Asser dominance, leave the room, or distract with treat with crazed nipping?

I have a quick question concerning our 9 week-old Rottweiler puppy. He
is our second Rottweiler, but I can't remember if we had to deal with
this issue the first time around.

Amy Dahl...

I don't have experience with Rottweilers specifically, but I do have
a breed known for its "dominance," potential brattiness and taking-
over issues, and have raised a number of puppies.

Most of the time, Meeko is a gentle, playful pup. He still tries to
mouth and nip, but it is decreasing.

Amy Dahl...

Good. It sounds as though you're on the right track with the puppy
biting.

The issue I have is that sometimes when we try to discipline him for
something, he goes nuts, barks, and tries to nip at the item in
question:

Two examples.

1) I am sitting on the couch and he wants to get up. He jumps up with
his front paws. I say NO!, OFF! I give him a quick second to see if
he will respond, and when he doesn't, I push him down. This causes him
to become incensed (not agressive, in my opinion, just spoiled
brat-like). He will bark, keep jumping up, and nip at the couch or my
leg.

2) Same idea as above, just with trying to jump up on me while I am
doing something on the floor.

diddy...

Take him to obedience school You need a lot more structure than newsgroups
offers. It's not HIM. It's YOU. He's doing normal puppy stuff. You have a
BIG dominant dog, that needs a clueful owner. You obtain those clues at
doggy school. If these are problems that you consider problems (I do too,
but wouldn't allow them to happen) then Get to dog school at once.

My question is, should I try to control the "testing craziness" by say
NO! and putting him on his back until he calms, or should I leave the
room?

Amy Dahl...

My way of dealing with this is to avoid the issue. I feel that on the
whole it is counterproductive to "discipline" a puppy at this age. In
general I try to avoid "contention" of any kind. I do this by
manipulating the situation so that either the unwanted behavior doesn't
occur, or I am in position to deal with it decisively.

If I sit on the floor, my puppies will jump up on me, and pushing them
off will accomplish nothing. I don't sit on the floor with puppies at
large. I stand up. I bend over to pet them, pick them up to pet them,
scoop them up with one hand under their chest, their hind feet still on
the floor, and pet them. I withhold petting/attention if they put their
paws on me.

My suggestion for the couch is similar. If you don't have a good solution

that works in the situation, avoid the situation. You might sit in a
chair,
pick your puppy up, and hold him on your lap. When you are finished,
you could either crate him, or give him the option of playing *without*
trying to get on the couch, by crating him the moment he starts to jump
up. No admonishment, no fanfare, just a quick trip to the crate.

Reminding you again that I do not have Rottweilers, I would consider
the behavior you describe normal and acceptable in a puppy. They're
oriented to have a playful response. In general, they don't take "pushing

away" as communicating that they should get away--they take it more
as a tease: "come and get me!"

I find that if I don't create the circumstances for repetition of
unwanted puppy behavior, it falls away without need for punishment
as the puppy grows beyond that stage.

diddy...

Put him in a crate. GAME OVER. TIME OUT. DON'T LET HIM DO THAT

I thought perhaps that that I could distract him with a treat or toy,
but I am worried that in his eyes, he has won and gotten a game or
treat for his naughtiness.

pfoley...

==========
You are doing the right thing in signing this pup up for obedience lessons.
You will most likely have to keep the dog in the class for up to a year.
Rottweiler pups are very difficult to handle. They get into everything and
require a lot of patience. This breed does not fully mature until four or
five years of age. This is my very favorite breed of dog. My Rottweiler is
a female and is approximately four years old. I adopted her from a
Rottweiler rescue group two years ago. This is also my second Rottweiler.
Was your first Rottie a pup when you got it? I just think they are the
best. I prefer to get the older Rottweilers, rather than the pups for the
above reasons. But, lessons starting at a young age and continuing through
for about a year are very important, if you hope to have control over the
dog as it grows and develops into a powerhouse of a dog. When looking to
adopt a new Rottweiler I looked at a couple of large males, that were not
trained, and those dogs just walked me around wherever they wanted to go. I
had no control over them, and both of these dogs were good natured dogs;
good thing. So, you see why it so important that they be trained early. I
am not sure this would work, but as far as jumping up on you, maybe you
could try putting a leash on the pup and when he starts to jump on you or
the furniture while holding the end of the leash step on the leash to pull
him down and give the command "off". This was a method someone taught me to
train the dog to go to the down position, which I thought was a great idea.
But in your case you are not going for the down position just the off
position; he does not have to lie down. I suppose if you are sitting, you
could just grab the leash and pull it down. When I first got my dog, I was
told to tie a leash around my waist and wherever I went the dog went. It
was a good way to teach the dog what she could do and not do by keeping an
eye on her all the time, while she acclimated herself to the household, and
of course keeping an eye that she did not mess in the house, which never did
happen. I only did that for a couple of days, though. It's was not much
fun.
I would never reward the dog with a treat when you give a command of
obedience. The command is something that the dog should do because it is
expected of him and because you told him to do it. He should do it out of
respect for you; not for a treat. I give my dog treats, but not after I
give the dog a command. Keep us informed how you make out with your new
Rottie.

Agility...

The simple fact is that dogs repeat behaviors that are rewarding.
Rewarding with a treat does not mean the dog won't respect you, it
doesn't mean you are bribing the dog (which be showing the dog the
treat first to get him to obey). Respect comes through good and
consistent training, not because of the type of reward you use or don't
use. Nothing wrong with using what is most rewarding for that to teach
him what you want. That does not mean you need to carry treats or have
to have a treat on you forever either.

Amy Dahl...

I doubt he has the sophistication to comprehend his behavior as
"naughtiness." If you allow it to be repeated often enough, and
inadvertently reward it, it could continue beyond this developmental
stage and be a problem. If you take a few common-sense measures
to avoid reinforcing it, I think you'll find your puppy outgrows it
without any struggle or contentiousness.

Amy Dahl

diddy...

Well stated. On the mark

diddy...

If that's what you think, you probably are right. STOP IT