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Hey Dakka,

As the title suggests, would you? I've been offered an 18 month old bitch Rottwieler. I have a real soft spot for much maligned Dog breeds, including Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Doberman Pinschers, however, this one made me think. I havnt owned a dog for many moons now, and that was a Golden Retriever! I have a lot of family friends come round and they invariably bring Thier young spawn with them. The ages range from 9 months to 7 years old.
Now this dog has been socialised well and has all the basic training available here in the UK, I've known the dogs mother for years and she is one of the most friendly animals I've ever met, I've done a lot of research and all of this has led me to one conclusion.... I'm not sure.

The Rott has been offered to me because the owner just can't cope. She already has 3 Rotts and a fourth is proving too much. I can take this dog, she can come with me to work, which is surrounded by empty fields, so Excersise isn't a problem. The manager runs a pet friendly Nursing Home, so no worries on that score either. I guess what this boils down too is, what are they like to live with day to day? I love my mates dogs, but I only have to spend a few hours a week with them.

Has anyone on this dog loving site ever had one of these regal looking dogs? Or had a family member with one? I'm an absolute sucker for dogs, and this is driving me mad!
The wife has tentatively agreed, so I have a green light on that front too....
Thanks in advance for any advice Dakka!

Best dog I ever had in my life. Incredibly smart, loyal as could be, tough as nails (literally ran over by a car, and she got up and walked it off like nothing happened), and will fight to the death to protect her family (the eventual reason we lost her).

You just need to make sure she is coming from a good home, because yes they are an extremely powerful dog that can inflict great harm. While I believe that they are no more capable of being "bad" than any other breed, once they do go "bad" they become incredibly dangerous.

I'd also make sure you made sure to get to know her before just taking her. Let her get used to you, so the transition is easier when you do eventually take her. And you also need to be ready to be firm with her. You have to establish dominance. Furthermore, your whole family (if you have one) will have to as well. They have a need for a strong social order in their family, and it is important that they understand that they are at the bottom of it.

Owning a Rottweiller is not the same as getting a Golden Retriever, or Labrador Retrievers, or other easy family friendly dogs. It can be challenging, and is not for everyone, but the rewards are entirely worth it.

Do you mean trust them considering their reputation as evil hell hounds aligned with the devil. Well that's all bs. Rottwieler's can be nasty but so can any dog if it's not trained properly.

Just keep it on a leash when walking and such. If a rottweiler came running at me I'd shoot it without hesitating.

EDIT: I was raised around big dobermans and such. If you treat them properly, but make sure they are leashed and otherwise enclosed properly, AND TREAT THEM LIKE JUST A BIG DOG AND NOT A GANGSTA EGO EXTENSION then you should be good. Remember, like most big dogs they have a tendency to hip problems.

I don't have a fear of well trained Rottweilers. Here in the states their big fad kind of came and went, and a lot of the overbreeding seems to have faded IIRC.
However pit bulls can be very twitchy and turn unexpectedly. They also have an incredible instinct to get out and roam. Combined with their physical characteristics, this is a bad combo. Combined with poor training (again the GANGSTA EGO EXTENSION) and its a poorly controlled weapon.

So long as the dog was trained, not beaten with sticks or the like and doesn't have any nuts you're probably good to go. The last one you're already know isn't an issue, so it's just a matter if you trust them on the first too.

My wife and I disagree on this, but I believe there is no such thing as a bad dog, ever. She, having worked at a vets for many years, maintains some dogs are born with a mean streak and cannot be reformed, no matter the skill of the trainer.

We both agree there is absolutely no such thing as a bad breed, but certain attributes have been bred into certain breeds, rotts are, in my experience, quiet but strong, the boys can be edgy and need to be kept in line through dominance training but the girls tend to be very dependable.

My mates rocky recently passed away and she was as soft as cotton candy. Never once bit me despite me being quite rough with her. I used to put my hand in her mouth, grip her jaw and wrestle her to the floor, Secretly I think she liked being dominated

No such thing as bad dogs just bad owners.

You can PM me if you want to talk more about it. I've got first hand experience with them, and I've been doing a ton of research into them lately, because I've been wondering about having them around my young children.

Of course I'd trust a Rottweiler. I wouldn't own one because they require a time and energy commitment I don't wish to expect - I'm more of a Bulldog man - but there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.

I have a Yorkshire terrior, and that thing is more ferocious then the Rott across the street.
Its just how th are raised and treated.
My old chihuahua bit me when i got him, but i loved him and he stopped once he realised that no one was going to hurt him anymore(he came from an abusive home)
So yes, While Rotts have a bad rep, if you raise them they are good.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
I have a Yorkshire terrior, and that thing is more ferocious then the Rott across the street.
Its just how th are raised and treated.
My old chihuahua bit me when i got him, but i loved him and he stopped once he realised that no one was going to hurt him anymore(he came from an abusive home)
So yes, While Rotts have a bad rep, if you raise them they are good.

If you put your foot between TBone and where he wants to go, he will snarl ferociously and bite your foot. If you're just wearing socks you'll feel it. It used to be you could laugh but now you have to be careful and fast and put your hands at his sides when he does it because sometimes he gets wobbly. Its still horribly funny though.

Strangely, if he gets excited and "runs" somewhere and Rodney is there first he will do the same to Rodney, who will bug out like a bee's trying to sting him.

 djones520 wrote:
Best dog I ever had in my life. Incredibly smart, loyal as could be, tough as nails (literally ran over by a car, and she got up and walked it off like nothing happened), and will fight to the death to protect her family (the eventual reason we lost her).

You just need to make sure she is coming from a good home, because yes they are an extremely powerful dog that can inflict great harm. While I believe that they are no more capable of being "bad" than any other breed, once they do go "bad" they become incredibly dangerous.

I'd also make sure you made sure to get to know her before just taking her. Let her get used to you, so the transition is easier when you do eventually take her. And you also need to be ready to be firm with her. You have to establish dominance. Furthermore, your whole family (if you have one) will have to as well. They have a need for a strong social order in their family, and it is important that they understand that they are at the bottom of it.

Owning a Rottweiller is not the same as getting a Golden Retriever, or Labrador Retrievers, or other easy family friendly dogs. It can be challenging, and is not for everyone, but the rewards are entirely worth it.

1000x this. Having owned dogs all my life, big and small, I never had more fun with or trusted a dog more than my rot. Few things funnier than watching a 105lb rot stick it's nose into its water bowl and blow bubbles to amuse itself.

It's usually a good sign if the mother was a happy and balanced dog.

Yes. I worked in dog grooming for 5 years and they are great dogs from what I saw. Some of them can definitely be intimidating though.

Proper training, and more importantly socializing, is the key. While they are no more likely to be nasty than other breeds, once they go they're gone.

They do have a natural agressive streak, and are better equipped than others to do damage. Thats why its important the dog knows who is its family.

As long as you conduct proper training and are nice to her, she'll be an excellent guard dog. The best guard dog isn't one thats been trained to attack every living thing that comes near it, its one that knows its owners as its packmates and has a strong bond. That is what will make that dog fight to the death to protect you.

Jeez... Rotts get a bad rap...

They're animals, if they they don't come from good owners, like any dogs they can be dangerous.

However, some of the best dogs I've ever been around are Rotts and Mutt-Lambs...

They both seems to have great sense of humour.

My mother in law has a bear of a Rottie, and yes I trust him. He's an absolute sweetheart to everyone, and very tolerant of my two year old niece.
But the last time a coyote tried to get to the cows all you could pick up was fur and tatters of flesh.
In sum: wonderful dogs.

 whembly wrote:


They both seems to have great sense of humour.

What kind of jokes do dogs tell?

I think he means they laugh at good jokes.

 Grey Templar wrote:
Proper training, and more importantly socializing, is the key. While they are no more likely to be nasty than other breeds, once they go they're gone.

Isn't that the case with most dogs though? Once they get a taste for human blood they'll attack us.

Would I ever trust someone else's Rottweiler? Hell no.

Would I ever trust a Rottweiler that I trained personally? Absolutely!

Rottweilers are a lot like Dobermans, in that they must be trained very carefully, and they must always know who is in charge at all times. One of the easiest mistakes dog owners make with breeds like these is allowing the dog to believe that it "owns" anything. You will have problems if you do.

However, if you train the dog to know that it is always you that is in charge, and that everything is yours, then they are a fantastic breed.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Cheesecat wrote:

 Grey Templar wrote:
Proper training, and more importantly socializing, is the key. While they are no more likely to be nasty than other breeds, once they go they're gone.

Isn't that the case with most dogs though? Once they get a taste for human blood they'll attack us.

No. They're not lions. That's not how it works with non-feral dogs.

 Frazzled wrote:
Just keep it on a leash when walking and such. If a rottweiler came running at me I'd shoot it without hesitating.

Now I remember why I blocked this guy..... not the sharpest tool in the shed.

OP, some of the nicest most gentle dogs I have ever met were rotts. They are great dogs.

Bangbangboom wrote:No such thing as bad dogs just bad owners.

No, there are bad dogs. Afghan Hounds are so dumb it is almost impossible to train them, and Bulldogs are "bad" dogs in the sense that they have been bred to all be born genetically defective. They can be well-behaved, sure (although they're not much smarter than the Afghan Hounds) but they are "bad" dogs in the sense that the AMC Gremlin was a "bad" car.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

nectarprime wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Just keep it on a leash when walking and such. If a rottweiler came running at me I'd shoot it without hesitating.

Now I remember why I blocked this guy..... not the sharpest tool in the shed.

OP, some of the nicest most gentle dogs I have ever met were rotts. They are great dogs.

I would, too, if I walked around carrying firearms. If a dog is charging at me and I don't know why, I'm not going to risk the chance of a 300+ pounds of force bite.

 nectarprime wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Just keep it on a leash when walking and such. If a rottweiler came running at me I'd shoot it without hesitating.

Now I remember why I blocked this guy..... not the sharpest tool in the shed.

OP, some of the nicest most gentle dogs I have ever met were rotts. They are great dogs.

Mind you I've had a neighbor's rottweiler try to attack me. Mind you also, a 120lb animal running at you with teeth is a potentially lethal threat under the law.
As long as your animal is controlled, I don't care. That animal gets off the leash and comes at me or mind its gone.

 azazel the cat wrote:

Bangbangboom wrote:No such thing as bad dogs just bad owners.

No, there are bad dogs. Afghan Hounds are so dumb it is almost impossible to train them, and Bulldogs are "bad" dogs in the sense that they have been bred to all be born genetically defective. They can be well-behaved, sure (although they're not much smarter than the Afghan Hounds) but they are "bad" dogs in the sense that the AMC Gremlin was a "bad" car.

stupid =/= bad

One of the best dogs I ever had was a Rott. I only had him for 2 years when I was 7-9 but he would let me walk him and was a great dog. And an incredible and disciplined guard dog. When I walked him he was a model of doggy kind. The worst anyone got was a slight growl if they got within 5 feet of me when I was walking him because he was protective.

Overall, great dogs if trained right. Just like any large and powerful dog.

 nectarprime wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Just keep it on a leash when walking and such. If a rottweiler came running at me I'd shoot it without hesitating.

Now I remember why I blocked this guy..... not the sharpest tool in the shed.

So you're saying that if you had a means to defend yourself from a potential deadly animal attack, you wouldn't?

Mattman154 wrote:

 nectarprime wrote:

 Frazzled wrote:
Just keep it on a leash when walking and such. If a rottweiler came running at me I'd shoot it without hesitating.

Now I remember why I blocked this guy..... not the sharpest tool in the shed.

So you're saying that if you had a means to defend yourself from a potential deadly animal attack, you wouldn't?

So you're saying that if you saw any dog running towards you, you would pull put a gun and attempt to shoot a moving target, potentially endangering innocent people around you?

Would I trust one?...Hell, I love them, I owned one and so did my Mother and they were two of the best dogs I've ever interacted with.

 Frazzled wrote:
Mind you also, a 120lb animal running at you with teeth is a potentially lethal threat under the law.

Are you sure it's "the law"? Are you sure it's not just a thing you made up, right now, on the spot?