by Loretta
(Ontario)
I have waited over 20 years to get my first Rottweiler puppy, now someone is raining on my parade. Is it true that if the roof of the mouth of a Rottweiler isn’t black she/he will turn out vicious?
My puppy, Karma, is just shy of 2 months old. Although she responds to my commands rather well, she doesn’t respond to my husband, and son, as good. She is rather clumsy, and unstable on her legs, or when she turns her head.
A friend of mine, who works in a pet store, told me that I need to get rid of Karma before I get too attached. Because with all these flaws she will turn vicious when she matures. She said any breed of dog with a non-black mouth roof will turn vicious.
I’ve only had my precious puppy for a week, but I am in love with her already. I’ll never forget the moment my husband brought this gorgeous bundle of fur to me. I was in tears seeing this little bear cub with a purple ribbon around her. Now a week later I’m told my dream of having a Rottweiler from a puppy, has just gone up in smoke.
Please tell me this isn;t true. I refuse to have a vicious dog in my home, especially of this breed. If this is true I would prefer to give her back now, before something does happen. An attack from my precious little girl would re-instill the fear I once had for this breed. As well as mar my 6 year old sons thoughts of Rottweilers.
I love this animal, and would wait another 20 years to raise one. Which is why I am asking now, so I don’t go the rest of my life without my dream breed.
Hi Loretta
I can most definitely put your mind at rest on this point – the color of the pigment in your pups mouth has absolutely NOTHING to do with her temperament or personality!! Ideally you want to see the lips, gums and roof of the mouth being black, but that is determined by genes and heredity. It’s a purely cosmetic thing.
Your Karma is a gorgeous girl and there’s no reason at all to believe that she will be aggressive in any way. As you’ve been waiting a long time for your Rottweiler I’m sure you’ve done a lot of research and understand this breed. You may want to make sure that you also read the pages on my site that talk about this breed, their temperament/personality and so on, start with these….
You may also find it interesting to read my Are Rottweilers Dangerous.
This is a wonderful breed, I have 6 children myself and have had Rottweilers as part of the family for a long, long time. Properly bred and raised Rotties are the perfect dog in my opinion. Unfortunately there is a wealth of inaccurate, sensationalistic, and downright dumb (sorry, but it’s true) information out there that is perpetuated by people unfamiliar with the breed. This sort of situation is what results and it makes my blood boil! Your friend may work in a petstore but she’s being extremely irresponsible, in my opinion, to share such ridiculous theories.
Karma is barely two months old, a tiny baby, yet she is already responding to your commands and bonding with you. She is doing just great. Make sure to involve your husband and children in her care on a regular basis as it’s important that she bonds with them too and realizes that they are also ‘in charge’.
Rottweiler puppies are the most adorable thing in the world, but like many large and giant breed pups they can be extremely clumsy. They’re heavy and big boned, with big feet and heads, and often fall over themselves, run into things and so on. That’s perfectly normal and nothing to worry about at all. Just make sure she doesn’t hurt herself and ‘puppy proof’ your home and yard as much as possible.
I’d also suggest you check out my Your Rottweiler Puppy and Taking Care of A Puppy pages as they will get you off on the right foot.
If you were once afraid of Rottweilers for whatever reason, be careful not to allow this fear to subconsciously affect the way you view or respond to your puppy. She’s simply a baby dog, not a baby ‘vicious animal’ , however she IS very intelligent and intuitive and all that she needs to feel from you is love, pride and faith/confidence in her.
If you’ve ‘done your homework’ on the breed and are devoted to raising and owning your own Rottie, then have faith in your decision, remember that YOU know the facts and don’t listen to nonsense from others less knowledgeable than yourself (even if they are well-meaning).
Raising any puppy is time consuming, challenging, tiring and can be frustrating too at times. Just remember that Karma is like any other puppy and don’t be tempted to have your judgment of her behavior/stages or anything else colored by the fact that she’s a Rottweiler. She’s simply a baby dog that needs love, attention, discipline, training, socialization and to be part of your family. If you keep that in mind I’m sure everything is going to work out fine.
I hope this helps and wish you the very best of luck with that beautiful puppy of yours.