geve it any bones or any I mean ANY table food we never gave ours table food and I can eat a steak in front of her drop it in the floor and she doesn’t beg for food I love a dog that doens’t beg for food! She don’t know it is food we gave milk bones for treats while training her. She knows several commands and tricks! Hope this helps they really are the best dogs I have ever had! I just found out mine is going blind today she has a genetic disorder that is caused from people over breeding there dogs it is progressive retnal atrophy so if you take here in for her shots ask about the common stuff with them! Enjoy her she will be the most memeorable dog you ever own.
November 25th, 2009 at 3:46 am
The dog will be a product of it’s surroundings, no matter the breed. My brother has bred rotties for many years and never had a single problem with the dogs, kids, or neighbors. It’s name was Hubcap, pretty cool, huh?
November 25th, 2009 at 5:47 am
Well raise the dog up right and be careful what you get. Meaning do your research make sure to get a puppy from non aggressive parents and make sure when u are bringing it up to never treat it badly.
November 25th, 2009 at 10:23 am
if its a puppy just keep it around the children at all times it will learn to love people i have had lots and if you have another dog that like the children the other dog will teach it to love the children forcefully!
November 25th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Rottweilers are wonderful dogs, especially when raised around children (and other dogs).
I always preferred the males though, they always seemed like bigger cuddlebugs.
November 25th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
My rotts have always been wonderful around children because thats the way they were trained. Its in the breed but its more about the training. My rotts have always been natural guard dogs, they protect us because they want to, not because they’ve been taught. The kids at this age can hurt the dog without meaning to and the puppy can and will do the same. You have to always always watch them together. Treat the dog the same way you would a pool. You’d never leave your children near the pool to use the bathroom or answer the phone, so dont do it with the puppy, for the kids and the puppy. Once she is about a year old she will know better than to get too rough and will understand if the kids hurt her accidentally, but any time before that you need to watch them. Everything will be fine. You’re going to love her and she will love you but not half as much as she’s gonna love the kids.
November 25th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
My rottweiller is fine around shildren and he weighs 175 lbs and is barely ever around kids……worst thing he does is knock em down and lick em to death
November 26th, 2009 at 2:56 am
Let me start by saying… You do NOT put puppies on their back and hold them down til they submit… This is ridiculous advice.. Always remember, Aggression builds Aggression.. Dominating like this, especially when there is no reason to, is going to build aggression. If you have this idea, please don’t get a Rottie or Doberman, Shepherd or any other large breed of dog at all.
Rotties are like other breeds and need good socialization, with people, kids, noises, situations, etc. Anything that you want the dog to think is good and normal, and accept easily, you socialize them to that. Having two kids you would spend alot of time socializing your puppy to kids.
You also do not allow or encourage aggressive play, no tug of war, no chase games, nothing like that.
If you buy a Rottie, buy from a good breeder, one that will spend the time to make sure that you get the right dog for your situation.. Don’t choose the first puppy that comes to you, that is Outgoing, and Courageous, Alpha… This isn’t the dog you want. YOu want the dog that is middle of the road, and very FORGIVING. Not a dog that will hold a grudge.
You also want to make sure that you also teach your kids to respect animals. When puppy is sleeping, let him sleep, no tail pulling, no eye poking.. No teaching it to jump up, eat out of the cereal bowl, etc..
Teach your kids that they go out the door first, then the dog, don’t share their dinner with the dog… Don’t let the dog sleep on their beds, Makes them into littermates, rather than owner / pet…
Take obedience classes as a family, so that the dog learns that he /she must listen to the kids just as much as he has to listen to you.
Make sure that the dog gets lots of good exercise, so that he doesn’t get bored.
This goes with any breed of dog, not just big dogs, all dogs should be socialized, respected, given rules and trained. Rottweilers aren’t any different than Dobermans really, they are heavier, and can be more head strong sometimes, but generally they are fairly similiar. The Doberman I think is a cleaner dog, smarter, easier to train, and doesn’t quite fall back to
pack instinct as quickly as the Rottweiler does.. But my breed of choice, I am going to be a little prejudiced
November 26th, 2009 at 6:27 am
Rottweilers are very family oriented, when they know that your kids are in the family, they will guard them. That’s their job
November 26th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Rotts are great with kids and are naturally protective of it family and house. Enjoy.