I was just wondering what you did about the GSD issue. Did you just keep them seperated, or was there something else that worked for you. I see the rott play with the poodle but usually the poodle will just submit and walk away like nothing happened. Can this be a dominance issue? If so, do you have any advice? Thanks again.

I had to neuter the chihuahua <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />. He was the instigator every time. He was used to being Mommy's Baby (I never planned on having the 2 of them together) which was totally my fault, but he was really a good dog and never had to be corrected. Then, I get the shepherd, and he starts acting like a brat (I know all the diehards are going to be annoyed that I'm projecting human emotion and behavior on my dogs) and biting him every time he walks by. The GSD put up with it for almost 2 years. I keep them separated during feeding, but I don't have to keep them separate all the time, thankfully. It sounds like your poodle is a bit better behaved, luckily. The chi has calmed down and learned that Caleb is not taking anymore crap from him. He's been warned several times. I'm lucky Caleb has such a good temperament. He's been careful on the few occasions he's "reprimanded" the chi, and never hurt him. Just be careful. They can be sneaky, and in my case, the GSD just suddenly had had enough. There always was a pretty obvious reason for the squabbles; the chihuahua is a big time thief, and is small enough to not be noticed by me sometimes. So now I keep toys out of reach unless I'm playing with them. I keep them separate if I leave the house, just in case (usually) because they do seem to hold a grudge for a few days after an altercation.

We rescued the poodle from a shelter, and never knew of the importance of having a dog crate trained. Unfortunatley if we start crate training him now, he might have a "heartattach." However, the rott we are currently crate training. The problem is that the rott, being a puppy, always wants to play. He nibbles and sometimes goes after the poodle. Never anything serious but we dont want it to escalate. The rott is getting bigger by the second so I dont want them to fight when he matures. I was wondering if anyone thinks that we should just keep them seperated. Any suggestions. Thank You.

While the Rott is younger and teething, I would only allow
short socialising sessions, I do not encourage large young pups to play with small older dogs, I have 2 min pins and 3 shepherds in my experience as the bigger dog gets bigger and more bold, they play more rough, so the smaller/older dog, has to work harder at maintaining "control"
this can sometimes escalate into aggression from both the smaller and the larger dog, keep your Rott pup rather focused on his play items like his toys than using the smaller and in your case older dog as a prey item.
When my sheps are older and obedience trained, I allow them to socialise with my small dogs nothing more than a sniff hello, but the sheps are always under firm control, and I never ever ever leave large adult dogs/pups alone with small dogs.

I grew up having a German Shepherd and a poodle. We had the poodle first. He was about 5 years old when we got the shepherd. They got along great, and were alone together a lot. The GSD was well trained, and a very good natured dog though. You will have to watch your Rottweiler/terrier and see what his personnality is as he gets bigger to see if he can be trusted alone with the poodle. However, due to the age of the poodle, you need to make sure the puppy bonds more with you than with the poodle. At 17 years old, you can't expect him to be around for a lot longer. And dogs do grieve for each other. But if he is very close to you he will adjust ok.