Rottweiler?

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RichR

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Well after being awakened at 6 am to seven punks kicking in a rear basement door. I think its time to look into getting a dog that we have been wanting.Old faithful is too up in years to be worried.Not even a woof.We have had a few incidents latley the neighborhood in changing,not for the better.
Does any BITOGERS have any experience with these dogs?Good or bad please give you opinion.
We have distant friends who have one.We liked the dog during visits.They have small children(mine are late teens early 20's)and cats(so do we).The dog was great at parties.Did not have to be watched or put up.I know this is dependant on presonality sort of.
Guys I value your input on alot of subjects here and you as cyber friends.
Thank you
RichR
I need your thoughts
 
I have "heard" that they are great dogs. Having said this,I would only buy one of thses types of dogs from a REPUTABLE breeder. It would be the best "peace maker" you could buy. I had a German Sheppard until last spring. It had to be put down at age 13. I LOVE German Sheppards (except for the "tumble weeds" of hair). Anybody with a brain in their head wouldn't mess with either type of dog.
 
No expereince with Rotties but like Airbus, we are German Shepard owners forever. Our current one is the best guard dog I have ever seen. She starts woofing before the UPS man or ANYONE even gets to the portch to ring the bell etc. and she pinned our meter man against our house and would not let him leave the premisis without my intervention. A Rotty is probable more intimidating and perahps a better guard dog though but Shepards are like the SUV of dogs.
 
I have both Rotties and German Shepherds. Either dog makes a fine watchdog.

There are two breeds of rotties, actually: an American Rottweiler and the Roman (sometimes called "German") Rottweiler. The Romans are HUGE -- males will be 150+ lbs., females 100+. The American versions are quite a bit smaller. Either way, get a male puppy and have him neutered around 9 months. As they grow up, they'll come to consider the family as their "flock." And woe be the fool that threatens a family member.

Actually... you have to be a bit careful about that. Rotties can be a little too protective at times, and this is how a lot of "accidents" happen. Raise them properly, however, so that they respect and obey YOU, and you won't have any problems. I won't lie to you, though: Rotties are smart but extremely stubborn. They will periodically challenge your authority. It takes some patience and a very firm hand to end up with a dog that is properly socialized and trained.

A good rottie won't be cheap, but do buy from a reputable breeder. It's worth every penny.

Shepherds are easier to handle, but they can have the opposite problem -- a little too friendly with strangers. Still, though -- if someone came through your door in the middle of the night, they would do so at great risk to their personal safety.

You also need to understand that with either breed, your homeowner's insurance premiums WILL go up. You should find out by how much before you bring Killer home.
 
I like Shepherds too, I've had plenty. Great watchdogs and great dogs in general. I also had an Irish wolfhound. Big and fast, and loyal, but not a watchdog. But you don't want to be on their bad side when they decide to stir themselves. My tall girl imitated the 2 Shepherds, so when they got protective, so did she.
 
From Labman's hoard of dog material:

Finding a good breeder and purchasing a puppy that will make a good pet is very difficult. Almost nobody is intentionally breeding dogs to be nice pets. Most of your so called reputable breeders are breeding for show or something. They may say the puppies they don't keep for their purpose make great pets, but the truth is that the parents were selected for other than health and temperament. Often they keep the puppies in the kennel too long and they miss the important early socialization puppies need to live in the house with people.

Next are the disreputable breeders. They breed any 2 registered dogs they can lay a hold of looking only at the money they can make selling them to pet stores. Pet store puppies are easy to find, but difficult to socialize into nice pets, perhaps difficult to even keep alive. You will not get what you pay for at a pet store.

One of the best sources for dogs with a predictable personality is the rescue
dogs. These are dogs that lost their home, but were taken into a foster home
to be retrained as necessary and placed in the right home for them. You may
find a rescue near you starting at
http://www.akc.org/breeds/rescue.cfm

Go with the rescue. It will be a while until any puppy is old enough to do much. In the meantime, they are a lot of work. Check around, a rescue may have a Rott that just outgrew its home or the owner's insurance that is just what you want. Expect lots of questions. A good rescue will not let you have a dog if they think you are going to let it intimidate the innocent. the cost will be less than a puppy's first 6 month's vet bill.

Check Dobes too. Sweethearts until you cross them.

Plan to obedience train any dog you get, even if it already knows all of its commands. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/.
 
Great advice Labman!

It's kinda funny because one of our goldens is an excellent guard dog - until you notice how fast she is wagging her tail...She has a rather serious growl and a strong bark and will run the fence whenever somebody walks by our yard but ONLY because she wants to talk to them and *maybe* get petted. Nobody is going to sneak up on us as Luna's exuberance will spoil the suprise.

I don't worry about her biting, her licking OCD is actually a much greater problem...Our other golden Allie came from a breeder that is very concerned with health and temperament as well as breeding a "true" golden retriever as a reliable gun dog.

When I first visited her house I really couldn't believe it...it was MAYHEM and I felt sorry for the poor little puppies. Kids out of control, construction going on, dogs, dogs and MORE dogs and the same for CATS. What I have learned since then is that conditioned the puppies soooo well! Very, very few things startle or spook Allie and she has an OFA Excellent on her hips. We were very, very lucky to get her.

An excellent book is "Tricks of the Trade" by Pat Hastings. http://www.dogfolk.com/trickstrade_revised.htm

Good Luck!

Steve
 
Anatolian Shepherd

Happy Motoring All,

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Bugshu
 
Rotts don't bark like other watch dogs. They won't notify you or prevent the intruder from entering.
What they do is a deep growl, and by then it's too late for the unwanted entrant.
Even a poodle can make a good watch dog.
It depends on if you want warnings, or a dog that will tear someone apart.
 
Given my (limited) experience with Rottys, Alsatians, and Dobermans (Dobermen?) I'd never get any of those breeds (nor pigdog, pit-bull, bull-arab, etc). Ridgebacks I've not met a bad one...maybe not met bad owners.

I'm not in favour of a "guard-dog" per se, but one that gives me enoguh warning to a yard intrusion to be awake at the time.

My Parent's Jack Russel Terrier was great at allerting, and if he did misread the situation, we didn't have to pick up much in the way of body parts.
 
I don't know how much a dog could stop an intruder. Especially if they are armed.

My GSP is on it dog on it.
smile.gif
Any little sound and she's going nuts. She's really protective too, just doesn't attack or bite.

Anyhow, I like out setup, she goes nuts, and I pull the .357. It's a good combo.

Good luck with the Rotty, if they are trained right, it would almost be unstopable
 
quote:
Originally posted by labman:
From Labman's hoard of dog material:

Finding a good breeder and purchasing a puppy that will make a good pet is very difficult. Almost nobody is intentionally breeding dogs to be nice pets. Most of your so called reputable breeders are breeding for show or something. They may say the puppies they don't keep for their purpose make great pets, but the truth is that the parents were selected for other than health and temperament. Often they keep the puppies in the kennel too long and they miss the important early socialization puppies need to live in the house with people.
Click to expand...
This could be somewhat true, but also with a reputable breeder, you can check the entire line of dogs, they will also have references that you could follow up on. I met my breeder at a dog show in our local town of Virginia Beach. She had 3 dogs there and about 4 other dogs that were part of her line that was being shown as well. I got to talk with all of the owners and they were extremely happy.
 
If it were me, I would never own a Rottie. Big, and a likely insurance/legal problem if it ever did attack someone.

Go for something more unassuming. A large terrier, German short hair pointer (GSP), standard poodle, australia cattle dog, daschound. These are all good watch dogs, and you can find them with working dog lines from GOOD BREEDERS.

It's not the sight of the dog that scares people away, it's the barking.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Clement:
It's not the sight of the dog that scares people away, it's the barking.
Click to expand...
That's so true, I have 2 dogs, and one is an Italian pointer. She is never barks, and is always wagging her tail, even at strangers. You can tell she will never bit.

On the other hand the GSP will run up to someone with he hair standing on end on her back, and just let loose with the barking. It is very scary. Good stuff.
 
Go with a GS. They're smart enough and seek your praise enough to train themselves (almost). They can integrate what pleases you ..and what doesn't. We never had to do that "praise the good behavior and ignore the unwanted behavior" crap with them. Rotties, based on my BIL experience (he had his 140lb male Schutzen II trained - he was a cop), require too much dicaplined training. My GS (one was a GS marked Tevuran) guarded my wife like two bear traps ..but were very managable. I loved those dogs.

I like females.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Drew99GT:
A firearm with proper training can't be beat either. Remington 870 12 gauge with a pistol grip and a shorter barrel would be most excellent. You may have to do some drywall work if you ever had to discharge it in your home though!
Click to expand...
Thieves usually make sure that you are not at home and they love to steal firearms when they break in. They get you when nobody is home and want to steal your guns. Point is it only works when you're home. Home security and self protection are different.
 
What about a wolfspitz? They are loud enough to make intruders run off, they are nicely camouflaged in the dark with their grey-black fluffy fur and they jump and bite faster than a baddie can aim, latching onto his genitals like a starved, 60 lbs, very hairy piranha. A wolfspitz is n a s t y.
 
quote:
Originally posted by mechtech:
Rotts don't bark like other watch dogs. They won't notify you or prevent the intruder from entering.
What they do is a deep growl, and by then it's too late for the unwanted entrant.
Even a poodle can make a good watch dog.
It depends on if you want warnings, or a dog that will tear someone apart.
Click to expand...
Our neighbors have one. Her name is Anna. I never hear her bark and she is stealthy. She often scares you, just because you don't realize she's there. Good dog, though.

Good burglar alarm system might be the best bet. Dogs are useful, but I don't depend on them for home security. I might think about a home security system, it don't eat nuttin' and no vet bills.
 
A firearm with proper training can't be beat either. Remington 870 12 gauge with a pistol grip and a shorter barrel would be most excellent. You may have to do some drywall work if you ever had to discharge it in your home though!
 
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