hello my name is john homer and i have a 5 yr old female roti i adopted her from the mspca she had flunked the plastic arm feeding routine and i felt that they might put her down so i rescued her.she i great walking,seeing people,other dogs etc.but when i give her a bone she growls and even snaps at me she hasent actually bit me but she is 100 lbs and i dont want to get bit.it appears that she has had no formal training at all i spoke with a trainer for e collar training and that would be 800 for 4 lessons.so what im looking is some help on what i should do wether to train her for obedience first and then the e collar any help would be appreciated thanks jh

For now, Don't give her any bones. Why risk it. Have you read the ground work articles? There are a lot of very knowlegable people on here who will give better advice than I ever could, but...no bones

same with my dogs. If any toy/bone becomes an issue, it goes away.
Bart has a favorite carcass(de-stuffed animal) that he can only have alone. I used to let him have it whenever, but he would fight anyone and anything over it. It went away, and i now use it for training.
The groundwork dvd is a life saver. An e-collar is great, but i would try the groundwork dvd AND tthe e-collar dvd before you start training, and do it wrong.
The growling over the bone seems like part of a bigger issue, and just slapping an e-collar on without doing groundwork won't really help.
If you go to this trainer, make sure you ask exactly what e-collar method he uses, etc.

Thinking about this, from all I have learned, it seems an e-collar is not the way to go right now. If this dog is being agressive, an e-collar can increase the agression. You need groundwork bad, obedience work and a dominant dog collar. If you haven't already done it, read all the e-books and articles on this site. They are gold.

Wow. So kudos for rescuing her, but I have to ask, how much experience with dogs, and especially aggressive ones? I really mean no offence, but it will help people who give you advice to know a little more...

Stay away from the e-collar for now. It can cause aggression if used improperly. You are on the right track by working on OB first. But even before that, you need to do some major Pack Structure Training . I would follow it to the T, especially in this case. You can do some positive OB work after.

And for goodness sakes, don’t feed her like that for now. That will come after you have established a lot of trust and her understanding of your leadership. Feed her in a crate and walk away. There is not a good reason to mess with a dog when they are eating and especially a food aggressive dog.

Good luck, and again, thanks for rescuing!!!

thanks jessica for the reply i should have been more specific.she shows the agression when i try to yake the bones away just playing with her.like i said no manners at all begging for food,taking the cats food,jumping up on the counters for food.i have always had doge mostly a gsd but never had to deal with agression.when i try to putx drops in her ears she growls and nips open for any sugestions to put me in the right direction thanks john

first, probably shouldnt take the bone away, is it neccesary? Ive seen from different posts in the forum, that in wolf pack structure (and from my own pack) that even the Alpha dog wont take food back from a lower member. of course pack structure and training are a must.

It sounds like you have your hands full!!!

Read this book (click the blue wording). It is EXACTLY what you need. Based on your description, she has very little respect and thinks that she is in charge. IF you follow ALL of the advice in the book it will get you in control and respected.

Now, when I say all the rules I mean that. Some may not sound fun, or easy, but THEY WORK!! She is a big and powerful animal that is set in her ways. It will take a lot of work, but you have the ability and the dedication to do it. You adopted a known aggressive, adult Rott! Not many would do that.

It could take weeks or months to get where you need to be, but both of you will be happier for it. She may not look like she likes it at first, but all dogs and especially dominant dogs, are ultimately happier when they know where they stand in the “pack” and don’t have to fight and work for it all the time; they will calm down and relax. Like a kid with rules, they hate them, but thrive with them in place.

So in short, get her a crate, and get to reading!!

i agree not to bother her food - if she's eating, i'd respect that as her time.

i adopted a dog w/some dominance and aggression issues. she's been a lot of work (worth it of course) and things are really going better lately.

i agree a crate is key. it's a safe place for your dog, their den, so to speak, and it's also a tool to introduce the dog into your home, the rythms, expected behaviour, etc.

the groundwork articles/dvds are GREAT. also, i just got the pack structure video, and while i haven't gotten to see the whole thing (long story about how dvd players hate me), it is SO GOOD. the 10 minutes i saw have really really made a huge difference in teagan's behaviour.

i don't blame you at all for not wanting to get bitten. it took teagan biting me after about 2 weeks in my home for me to realize i needed to step back, and move slower with groundwork and pack structure. there's no reason to rush w/your dog.

my best advice, since it sounds like your dog is challenging you, is own EVERYTHING. teagan bit me b/c i picked up a toy that she had stopped playing with, but that was in front of her. i thought b/c i gave her the toy to play with, that i was adequately controlling the situation, but i wasn't. toys had to become mine, i played with her with MY toys and i decided when I wanted to stop playing with MY toys. teagan owns nothing in this house but her crate (and i'm not sure i'd say she 'owns' it, but it is her space).

honestly, it's made a big difference.

also, are you keeping your dog tethered to you? i would do this, especially since she's new. a dog tethered won't be able to get up on counters and do other things she shouldn't. it allows you to easily set expectations for her behaviour.

the best thing i got from the pack structure video, and it goes with using a crate - dogs earn time out of the crate. and they earn it by being calm and well-behaved. if they stop being calm and well-behaved, the consequence is they lose the privlege of being out. freedoms are a privlege the dogs have to earn.

i'm assuming your dog is dominant - but even if she's fearful and snapping at you b/c of that - structure will help so much. it's helped teagan, and friends of mine have recently started instituting it with their really not dominant dog who was allowed to take control, bite 4 people, sent 3 to the hospital - they given him structure, he knows what's expected, and he is a different dog. your dog is still pretty new to you, so don't rush. set out expectations she can meet, she'll grow for doing so and it'll really help to build your relationship and bond.

otherwise, the only thing i can think to add - like i said, i know you don't want to be bitten - fair enough - but it's still important to be confident when dealing with her. if she gets bad, the adage i've been told is 'don't pick a fight you can't win'.

hopefully that helps - i'm new to dogs, and there are tonnes of experienced, smart dog people on here who are amazing - but this is what's working for me w/teagan, hopefully some of it can translate to you and your dog!

also, what are the ear drops for? some aggression can be medical, just a thought.