I have a 21 month old intact male Rottweiler who has had aggression issues with other large males since he was about 12 months old. We have worked very hard on getting this under control and I thought we were making a lot of progress until recently. He does great as long as he is wearing his prong collar or is around familiar dogs, like at our DVG club. I can work him at our club with just his choker and he is fine. This past weekend we were at a strange place trying for our BH and he failed the temperament part by going after the female Mal on the tie out and the biker coming from behind in the heeling part. He did great in the group when they closed in on us and we had never done that before but when the judge was telling me he failed, my dog lunged at the judge which is not normal for him.

My question is how do I get the same behavior out of him when he does not have his prong on? He knows I can't do anything with just the choker.

Thanks,
Sharon Poteet

Set him up without the collar on and when he gets aggressive, or evan looks at another you walk over and put a #10 correction on him any way you can.Collar, grab a ear, slap the s--- out of him. or go to a E-collar. Correction for aggression is not the same as a normal correction. Unprovoked aggression should not be tolerated.

Ron

The BH is a **TEMPERAMENT** test - not an obedience test...if the dog is aggressive and lunges at the judge and other dogs he SHOULD fail! There is a very big problem in that many weak or incorrectly tempered dogs get trained or compulsed through these tests and then are bred on the strength of these credentials. The weakness is hidden and then passed on genetically.

sorry - pet peeve!!!!!!!!

Sharon, how was your male socialized when he was growing up? Was his dog aggression issue present at an early age?

Lee,
You hit the nail on the head with your post! I remember when DVG starting requiring a BH on *all* dogs entering trials, this occured in 1991 if I remember correctly. There were alot of titled SchH dogs returning to BH level so they could continue showing, and it was an exciting time to be in the group for crowding the dogs, let me tell you.

A good breeder should inform you in detail about a potential puppies sire and dams rank and dog aggression behavior. Forewarned is forearmed <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I don't know what Sharon's physique is, but isn't pinching a 21 mo old intact male rott with these aggression issues asking for her to get ripped to pieces? A baseball bat comes to mind for me. I'M SO SORRY IF THAT OFFENDS ANYONE!! I'm pretty small and that was what came to mind that would give a big male rott a level 10 correction. IMO-anything that puts into that dog's head that "I don't need a prong collar. You NEED to listen to me."
That's what I did to put that message into my prior aggressive akita/shepx that went after people and dogs. Not the baseball bat, but pretty hefty "discipline". But then again my dog was only about 60 pounds and didn't need a baseball bat.
Again-Sorry if I came across barbaric and crass.

Will,
My dog was socialized a lot when he was young but unfortunately it was not around people or dogs that were comfortable with a rottweiler. I did not find my DVG club until he was 10 months old. He didn't start having dog aggression until he was 12 months and the people aggression has just started and it is infrequent. He did great in the crowd closing in part. I'm really not sure why he lunged at the judge. It was right after he had went after the dog and the judge was waving his hand toward us but I don't know if that is what caused it or not. It was not normal behavior for him. Normal behavior for him is to try to act up around other large intact males, males only and to pretty much ignore people until he gets to know them and then he is very friendly.

I am not saying my dog should have passed his BH. I just want to put a stop to this behavior before he thinks he can get away with it. BTW, I am not a breeder and have no intention of breeding my dog regardless of what titles he gets or how his temperament turns out.

Thanks,

Originally posted by Sharon Poteet:

My question is how do I get the same behavior out of him when he does not have his prong on? He knows I can't do anything with just the choker.

Thanks,
Sharon Poteet He is too strong for you. If you could pick flank the crap out of him, then you could control him anytime. The problem is that one on one he is the most powerfull between the two of you. With a pinch collar you have leverage, without he knows he is in control. As long as the stimuli is mild you will be ok; but when he is stimulated he is going to shoot you the bird, and he will do what he wants to do. You have too much dog.

Thanks for replying Orville, especially since you have seen Sajan. However, I have to disagree with you on me having too much dog for me to handle. I do think I have too much dog for the methods I have been using to train him. In other words, I have been too easy on him. Yes, he is stronger than me but I am stronger than I look.

What I need to know is how would you and people like you handle him under these circumstances? And what does pick flank the crap out of him mean exactly? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I owe you an apology Orville. I didn't realize who you were when we were talking Staurday. I was already on my way home when it hit me who you were. See you in April.

Thanks again!

It better that I show you instead of trying to tell you how to flank a Rottweiler. I will be coming up in January, I'm certain that my boy will give me reason to show you what I mean. It is not the most effective way to get sharp obedience, but it a good method for me to get into his brain. And on the aggression stuff, I need to be in my boy's brain. It is not a good method to get obedience. And you have to be carefull, because you can get bit. And this might not be the ticket for you, but some how the dog has to be more concerned with you than anything else around.

I'm not worried about Sajan biting me. I'm not saying there is no way he would, just that I am not the least bit afraid of him. He has never physically challenged me but there have been the grumbles and teeth baring a couple of times and I get furious when he does that and he stops quickly because I get so mad I think I scare him. When I give him a correction with the prong,he does not come back at me. He stops whatever he is doing.

My last Rott, a 120# male, physically challenged me and I got so angry that I put him on his back and was choking him. He was 12 months old and never did it again.

I'm not going to abuse my dog but I am also not going to let him control me either.