New Home Defense

BB, he's adorable!!!

He'll make you a great guard dog. My BIL had one and they are VERY protective, especially of the one they bond with the most, which caused a problem with his wife. I would recommend that your wife spend time with him as much as possible. She should take him for walks as well.

Bear makes my Min Pin, Thunder look silly!!! LOL!!  Ironically, my BIL named hsm Rott Bear too! Must be a popular name for such a breed.  

United we stand: Divided we fall
www.flunewsnetwork.com

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by: cottontop @ Sun Oct 26, 2008 at 13:18:26 PM UTC

HA! Speaking of bonding...

DW has already bonded with the li'l guy. He has a case of selective hearing...she can call or whistle, and he runs right over to her. I call and whistle and jump up and down and make noise, and he walks right past me. LOL!!!

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by: Bronco Bill @ Sun Oct 26, 2008 at 14:06:55 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Early warning system.

Bronco Bill,

 He is adorable. Will be a great early warning system for when someone is near the property.

 As a detterent and possiblly defense not bad.

 If you find anything interesting or counter-intuative about his preps do post.

Kobie

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by: Kobie @ Sun Oct 26, 2008 at 13:48:38 PM UTC

What will you do if he does kill one of your cats? n/t

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by: ssal @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 00:18:05 AM UTC

Well....

It all depends....

So far, he's pretty much ignored them. They make a lot more noise than he does when they're all in the room together. In fact, by now, all three cats should be just about completely deflated, considering all the hissing they've been doing!! LOL!!
But honestly....he really does just ignore them. OTOH---he's young.

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by: Bronco Bill @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 03:02:00 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It'll take more than a year...

... for him to look like the picture. The Rott with whom I share accommodations is 22 months. He's probably as tall as he'll get but I think he's still got a bit more filling out to do. He's currently around 120 lbs. (Yeah, he's a big 'un. Comes from a line of working dogs - mainly herding horses.) They're generally not full grown 'til 2 years and aren't really mature until 3. Certainly there's still a lot of puppy in the way this one behaves. I often refer to him as "the horse who thinks he's a puppy." I also sometimes call him The Wookie in reference to the range of noises he can make. They can be very vocal dogs.

I doubt Bear will be eating your cats. Like all dogs, Rotts are pack animals and they're very loyal to the pack. If he comes to regard the cats as part of the family then it will be his duty to protect them too.

This is the third Rott I've known well and they've all been very intelligent. That's a blessing and a curse sometimes.

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by: pogge @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 00:38:20 AM UTC

Too Cute

I love Rotts. They're very smart dogs and very loyal, I understand.

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by: tjclaw1 @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 00:41:49 AM UTC

Nice choice

Bill he is beautiful! Rottweillers grow into handsome dogs and loyal protectors. Enjoy the exercise!

"When the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a one can be again."

- William Beebe, 1906

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by: Poppy @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 00:54:47 AM UTC

BB, he's adorable!

Bear's going to be gorgeous!  Have you seen the children's picture-books about Carl [the Rottweiler]?  They're for very young children (and me :-D ).

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 01:57:47 AM UTC

Good Dog, Carl is one of the children's books.

I think they're delightful!

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Dog...

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 23:09:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

definitely the best home defense

What an adorable pup!  

BB I came to the same conclusion about home defense 2 years ago.  I now have a very noisy Westie and a gentle but massive (at approx 140lb) English Mastiff.  Mastiffs have a reputation for being gentle giants and I must tell you that she absolutely lives up to that name.  When I moved house, which took over a week, every day, the moving company people would not even come in the front door until they made very sure the dogs were secured behind kitchen doors.  It was the FIRST thing they ask every day, even after some of them got a little friendly with the dogs after the first couple of days.  And that was before she's fully grown!

More than once, we've had delivery people saying they're not sticking around to find out whether our dogs are as friendly as we promised.  ;-D

And if I ever had any doubts about my big massive drooling baby being able to defend me, they were totally dispelled the first time the dogs brought home their first hunting trophy - a fully grown and very dead bunny rabbit, on a day when everyone was out.  Of course they were too well trained to have done that while we were home - they would probably have come in to 'ask'!  LOL  



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

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by: SusanC @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 08:27:16 AM UTC

I remember when you got her, Susan!

The puppy pic was great!  I'm guessing she grew pretty quickly!
I originally wanted either a Neopolitan or American Mastiff, but figured a Rottie would suffice. Also, Mastiffs eat a tremendous amount of food, and I simply don't have the storage space for barrels and barrels of dry food.

That is funny about the bunny!!  Probably a very well-trained "terrorist" bunny, sneaking through the brush and terrorizing the newly sprouted carrots in the veggie patch!

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by: Bronco Bill @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 14:01:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

yeah we have lots of rabbits

Although the numbers have gone down recently, apparently cos we now have a resident fox at the end of our garden!  LOL



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

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by: SusanC @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 17:19:00 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Awww!

He is sooo adorable! Look at those sweet eyes!  :-)

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by: WhiteSwan @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 20:56:23 PM UTC

One coment on their health

They have one problem in late life (6 + years),it involves their back legs and hips.  They can pop them out of joint just by jumping down from a sofa.  So make sure you have them on a very good dog food. It will pay for itself later in life.

Had two when I was very young.

RICH-FL

  No warning - no way to fight - no way to win!  
We need help in our local communities to survive. Remember that quote:    "...No man is an island..."

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by: RICHARD-FL @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 22:28:15 PM UTC

Thanks, Richard-FL

We just got back from the vet, and she's had 3 of the critters! She told us the same thing, that their back legs, as they get older, are their weakest point. We picked up some high-grade name food at the pet store on Saturday, and actually guessed right!! She highly recommended we stick with the brand as he gets older, 'cuz it'll keep his bones and joints strong.

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by: Bronco Bill @ Mon Oct 27, 2008 at 23:14:06 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

another thing that may help

I know it definitely helps with Mastiffs, is to pay attention to their bedding, as they get older and heavier.  I use a hammock, like this http://www.abetterabode.com/pe...  What this does is it provides even pressure on their joints as they sleep.

I give Jessie Omega 3 oils, tripe (which is somehow also good for them, no one can say why), and am very careful with her jumping off anything, but I swear the biggest difference is getting that hammock.

I also put an old bedding underneath the hammock, to give some insulation from the cold floor.  

You probably won't need it just yet, but I would suggest getting it as soon as he's grown to near full size.  Cos the thing about joints, is the day-to-day wear and tear over the years that add up to cause damage, and it's better to start protecting them early.



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

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by: SusanC @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 00:31:11 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Oh BB! Congrats on your new fur baby!

Not only a wise safety choice (who isn't afraid of a Rotweiler?!) but snuggle up to him on a cold winter's night and you won't need heat!  

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by: LauraB @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 00:55:22 AM UTC

Thanks LauraB!! But...

I was always told that's what DW is for!! ;-0

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by: Bronco Bill @ Tue Oct 28, 2008 at 08:57:41 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

New Home Defense

Rottweillers make great pets and protectors, having raised and bread them. They are a strong dog and the males have very dominant personalities when it comes to being the Top Dog among others. They need as much constant loving attention and discipline as any child and they will grow up to be big lovable babies around you and your friends etc., but are very intimidating if strangers come calling when you are not there. They are not a dog to buy and then cast aside or let them take care of themselves. Otherwise, you will eventually have a lawsuit on your hands or worse, the police.

Thanks

Dan

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by: Danscampini @ Fri Oct 31, 2008 at 19:31:18 PM UTC