one year old rottweiler biting

My rottweiler is just over a year old and he has now bitten her twice in the space of 2 weeks, although it has made her bleed it was just a tooth that punctured her skin, but she was in the garden and was helping put wood in the car and he run over to her and just bit her arm….

we are not sure what we can do to stop this and also we have noticed that he is getting worse with people who come into the house, he will let them stroke him but when they stop he bites them.

He is very well behaved otherwise, trained and also trained not to touch his food until he is told so, he listens very well but doesn’t seem to be doing so well with the stop biting.

Hi
I’m not really sure who your Rottweiler bit, but biting ANYONE is totally unacceptable.

Your Rottie is a ‘teenager’ and it sounds as though this is a dominance issue. He’s trying to figure out where he ‘fits’ in the family hierarchy and obviously feels he’s superior to whoever it is he’s biting.

Although he’s generally well-behaved and you say he’s trained (I’m assuming this means he knows his basic obedience commands?), this type of behavior absolutely can’t be tolerated as it’s dangerous – to both the person he’s biting (and he won’t stop at one person if he’s allowed to continue) and to himself. If he bites someone who makes a complaint against him, or he really hurts someone he will likely lose his life.

It’s entirely your responsibility to teach him that he must never put his teeth (or mouth even)on a human.

I’d strongly recommend you get some hands-on professional help with this situation because it sounds to me as though it’s on the borderline of being out of control. You need someone to show you how to deal with this ‘acting out’ and to recommend corrections that your pup will understand. Get in touch with a local dog trainer as soon as you can and explain the situation, they should be able to guide you.

One word of warning though – be sure to choose a trainer who is familiar with large, guardian breeds and who only uses positive, rewards-based training methods. I don’t think your pup is an aggressive dog, just an adolescent who is pushing the limits and hasn’t had all the guidance he needs in terms of behavior. Harsh or punitive training does not work with any dog, and with a Rottie it will make the situation much worse.

I hope you find someone to work with you and your pup soon so that this behavior can be corrected. Good luck.

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May 10, 2012

Good for you! NEW
by: Christopher Bayhi

Excellent! I would suggest that you allow the 9 year old to do the correction when feeding the treat and then the dog nips afterwards. Yes, a 9 year old can correct and even train a Rottie.

The dog won’t see the kids as superior if the adults are the only ones doing the correction. Both children MUST be supervised while interacting with the dog. The Adult can encourage the child to do the correction or give the dog some reinforcement of the correction. But to be “promoted” above the dog’s status in the family the child must participate in the corrrection at some point.

I have trained Rotties and GSDs for personal protection. The entire family, including young kids are ALL involved in handler training. I’ve had kids as young as 5 walking a Rottie nice and calm and then a simulated “bad guy” will try to snatch the kid. The kid gives the commands for the bite and the release.The parents are always amazed that a 5 year old can control a 140# Rottie!


May 10, 2012

BITING NEW
by: CAMERON

Thankyou for your help, my partner has had 2 rottweilers in the past but has never had this problem before and i am guessing because he never had our children then, we have found it hard to get the right information on how to deal with it correctly as we don’t agree with shouting or being aggressive towards dogs. We have had a week of good calm behaviour from our dog.
we were told to let the children one at a time to calmly feed him a treat and stroke him to get him use to the children and bond a relationship with them so i got my 9yr old to ask him to sit and take the treat gently and our dog (nico) was great with him but the minute my son had stop he jumped on him and nipped his hands and arms, so i told nico no biting and put him out for bad behaviour.

Although it is only my 5 year old daughter nico has for no reason just gone a bit her and one tooth has punctured the skin twice this is what we didn’t understand, but after reading comments and speaking to a person who helps people with rottweilers for 30 years. Now i know he isn’t aggressive and just needs appropriate training and correcting as he is so loving and sweet but minus the biting with my children mainly my daughter and strangers.

Thank you


May 09, 2012

obedience classes NEW
by: Anonymous

If this is your first puppy you have chosen a challenging one. rotts are exceptional dogs but like any big dog need consistent training. have you taken your pup to puppy kindergarden yet. check out dog whisper books and do you homework or you will have problems. as they say dogs always pay for out mistakes.


May 08, 2012

Some “No Bite” Tips Part 2 NEW
by: Christopher Bayhi

CONTINUED FROM PART 1

The next three corrections are ???last resort??? or ???severe case??? methods:

Mint breath freshener spray that you slip in your pocket can be used, but only with caution. Spray DIRECTLY in the mouth while saying ???No bite??? in a firm voice. If you spray the dog in the face, the spray could damage the eyes and nose because most contain alcohol. NEVER USE MACE ON A DOG WHILE TRAINING. Use only mint spray and only when absolutely needed!

In severe cases, you can put your thumb inside his/her mouth under his tongue, and your other finger under his chin. Hold it there for about 10 seconds and say firmly ???No bite???. NEVER do this while you are mad or upset, as you can easily dislocate/break the lower jaw! You may also increase the chance of being bit when you release the dog.

A pinch collar can be used in severe cases as well.

Always follow up by offering your hand for the dog to bite on again. If he/she turns their head and does not bite, pet the dog and give it some loving. If it bites or nip again, repeat the correction. Be consistent in the training and consult a professional if you don???t get results.


May 08, 2012

Some “No Bite” Tips Part 1 NEW
by: Christopher Bayhi

First, never hit or slap a puppy or dog. It???s natural for pups and teenage dogs to bite and nip. It starts in the whelping box fighting with siblings. Momma breaks it up when it gets out of hand and one pup is yelping. This is dog socialization between 4 and 8 weeks. The breeder helps reinforce mom???s actions by gently socializing the puppies to have a ???soft mouth??? meaning to bite gently on things they are only supposed to bite on. It continues, or should continue, after the new puppy is placed in its new home. This is ideally at 8 weeks of age and no sooner (IMHO as a COE breeder and trainer). Besides dominance, your dog may also be exhibiting its natural tendency to herd your daughter (I???m guessing it???s your daughter as your post wasn???t clear).

As far as the dominance, you can have your daughter hand feed the dog with an open palm like feeding a horse. This shows that she is the one controlling the food, and therefore she is higher on the ladder then he is. Think of a wolf pack eating a fresh kill. The Alpha ???allows??? certain members to eat first, followed by the older wolves, and then the younger ones get the scraps. To eat sooner the wolf must show its dominance and be ???promoted??? up the ladder. Hand feeding ???promotes??? the human over the dog.

Some things to try for the biting:
A firm ???NO??? when the bite happens followed IMMEDIATELY by redirection of the bite to a toy. Once the dog is biting the toy and won???t bite your hand, give it praise and may be a small piece of a treat. This does well for puppies but not so good for older dogs. Still worth a try since yours is only 12 months.

As soon as the dog bites you, YELP in a high pitch to simulate the yelp the puppy did in the whelping box, just before momma broke up the fun. Remove your hand (or whatever the dog is biting) from the dogs mouth. Give a firm ???NO??? and then turn your back on the dog and ignore him. This works especially well if the person ???scolding??? (ignoring) the dog is the primary Alpha.

As the dog bites, grab it by the scruff of the neck (not hard enough to hurt him/her) and shake the scruff for about 3 seconds. NEVER do this when you are angry. This simulates what momma would do in the whelping box if she had to break up a fight. This is NOT negative reinforcement like some people believe. This is the simulation of what naturally occurred when the dog was a puppy. It helps to use this technique and the ???Yelp??? technique above.

Teach your dog the ???Leave It??? command located here /free-puppy-training-tips.html

Use a spray bottle and squirt the dog in the face or mouth with PLAIN WATER while telling him/her ???No bite???. Some Rotties will get a kick out of this, others will be horrified and offended.

Coins in a coffee or soup can does wonders on some dogs and nothing for others. When the dog bites, shake the can vigorously and say in a firm voice ???No bite???! Some dogs hate the sound of coins or rocks being shaken in a tin can.


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My name is Dr. Winnie. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Duke University, a Masters of Science in Biology from St Georges University, and graduated from the University of Pretoria Veterinary School in South Africa. I have been an animal lover and owners all my life having owned a Rottweiler named Duke, a Pekingese named Athena and now a Bull Mastiff named George, also known as big G! I'm also an amateur equestrian and love working with horses. I'm a full-time Veterinarian in South Africa specializing in internal medicine for large breed dogs. I enjoy spending time with my husband, 2 kids and Big G in my free time. Author and Contribturor at SeniorTailWaggers, A Love of Rottweilers, DogsCatsPets and TheDogsBone