Any advice for a first time Rottweiler owner? Pupper is a female

Have you owned dogs before? Where'd you get her from? How old is she?

You need to teach these right away:
>basic obedience
>bite inhibition
>socialization

I'll respond with more in a moment.

>>18708367
Back. I had to relocate the sleeping kitten on my lap so I could type better. Here goes:

>basic obedience
Rottweilers are highly intelligent, eager learners, and can be very cooperative, however, their respect must be earned and their rank within the family established as soon as they get home. They are confident, natural born leaders, and feel no anxiety about stepping into a leadership role if they think there's a vacuum. You need to carry yourself with confidence, speak firmly, and be certain in your decisions.

Coinciding with bite inhibition, you should set the rules with your pup with "enforceable statements" (might be called something else, honestly). Basically, this means instead of telling your dog not to bite (or do whatever other undesirable behavior), you end the situation that they bite in, such as during play. Basically, play time ends if she bites you, rather than you chastising her then continuing to play with her despite her putting teeth on you. Strong-willed dogs like Rottweilers will challenge your authority by defying you when you tell them not to do things, so you're basically just removing the option to defy you and only letting them do things they want to do if they follow the rules.

She also needs to do something you want of her (like a trick) before she gets anything she wants, like food or a toy. Do not allow her to dictate what you do. Don't let her bolt out the door when you two go outside together. You go first, and she follows. She must walk at your side at all times, not lead you around from in front.

Here are the most essential commands. I promise she can learn these, even if young:
>sit
>down (don't teach this from a sitting position; lure her into a bowing pose... ass goes on the ground last; they lay down faster this way so it's better in case of an emergency)
>heel
>stay (do not call her to you to end the stay, you must walk back to her or else she'll anticipate exiting a stay while you're far away)
>drop it

>>18708397
You can use a clicker, but it's not necessary.

You can supposedly get faster reaction times from commands if you follow them with a visual cue (for example, you say "down" and then point at the ground). This is because dogs communicate more with body language than sounds. She'll associate the word with the gesture, which makes more sense to her as a physical communicator.

>socialization
Rottweilers are prone to aggression. This is fine and can be a useful trait, but it can't be allowed to run wild.

Dogs are particularly aggressive with unfamiliar things/things that they fear, so you need to expose her to lots of things while she's still young to prevent fearfulness. She has until about 4 months to soak up new experiences, and after that, it's difficult to get them to accept new things. Make sure these experiences are always positive.

She needs to meet other dogs, children, men, women, old people, black people, white people, people in wheelchairs, people wearing hats, etc. She needs to be exposed to as many textures, sounds, scents, and places as possible. Take her out in public. Take her on a hike. Let her splash in a lake. Bring her into a dog-friendly store, like Lowes or Home Depot. Have a friend of yours she hasn't met yet ring your doorbell and then come inside. She should be waiting patiently in her "place" (does not necessarily have to be her crate; it can be a mat near the door so she can watch). Make sure these experiences are always positive and immediately remove her from the situation if they're not.

I advise against dog parks because the dogs are rarely well-behaved, play-fighting primes them for actual fighting, and there's a risk of disease.

Enroll her in a a puppy obedience class. She can still get sick from this, but it's less likely. This will expose her to lots of different dogs.

>>18708421
>activities
Rottweilers are medium to high energy dogs and need lots of activity to keep their bodies and minds healthy. Here are some other things you can do with your Rottie:
>cart-pulling
>scent-tracking
>dock-diving
>urban herding/Treibball
>urban mushing
>agility
>lure-coursing
They're very versatile dogs, so take your pick with what sounds the most interesting and most feasible to you.

>corrections and additions to my other posts
Don't take your puppy to a puppy obedience class unless she has her most basic vaccines.

Don't physically punish your dog, yell at her, or otherwise behave in a threatening manner towards her.

Don't spay her while she's very young. It will fuck up her bone and joint development and put her at greater risk of hip displaysia.


Feed her at least twice a day, from a bowl on the floor, and don't her shortly before or shortly after exercise. Rottweilers are somewhat prone to bloat, which is when the ends of the stomach get twisted, trapping the natural gases produced in the stomach while digesting food. Bloat requires immediate surgery, costing between $1.5k and $3k. Even with treatment, about a quarter of dogs with bloat die.

You can also get her stomach stapled (gastropexy) when you take her in to get spayed to try to prevent bloat, but I don't have any experience with this. You'll need to research it on your own.

Buy her food specially formulated for large breed puppies. You can make food yourself with great results, but it's really expensive and hard to get the balance just right. Just buy a good brand. Make sure that it's high in the amino acid arginine or feed her food high in arginine on the side (mostly chicken and turkey). It's vital in brain development and puppies need more than adults.

I can't think of anything else. Ask me if you have any more questions.

I don't have any professional credentials, but I'm >>18706808

>>18708440
Honestly the only thing i have a problem with is that she wont stop is biting my legs

>>18708484
It wouldn't surprise me if Rotties are mouthy because they were originally droving dogs. If it's only at your legs and ankles, it might be because she's trying to herd you...?

Try to give her outlets for her mouthiness in the form of chew toys and games of tug-of-war. She should know both the "take it" and "drop it" commands for this. Don't give her bones or antlers. She might also be teething (it's coming up regardless), so give her a frozen wet rag to help alleviate the discomfort. If absolutely necessary, you can try telling her "no" in a stern voice.

Now is also a good time to teach her to accept brushing her teeth. You should also be touching her everywhere (with some obvious exceptions) to get her used to being handled by you.

>>18708440
Does your boyfriend do advanced obedience training with you?