I called around today and talked with an ex-police/military k9 trainer that now has his own business. He said he would evaluate my dog and see if there is hope for him to remain as part of the family or if he thinks I need to replace him. If in his opinion, he has good feelings fo my dog, he said my wife and family needs to be willing to want to participate in daily training with him.
In the mean time I am not letting him interact with anyone except me. I have been also mentally preparing if I need to part with him.
Maybe, there's hope. But, if not I will do what I have to do for my families sake. It's strange how a dog that is so happy and excited to see the family most of the time can get so stand offish other times. I'm no dog expert. I have had 7 dogs and this one has been very good except for this problem. If one stayed in my house and saw how he just lies around not bothering anyone, one would be suprised how he does what he does. Maybe, he's justing wanting everything on his terms.
Ed, what did you mean when you wrote, "because of the way you have chosen to live with this dog"? Please, explain so I can correct any patterns that I may have developed, for the future with this dog or another.

 Quote: david king

Ed, what did you mean when you wrote, "because of the way you have chosen to live with this dog"? Please, explain so I can correct any patterns that I may have developed, for the future with this dog or another.

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Then he snaps at me(I am a bodybuilder/powerlifter thats pretty wired from the supplements I take and can have a short fuse at times) and I have made the mistake of fighting him a couple of times by stringing him up on the lease. Looking back and reading the forum I know i was wrong by getting emotionally involved in the fight.

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Today, my 17 year old daughter went up to my dog that was lying down. She stood over him and started petting him. After a couple of seconds, he starting growling at her. When he did, she clasped her hands over his muzzle and said, no. He then shook his head loose and nipped her. My daughter, who is not easily intimidated, grabbed him again and wacked him and said no, again. My dog this time barked at her at nipped here again. I intervened by grabbing around the muzzle, slapping him on the nose and saying no.

Level 8 correction at least, in my book, specially with Cujo (he was 11 months old at the time).

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A few minutes later, when everyone calmed down I got my daughter and dog together, and we had a group hug.

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I can tell that he is jealous, when I hug my wife or kids he does not like it and tries to jump and nip them.

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My wife and children are scared of him as he growls and will nip at them if he is a mood that he does not want to be touched. I have tried correction and tried to break him with choke collar and physical correction and he does not change.

In that case, I assume your only option is to give him to someone else, or put him to Zzz.

Seems like this dog would do fine with you, but not with you + wife & kids. I don't think you did a good job making him understand this was not acceptable conduct when the dog started showing this type of behavior, and it quickly got out of control. I'm not sure how your wife still hasn't given you an ultimatum, though.

Frankly, it sounds as if so many lines have been crossed that there is little to no hope that this dog will EVER be a part of your family...and that's really sad.

It's one thing to have a dominant dog who must be crated, tethered, muzzled, and supervised around people outside the family but to live like this within a home seems like a poor quality of life for your dog, IMO. And it doesn't sound like you'll ever be able to live with this dog in your home any other way.

For the type of correction you mean, Eric, wouldn't a dominant dog collar be more advisable?

Heather, I purchased a dominant dog collar and do not like it. The first one had a large band around the sewn end and it would get hung up without tightening. They replaced it but I think it keeps me to close to be safe. I'm not overly strong so holding an 85 lb dog in the air at full arms length is not something I can do until he decides he's had enough so I use a quick correction on a prong or I use an electric collar. I have the dominant dog DVD where Ed explains how to use the DD collar. The only thing I haven't tried is hanging him until he passes out. I'm not comfortable with this as I have not been properly trained and do no want to kill my dog by accident. Anything short of that Bruno only fights harder, swinging his paws and biting if he gets a chance. Everyone suggests the DD dog collar, I'm merely saying for me it does not work but the prong and e-collar work very well.

David, my interpretation of the way you've raised your dog is you and your family have allowed him to act the way he does to this point therefore encouraging his behavior because you have not done enough to discourage it. This is pretty much what you have said in your posts by allowing him loose in the house, around other people etc. Showing him your weakness as a pack leader by loosing your cool, basically not following a very strict way of life with him. Most, if not all, of this is covered in the DD DVD. I purchased my copy some time ago and I watch it about every 2 months to remind me of some things I may have forgotten about. In the DVD Ed mentions many dominant dogs that have been put down had a chance if only the owners were willing to put in the time and learn to properly control their dog. Because of that one statement I was determined to give Bruno my absolute best shot. It caused problems with my family because they would sometimes forget what they could and couldn't do. They also did not show much interest in keeping to the strict protocol of keeping an aggressive dog. Now, everyone understands the importance of the protocol and it has become routine. I'm assuming Ed has read your other posts so for him to say find a new home, that says allot to me. Many other people say it because that's what THEY would do but it's your dog and your responisibility.

I really wish you the best of luck with your predicament. Either decision is not going to be easy but keeping him will definately be the hardest and could be the deadliest, you will most likely get bit yourself as a minimum.

David,
I definitely agree with Ed on this. I also agree with what Eric said...

 Quote: eric dziedzic

David, my interpretation of the way you've raised your dog is you and your family have allowed him to act the way he does to this point therefore encouraging his behavior because you have not done enough to discourage it. This is pretty much what you have said in your posts by allowing him loose in the house, around other people etc. Showing him your weakness as a pack leader by loosing your cool, basically not following a very strict way of life with him.

In my experience, male Rotties can have a very srong tendency toward dominance and dominating their pack, unless vigilantly controlled. I certainly couldn't tell for sure without seeing the dog, but he sounds like a throwback to what Rotts used to be prior to the late 1980's and 1990's. If I'm not mistaken, Igor was a dog used by the Austrian Military, so that would lead me to believe that he was quite a dog.
The man I train with, Armin Winkler, told me once that in his SchH club in Germany (1970's), the people that bred Rotts would not sell males to women, small men, or to people that had no experience dealing with large, dominant dogs. The reason was that typically a working male Rottweiler was too big, too powerful and had the potential to be very dominant & socially aggressive. These were not necessarily bad dogs, it's just what the dogs were, and in an inappropriate situation, they could very well be dangerous.

Find the dog another appropriate home (no kids), but in the mean time do not leave this dog unattended with your wife & children.

 Quote: eric dziedzic

Heather, I purchased a dominant dog collar and do not like it. The first one had a large band around the sewn end and it would get hung up without tightening. They replaced it but I think it keeps me to close to be safe. I'm not overly strong so holding an 85 lb dog in the air at full arms length is not something I can do until he decides he's had enough so I use a quick correction on a prong or I use an electric collar. I have the dominant dog DVD where Ed explains how to use the DD collar. The only thing I haven't tried is hanging him until he passes out. I'm not comfortable with this as I have not been properly trained and do no want to kill my dog by accident. Anything short of that Bruno only fights harder, swinging his paws and biting if he gets a chance. Everyone suggests the DD dog collar, I'm merely saying for me it does not work but the prong and e-collar work very well.

I've never used a dominant dog collar, nor have I ever had to do a level 10 correction, so I certainly don't claim to know how to do it. I was just checking, based on past posts I've read here.

I like the Dominant collar for a quick grab, but hanging my dogs with it is a bit hard.ALL my gsd have that collar on 24/7.I personaly like it.
I wish David lots of luck with his dog, and hope there is a solution to his problem.

Yeah David, again, good luck with this situation. Heartbreaking as it may be to re-home the dog (there likely are good candidates for him), just think (AGAIN) how incredibly YUCK-O you would feel if there were serious damage to one of your family. I would like to say I'd immediately kill the dog if it went after my kid, but of course you never truly know what you'd do in a situation until you are in it...I am so sorry that you are having such a tough time with this issue, sorry too that you are even having to face it...maybe you could try to think more like a dog--black and white. The more I think about your situation, it's a no brainer...not a "difficult if not impossible" one like I said before. Re-home the dog.