Thank you for the advice Lauren and Michelle! I called a few places and described my situation to several trainers. They all suggested that since our dog is only aggressive in the house that the training needs to take place at home. I was given information by the refugee that we adopted our dog from and they said she was the best in the area. After speaking with her for close 40 minutes I decided to go with her. Classes will be starting Friday.

I did see the parents when I picked out the pup. They were both very friendly as they were used purely as pets. The father was a big boy, 97 lbs and very well behaved and calm. He has never had any medical history. The mother was a pup that has German bloodlines and she was in the range of a 1-1/2 years old. As we were playing with the litter the mom came over to me and starting licking my face. She was very calm and friendly as well. They were good signs from the parents.

I'm not an expert on this subject but seeing the parent’s temperament was a good sign. I work out of home so I will be able to devote a lot of time to the pup. I will never leave the pup alone with the other. I think by training the Rot mix we can ease the situation with the pup arrives.

Mike I live with a female RottieX and a male GSD, it been a very enjoyable and exciting ride. Watchig how each breed respond to different situations and training.

Training mostly Ob is the key you did the right thing getting a Pro trainer. This will help out a lot you seem to be a responcible dog owner. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Brace yourself the best is yet to come, alot people like the puppy stage of a dogs life. I do to but the most important stage to me (IMO) is six months to a 1yr. This where you get to really see the personality of the puppy/dog and possible how workable you have made him. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

You are on the right track, good luck in training and with your future dog pack. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Mike,
One thing you can try is some conditioning. If you're older dog is not overtly dog aggressive, introduce them on neutral territory and be sure the adult is hungry. Have some really good treats on hand. Have the pup in a crate. When the adult approaches the crate reward any desirable behavior with praise and a treat. For example, as you approach the crate, if your adult dog starts to wags his tail and looks likes he is comfortable checking out the new pup, praise and treat. If he can be face to face through the crate praise and treat. If he shows aggression, I'd walk away from the crate with the adult dog and try again a few minutes later. I'd make sure your dog was hungry and well exercised before your introduce them so he is not likely to be wound up. Make sure the treats are good like liver cooked in bacon. Make sure you introduce them on neutral turf so your adult dog's territorial aggression doesn't become a factor. You will likely have to do this repeatedly.

Thanks for the advise! I know we have a difficult road ahead of us so we will do what ever is needed!

Thanks!

IMO, when you go to pick out the pup bang around pans, slam a toilet lid, open an umbrella and do anything else you can think about (preferably in a new environment) to pick the most stable pup. If you can, do the same with the parents in a new environment. If you pick a pup that's not overly sensitive to the environment then you will have an advantage when you introduce the rottie to the pup. Just my experiences, since I have noticed that dogs that are nervy (even the slightest instability that most people can't see in a pet) tend to not deal with agressive dogs as well. Auster is very environmentally aware (not sure if that's the right word) and has less than perfect nerves, and it just makes everything (especially involving other dogs now) more difficult.

Even better, pay the trainer to help you pick out a pup. Even if you have to pay them a lot, it will probably save you many times that in training and maybe vet bills and it will definitely make life easier.

Lauren - I think you have a point there, in my pack I've noticed that aggressive dogs don't bother the GSD male much (he is really not a dog fighter, unless they get too close to me. Even then he'll charge and snap at them). He seems to have solid nerves.

The Rottie/Pitt she is very aggressive toward other dogs & small animals, she was more nervous as a pup. This could have been caused by aggressive dogs that have attack us while walking. In most of those cases either the GSD or I sent the aggressors away, when she was a puppy all but one time, a suprise attack on her at 1yr. They took care of it, I stopped them before they killed the other dog.

Now any movement in the shadows or from a fence causes her ears to go up and her body to tense, while her alertness may cause the GSD to look that way but he won't react unless it seems the dog is getting too close. Now if I say it "OK" they will ignore the friendly dog or puppy.

Now this could be in her mix breeding and or because she was actually bite by a dog.

The GSD as a 10 wk pup (I made a lot of dumb mistakes) on his first introduction to my two 6 yr. old american breed female GSD one with 1 ear up (sigh). I had them chained just for this introduction, I thought being females they would want to be surrogate mothers.

WRONG!!! as the puppy followed me out toward them, they lunged past me like lioniness growling and scaring the crap out of my Puppy, he was smart enough to run the other way. I thought I had ruined him. Soild nerves just shuck it off, his problem was his dumb ass owner (me). At 1yr old and as big the introduction went better, he was alert but was not aggressive.

He still turned out to be not very dog aggressive, if the other dogs are not a threat to me.

Thanks for the info. The parents were excellent at noise as they lived behind train tracks. The house shook as the train went by. The parents were solid and it seemed the pups didn't mind either. I will check him out hopefully this weekend again as I want to get a picture of him in his small stage.

When the pup comes home do you think that if he does bark at the pup with that alter his personality. Luke, our Rot mix does get along with other dogs in the street when we walk him but no one has ever been on our property with a dog. He wags his tail and is very curous about other dogs, however it might be different when he comes home.

Again, I would introduce them on neutral turf. How are you going to house these dogs? You don't want the pup in a run where it will be terrorized by your adult dog through the fence. I find it best to introduce new dogs very gradually, just letting them get used to the new smell of the puppy and seeing it from a distance for several weeks, so they get the idea that there is a new dog in the pack but not being able to scare or intimidate the new pup in any way. This approach requires some preplanning and the proper setup.

The dogs will be kept in their own crate. The Rot-mix spends his time in a large cage when ever we are not home and at nights. The pup will be brought up the same. I will keep the pup in the kitchen so that they are not visible to each other. As time goes by we can put the cages next to each other.

Mike, There are several articles on this site about introducing dogs. Also on agression in dogs. This would be well worth your time. You might also consider not getting a male pup, but a female. You have recieved excellent advice and should do fine. On the up side, your Rottie may adore the pup. When you do that first introduction out of the crate, a muzzle on the rottie is a good idea. Best of luck.